Giving tea for the loves of your life is the most effective sales pitch, ever. That’s why St. Valentine’s Day is definitely a win-win for marketing your inventory of fine teas, brewing accessories, and creative gift baskets.

Shout Out a Reminder!

Start the process with an email blast to remind your customers that February 14th is just around the corner. Offer a list of your favorite teas for gift-giving and share every single way they can buy from you. The easier it is for them to access this info, the sooner they will buy! Make sure to list at least these details at least twice in your email blast. You can replicate some or all of this information on paper handouts placed in all sales bags and make placards for counter displays.

1. Your web site (put it everywhere!)

2. Telephone number (local or toll free)

3. Email address (even in an eblast!)

4. Mortar-and-brick location (address and hours)

5. And, if you deliver, give details!

Gift Baskets Elevate Sales!

Got a great window for display? If not, consider a strategic counter for basket displays.

Offer several pre-arranged selections, the better to increase the purchase and to showcase your most elegant teapots and teacups, teaspoons and measuring scoops, and other tea-making delights from the pantry or the shelf.

Pre-wrapped baskets can be one price but consider charging more for baskets made-to-order. Showcase one or more gift basket concepts that your customers can choose for personalized baskets or individual gifts.

Herbals and miniature cups and teapots are fun to include in children’s gift baskets along with cookies or candies. Cross market with a local bakery if you do not regularly offer sweets.

Valentine’s Day Tea Perfection:

Consider these fabulous Adagio answers! RIPE FOR ROMANCE has alluring flavors of raspberry and chocolate with black tea and VALENTINES, a rich Sri Lankan black tea with essence of dark chocolate and fresh summer strawberries. Or, add pizzazz to tea gifts with this Parisian combination of black and oolong teas with light touch of bergamot, caramel, pomegranate and vanilla called APRIL IN PARIS. C’est bon bon!

Remember the MEN!

While it is true that women are often the focus of Valentine’s Day gifts, tea-loving men should be shown a little love, too. Consider creating “guy gift baskets” to include Masters Teas (or their other favorites), Adagio honeys or Selafina spices for those who love to create their own tea blends or love to cook or bake.

Absolutely consider tea brewing gadgets for the guys: timers, scales, measuring spoons and cups, and other techie items like the exceptional Lardera Scale (great for coffee or tea measurements.)

Or, suggest our Lardera Smart Electric Kettle, the most accurate water kettle on the market. It’s super-fast, boiling 16 oz. of water in under 100 seconds. The sleek stainless steel body, no-drip gooseneck spout, anti-scalding lid, easy-grip handle, and elegant touch-sensitive controls offer exceptional function in a fabulous form. The highly-accurate temperature controls are maintained for 30 minutes.

For modest budgets, your customers will love giving our best-selling varieTEA kettle, a sleek black appliance suitable for men or women everywhere they brew tea. We’ve added temperature controls to the handle for thumb access; cool-touch PBA-free plastic on the outside with a totally stainless steel interior. The kettle, which holds 1.7 liters, comes with a quieter "ready" beep.

(P.S. Self-love is a gift we offer ourselves, so every day is Valentine’s Day! Remind customers to buy something special for themselves and display a range of ideas of both tea trinkets and the spectacular from your shop.)

For the Tea Connoisseur:

The most sophisticated tea drinker will appreciate receiving selections from our Masters Tea collection. Consider offering one (or several) of these outstanding choices:

Jin Guan Yin, A lightly processed greenish oolong from China, this exceptional tea has a signature floral fragrance perfectly complemented with a buttery texture and intoxicating flavor in its pale, golden-green liquor. One tea surely to linger in anyone’s memory bank

Shi Feng Long- Our high-grade the luxurious Chinese classic green is a showcase of young leaves, sweet aroma, and a taste of warm chestnut notes with both a whisper of caramelized sugar and a bright floral edge. This high grade is a fine plucking of young spring leaves pan-fired to elicit the complex and layered mellow and soft taste with an elegant, crisp, finish.

Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yin Zhen) is no longer a “senior’s tea” but one that every tea aficionado appreciates for its hand-picked, silvery downy buds that brew into a liquor with fresh honeydew and cucumber notes and a creamy texture. From exceptional tea bushes in the Fuding area.