Who Are the Tea Drinkers?
Tea is hot right now, and very cool, too! No longer is the typical tea drinker a lady of a certain age who favors chintz and probably keeps cats. Tea is shaking off its old image, and people in all walks of life are discovering tea as a refreshing alternative to the sweetened, caffeine drinks many rely on to get them through their day.
A cup of high-quality tea is an affordable luxury for almost everyone. Global sales are on the increase, driven by a perception of tea’s relaxing effects and health benefits as well as a desire to cut down on sugary sodas.
An article in the February 18, 2011 edition of World Tea News declared that five out of six North Americans drink tea. In the United States, tea drinking is more popular than ever, and even during the difficult economic conditions of the past few years, premium teas have held their own. In 2010, tea saw a 10 percent rise in imports over 2009, with sales topping $7.77 billion, up from $1.84 billion in 1990.
Speaking in February 2011, Joseph P. Simrany, president of the Tea Association of the U.S.A., explained that the strength of long-term consumer trends favoring tea has kept the industry on its feet and flourishing while others have succumbed to the Great Recession. And he pointed out that traditional tea—leaf tea rather than the new category of ready-to-drink bottled teas—can be found in a range of retail outlets and “remains about the least expensive food or beverage on a per-serving basis.”
As consumers look for more holistic approaches to food with an eye to health advantages, a stream of scientific studies reporting on tea’s benefits is keeping tea on the shopping lists of longtime tea drinkers and encouraging new tea drinkers to add it to their shopping carts.
And among those new American tea drinkers, some of the most enthusiastic are people in their twenties and thirties. In fact, you might be surprised by the excitement and sense of adventure the younger set bring to their experience of tea.
A cup of high-quality tea is an affordable luxury for almost everyone. Global sales are on the increase, driven by a perception of tea’s relaxing effects and health benefits as well as a desire to cut down on sugary sodas.
An article in the February 18, 2011 edition of World Tea News declared that five out of six North Americans drink tea. In the United States, tea drinking is more popular than ever, and even during the difficult economic conditions of the past few years, premium teas have held their own. In 2010, tea saw a 10 percent rise in imports over 2009, with sales topping $7.77 billion, up from $1.84 billion in 1990.
Speaking in February 2011, Joseph P. Simrany, president of the Tea Association of the U.S.A., explained that the strength of long-term consumer trends favoring tea has kept the industry on its feet and flourishing while others have succumbed to the Great Recession. And he pointed out that traditional tea—leaf tea rather than the new category of ready-to-drink bottled teas—can be found in a range of retail outlets and “remains about the least expensive food or beverage on a per-serving basis.”
As consumers look for more holistic approaches to food with an eye to health advantages, a stream of scientific studies reporting on tea’s benefits is keeping tea on the shopping lists of longtime tea drinkers and encouraging new tea drinkers to add it to their shopping carts.
And among those new American tea drinkers, some of the most enthusiastic are people in their twenties and thirties. In fact, you might be surprised by the excitement and sense of adventure the younger set bring to their experience of tea.
Chintz Need Not Apply
In March 2011 the trade magazine Fresh Cup looked at what it calls the “youth movement” in tea. Author Daniel P. Smith interviewed several young entrepreneurs in the tea business, including Wynn O’Donnell, who runs Thirstea out of a postage-stamp-sized storefront in our neighborhood, New York City’s East Village.
While Wynn’s customers come in all ages and Generation X is well represented, he’s getting plenty of visitors in the Generation Y group—those born between the late 1970s and the early 2000s. High-school- and college-aged students are drawn in by the attractive packaging and variety of teas, he says, and are intrigued by all the “innovative options” tea offers.
Gen-Yers enjoy the exotic stories and global appeal of tea, says Daniel Smith, which they see as something special to be shared, something unique and outside the cultural norm. They value the learning, cultural experience, and sense of connection they get from tea.
They also appreciate tea’s balance of energizing and restful effects, that calm alertness produced by the synergy between stimulating caffeine and relaxing polyphenols such as theanine, theophylline, and theobromine.
While Wynn’s customers come in all ages and Generation X is well represented, he’s getting plenty of visitors in the Generation Y group—those born between the late 1970s and the early 2000s. High-school- and college-aged students are drawn in by the attractive packaging and variety of teas, he says, and are intrigued by all the “innovative options” tea offers.
Gen-Yers enjoy the exotic stories and global appeal of tea, says Daniel Smith, which they see as something special to be shared, something unique and outside the cultural norm. They value the learning, cultural experience, and sense of connection they get from tea.
They also appreciate tea’s balance of energizing and restful effects, that calm alertness produced by the synergy between stimulating caffeine and relaxing polyphenols such as theanine, theophylline, and theobromine.
But don’t count out the boomers just yet. Baby boomers are looking for more out of a beverage than just a way to slake their thirst, and they don’t mind paying a little more for the tea that gives them what they want. Meanwhile, Chinese youth are really into coffee nowadays--for them it’s something unique and outside the cultural norm!
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