Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
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)URP WKH HGLWRU BIG-MONEY ACQUISITION PUTS TEA IN PRIMETIME : elcome to our 2013 Tea Almanac, a collection of stories shedding light on the illustrious leaf. In the ensuing pages, we profile a few of North America's top tea retailers, examine some pressing trends and take you to the source for a couple of feature articles. One of those is "A Life in Tea," a Tea Almanac fixture that this year profiles Veerinder Chawla, owner of Portland's The Tao of Tea. He's an inspiring figure who has built his teahouse, wholesale and importing business on the tight-knit relationships he has with tea growers. Interestingly, Chawla's original plan upon entering the tea industry 15 years ago was to build a chain of 100 teahouses. Those intentions fizzled when he realized he needed to focus on his origin connections first, and once those were in place, he opted to grow the wholesale and RTD sides of his business rather than expand its retail presence. But as we prepared to send this issue to the printers, some pertinent news broke about a chain that does have a slew of locations—and that news could have a major effect on specialty tea moving forward. Global specialty coffee powerhouse Starbucks announced plans to buy Teavana, a 300-store specialty tea retailer, for $620 million. In announcing the deal, Starbucks proclaimed more Teavana locations will be coming soon, both in North America and around the world. This keeps with the global expansion path Starbucks is already blazing. So is this a positive development for specialty tea as a whole? Will it help or hurt independents? True, Teavana sells high-qual- ity loose-leaf tea tied to specific origins, as well as the teaware used to steep those brews. Consumer education is also a goal: For instance, the company's Web site has a "New to Tea?" section that leads nascent tea drinkers into the process. But Teavana offers some items that may alienate purists. Its menu boasts more than 100 offerings, and the fruity blends tend to get top billing. There's no doubt that wide selection and sweet options can increase a customer base, but more revenue doesn't always equate to an advancement of actual tea apprecia- tion and culture. Teavana's presence will rise remarkably in the coming years, and tea opportunities will likely sprout thanks to the chain's expansion (just as Starbucks' growth opened the door for many independent coffee shops). But it's important to note that a Teavana expansion carries its own unique ripples. North America remains an immature market when it comes to quality tea—some might say it's even more immature than the coffee market was when Starbucks started booming. As the Teavana brand gets bigger, its tastes and ideas could very well be setting the stage for the next generation of tea drinkers. For those of us who hold the leaf close to heart, the recent news should act as strong inspiration to push even harder to get our own views and teas into the consumer market. Would- be tea drinkers are all around us. It would be wonderful if their first contact with loose leaf comes through a company that values producer con- nections and perfect preparation more than rapid retail expansion. /(77(56 72 7+( (',725 Fresh Cup welcomes letters to the editor at comments@freshcup.com. Letters must be 250 words or less. Authors must provide verifiable phone number and city and state of residence. CHRIS RYAN EDITOR 12 Tea Almanac 2013