ITT: We Tell Tea Companies How To Get Our Business!

We sell tea in Spain and it’s very interesting all the topics you are discussing. Sometimes it is very difficult to get into the skin of the buyer. We sell tea in bags of 50 and 100 grams (tins too). Do you think that would be a good idea to sell bags of 15 grams (0.5 oz)?

A lot of this has been said already, but I’ll add my two cents.

1) Samples. I’m not talking freebies (though those are always welcome!), I mean offering to sell an ounce or less of any given tea at a reasonable price. I understand that there are good reasons for why this is not always possible, but I’m reluctant to buy blind. If your smallest offering is something like $25 for 3 oz of tea then I’m sorry, but I’ll probably never buy from you.

2) Clear, concise, accurate information about your products. Including things like growing region and harvest time goes a long way. Even something as broad as “Fujian Province” or “spring harvested” is nice but, of course, the more specific the better.

3) Brief tasting notes. Everyone’s palate is different, sure. But I’ve found that no two teas taste exactly the same. I might be expecting a tea to be all honey and roasted only to have it turn out floral. Just give me a heads up.

4) Steeping recommendations. I know how to make tea, but not all teas act the same. One TGY might want to be brewed hot and fast while another might prefer lower temperatures and slightly longer steep times. How would you recommend brewing YOURS? Exploring is half the fun, but if I’ve got a sample that’s only enough for one or two sessions then I want to get it right the first time.

5) Please tell me exactly what a specific tea is. Names like “Wuyi Ensemble” don’t do it for me. I don’t mean to pick on Adagio because I love them and they’re a wonderful company that helped me discover tons of great teas. But please be more specific when it comes to “straight” teas. By all means, give original blends the most creative and whimsical names you can come up with, but let me know if that Wuyi you’re selling is Da Hong Pao or Jin Gui or any of the other many types out there.

Of course customer service, reasonably priced / fast shipping and so forth are important as well. But these are usually the first things I look for in a company.

I’m sure all this has been said, but the “must-haves” for me are:

1. Low cost of entry. So reasonably priced teas, available in small quantities (if I can get 25g or less I will try almost anything. If I have to buy 50g or more to try, I have to be very intrigued.) and reasonable shipping to Canada.

2. Useful information. A complete list of ingredients, tasting notes and brewing directions on the website. Ingredients and brewing directions on the package. Ingredients and prices in your physical store (I’m looking at you DAVID’s Tea. Your new menu sucks.)

3. Good customer service.

Also important, but not as critical to me are:

1. Good packaging. Resealable, opaque, airtight packages. Bonus points if they are flat and tall so that they can be filed in bins easily. I like DAVID’s Tea packaging. I don’t like Teavana’s packaging.

2. Some consistency to inventory. Everything I love gets discontinued. If there’s not a reasonable chance I might be able to get more when my first package runs out, I’m going to be hesitant to try your teas. Some seasonal and special stuff is fine, but have a lot of good teas that are always available. Conversely, make it clear if something is being discontinued, so I can stock up if I need.

3. A good website. This matters. Make it easy to see how much shipping is. Don’t have every tea open in a new window. Don’t make me create an account or enter piles of information before I can start checking out, ask for those details after I’m committed to buying. Make it clear what’s in stock and what’s not. It doesn’t need to be fancy but it needs to be usable.

And bonus points for:

1. Sales. Make them good and let us know, through emails or social media. (I can’t resist a good sale. Seriously, I will buy stuff I don’t even want or need if it’s on clearance.)

2. Free samples. The last time I received a teaspoon sample with an online order, I loved it and immediately went and bought a big container.

3. Rewards programs.

After browsing tea sites this evening I can say that an updated webpage is important. If it’s almost autumn and a site has a “Spring Has Arrived” banner on the front page chances are I won’t purchase anything from that company. The site doesn’t have to be super fancy, but it does need to be current and interesting.

This is a bit of a nitpick… but the phrase ‘just around the corner’ when referring to seasons bugs me. Especially when places use it every single time a it’s nearly time for the new blends. It just sounds so tired and cliche.