Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/59523
THE WHOLE LEAF BY SUZETTE HAMMOND Some instruction for your instructions "TEA IS NOTHING BUT THIS: FIRST, YOU HEAT THE WATER. THEN, YOU STEEP THE TEA. THEN, YOU DRINK IT PROPERLY. THAT IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW." —SEN NO RIKYU, JAPANESE GRAND TEA MASTER here is perhaps nothing sadder than hearing from a once- excited customer who is now bummed because the tea she bought turned out horribly at home. Worse yet is when the reason for the off flavor was incorrect brewing—the instruc- tions were right there on the package! While underwhelming results could certainly be a product of consumers not taking the time to consult the tea packer's written- out guidelines, we can no longer avoid the fact that sometimes the issue is rooted in the instructions themselves. Virginia Wright, owner of Phoenix Tea House in Seattle and lead writer/editor of the Gongfu Girl tea blog (where she goes by "Cinnabar") says, "As a tea consumer, I don't pay any attention whatsoever to the seller's brewing instructions, except in some very rare cases, or to see if I agree with them." Ouch. Clearly, every tea company should be revisiting what they're writing on the sides of boxes and being sure what's laid out is as clear and correct as possible. Failure in the cup, after all, does more than disappoint the tea drinker's palate. It can also put a dent in that person's trust in your brand. Here are some ideas than can help make your step-by-step 68 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com descriptions more effective. Better brews and returning customers will hopefully result. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? First, let's consider what we're trying to teach. What is unique about your tea as far as brewing is concerned? What key points would a customer need to know in order to get a great cup? If using boiling water on the tea would make it undrinkable, that would be important to note. Bill Waddington, owner of TeaSource in Minneapolis, says the first step on the tea company's end is to decide exactly how each tea is best brewed. "We have a number of employees test each tea steeped in different ways, trying to answer the ques- tion, 'How will most of our customers like this tea the most?'" he says. "Sometimes this ends with surprising results; we have some Assams we recommend steeping eight to 10 minutes." When considering what information to include, start with the three Ts: tea, temperature and time, and preferably in that order. Tea—as in the amount of it—can and should vary by type. The NICOLE O'BANION