Greetings, TeaSmart readers! Hope you have all successfully survived another holiday season and are ready to ride through the rest of winter. Let us welcome the New Year with open arms, and hope that it will bring less misfortune and greater good for all.

While many teashops and tearooms have closed in 2009 we have also seen many decide to take the plunge and open. We hope that whatever your transition, you find refreshing perspective on the other side of it. Moving forward tea continues to be a strong force with more people seeking a better brew and enjoying the comforts it can afford. Heaven knows this writer has heavily relied on her favorite sencha for comfort in recent months!

Trends focus on quality, value, and functionality in tea wares and that certain something tea has to offer as a comfort food. Breaking down cost per cup for bulk tea purchases really can go a long way to make the point of tea as an affordable luxury and those business that effectively communicate this to their clients are the ones succeeding even with current economic challenges. Make sure you are telling your customers how inexpensive a great cup of tea can be!

Lastly, we hope you all will wish us luck as Adagio Teas seeks to open our very first brick and mortar store this year. As we do this we are sharing our experiences via a business blog written by Charles Cain, our new Director of Business Development called TeaRetailer. By sharing our process as we embark on this new endeavor we hope to help out other tea business entrepreneurs as they get started or grow. Check it out and let us know what you think. We greatly appreciate your thoughts.

Warmest regards and Happy New Year!