Fresh Cup

JUL 2012

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/71652

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 37 of 70

do to help customers better learn about the six categories of tea, make sure that tea tasting plays a major role. One example: Bill Waddington, owner of Minneapolis-based TeaSource, is a bit of a fiend when it comes to sampling. Every Tuesday at his shop, customers can order a tray with five different 4.5-ounce cups for $3. Some weeks the sample special may include five black teas from Darjeeling. Other times it will be five favorites picked out by Waddington's daughter, Maggie. The point is to get patrons trying different teas side by side. "I say it to my manag- ers all the time: We've got to get our teas into their mouths," Waddington says. "If we do that, we've won them over. All of a sudden, they get the range of flavor notes that are there." It's important to note, though, that you should also keep the breadth of options limited during each sampling episode. Allow room for some talk amid the tasting. "If someone is interested in green teas, you could show them maybe a sencha and a pan-fired tea and go from there," says Sean Marsland, president of Toronto's Spire Tea. "Ask them, 'What do you like about these teas?' and use what they say to find something else if necessary. Don't overwhelm someone with 85 options." TEA TASTINGS at Zhi Tea aim to educate customers without overwhelming them with information. That same sense of restraint can pay dividends in all aspects of tea education. Lorien says that whenever he or one of his employees presents brewed tea to a customer, they find a way to move the tea conversation forward. They may impart a tasting note or two, for instance, or mention that the leaf can be re-steeped. But they also make a point to keep the spiel to 30 seconds at most. "If they want continued on page 36 freshcup.com July 2012 35 COURTESY OF ZHI TEA

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Fresh Cup - JUL 2012