Make the most of every holiday season sale! Check out our Five Ways to Build a Sale!

Expand your holiday gift offering with tea and COFFEE gift sets! Build your own with Adagio Teas and Lardera Coffee.

Looking to stuff some stockings with tea gifts? Check out these tea-lightful options for your holiday season tea menu!

Check out our newest features to help us stay ahead of your needs while staying efficient: Bulk Sack Scheduling and Pre-Orders for out of stock items.

Looking for premium teas, herbs, and spices for your craft brewing creations? We have you covered with years of experience and a wide array of products!

It's back-to-school time! Ramp up sales with the best teas to support all studious endeavors!

Spice up your tea menu with our newest blend. With a medley of orange peels, hibiscus, and perky spices, it will warm your customers body and soul. Check out Spiced Blood Orange Herbal Tea!

If you are looking to take advantage of iced tea season, we have some hot tips!

New AdagioXL perk! Learn about a new benefit for your wholesale loyalty points.

Even If you keep a streamlined tea menu, don't miss our TOP THREE iced teas flavors trending this year.

Floral flavors are popular and bring a wonder of garden delights to your menu. Check out our suggestions for floral teas!

Never run out of premium teabags or iced teas with our AdagioXL auto delivery service for cafes, tea rooms, and restaurants.

Coffee Shop Owners - Check out these Six EASY TIPS to sell MORE TEA!

Looking for a way to efficiently and economically TEAch your staff about TEA? Check out TeaClass.com and boost sales with a well educated tea team!

Get ready for spring by freshening up your tea menu! Check out these delicious teas for spring.

Check out our predictions for 2024 tea flavor trends! Learn what should be on your menu for the months ahead.

Hot tip! A 30-second shop tour can enhance customer visits and increase sales. R

We're dashing ahead to January to ensure your New Year success! Check out our tea suggestions so you can be well prepared.

Looking for holiday tea suggestions? We have the most delicious and festive teas to share to ensure holiday season success!

Stay ahead of the holiday rush with THREE WAYS to stay TEASMART!

Small details make for a lovely tea table presentation. Check out these lovely items to delight your guests whether you have a true tea room or just a fabulous tea service in your restaurant or cafe.

Looking to get a sense of your purchasing patterns for your business? Adagio business clients can now view the frequency and recency of their orders of our products! This can help strategize purchasing and in turn result in cost savings.

Pumpkin season is already out of the gate? We have pumpkin teas and alternatives for your autumn menu!

Ordering tea for your business has never been easier. Learn about our Adagio XL wholesale app!

Back-to-school! Time to brush up on your team's tea knowledge. Learn how with our FREE tea educational website.

Tantalize your customers with tropical teas! Check out these great options to BOOST your summer tea sales today!

Looking to level up your tea service for special occasions? Consider our NEW tea: Earl Grey Supreme for a supremely fine experience.

Spring is here! With warm weather approaching and flowers blooming, it’s time to lighten and brighten your tea menu. Check out our spring tea MUST HAVES.

Looking for something new for your tea menu? Whatever the weather, we have a chai blend that will please. Check out our newest: Mindful Mint Chai!

Boost warm weather tea sales with cold brew teas! Learn more in this pre-season article.

Perk up your spring menu with our newest tea: Almond Cardamom Cake Rooibos. It offers toasted almond notes with uplifting cardamom in a caffeine-free rooibos base.

Spring is on the way! Here are our spring tea recommendations for 2023 for your gourmet tea menu.

Pardon our dust! Learn about the recent updates and new features to our B2B website for tea businesses. We look forward to helping you GROW your business.

NOW is the time to order tea and tea ware for Valentines Day! Check out our decadent tea suggestions such as Ripe for Romance and Chocolate Truffle.

New Year, New Tea! Come meet our newest dessert tea - White Toasted Coconut - YUM!

Welcome the New Year and be ready for detox and wellness season with our fabulous wellness teas including Tea-Tox!

A little blending advice for spicing up your tea own blends!

Wondering how to plan for this holiday season? We gathered indicators and share our insights! Read on to see how holiday season 2022 is shaping up for your tea business.

It's never too early to plan for the holiday season! Here are our most festive suggestions for bestseller holiday teas. Order now and be ready!

Are your customers looking for wellness and good taste? Check out our Chaga Chai with the goodness of chaga mushrooms!

Get ready for holiday season now with two deliciously decadent decaf teas. Read all about these new additions!

Coming off a soft summer for tea sales? Get helpful tea industry veteran reminders for tea marketing strategies for autumn 2022 and beyond.

Adagio Wholesale announces the combining of two popular services for our business clients! White label packaging for your custom blends. Read on to learn more!

Thinking about your autumn tea menu to boost sales? We are too! Read on and see our autumn tea suggestions for our tea retailers!

New Tea Alert! Checkout our new herbal - coffee-like Chicoriccino for all those coffee friends who need to cut back on caffeine. It's tasty, roasty, and divine!

Some tips for "selling" tea to-go even if you are e-commerce or not brewing in shop for the summer of 2022!

Summer is here! Learn how to use our gallon iced tea pouches for COLD BREW! Easy and delicious for great summer tea sales!

Get your tea menu ready for Summer 2022. Check out these premium iced tea suggestions to boost sales and keep customers coming back.

Our Body and Soul gift set is good for what ails us in these modern times. Keep them on your shelves for Mother's Day and gifting beyond!

Time for a little tea training: What is Green Rooibos? Learn all about this healthful, easy to drink, refreshing herbal tea from South Africa!

Learn all about our newest teas: Matcha Genmaicha and why you and your customers will love it!

What flavors will be popular for spring and summer of 2022? We have some ideas! Stock up and get ready!

Not sure which teas to serve during the weather wonky month of March? Let us help you with these delicious early Spring teas suggestions!

It's not enough to simply have a social media presence. ENGAGE with your audience with these ideas to gain both loyalty and better sales.

Already thinking about Valentine's Day? Let us make the next holiday easy for our tea retailers with our Valentine’s Day teas and gift sets.

With January approaching, be ready for health-conscious customers! Add pure moringa leaf tea today!

Dry January is coming! Be ready with fabulous festive teas to welcome the New Year and gain new customers!

Our tea elves have been making more of some seasonally popular teas. Order now and be ready to make merry sales during the weeks ahead!

Don't miss out on selling GREAT TEA GIFTS! Check out our 2021 Tea Advent Calendar and order soon!

The holiday season is already upon us! Here are some SIMPLE TIPS to prepare for the 2021 holiday season as a retailer.

Are you deciding whether to stock up for the holidays? Absolutely stock up NOW on the most popular teas for the season ahead with our tea suggestions for Holiday Season 2021.

PUMPKIN SPICE IS EVERYWHERE! The season of pumpkin spice is upon us! Stay in lockstep OR buck the typical autumn trend with these delicious, time-tested teas for a successful autumn tea offering!

Are you starting a new tea business or looking for insights for your existing tea shop? We have a helpful FREE guide to get you jump-started! Our Tea Biz Guide is live and downloadable today!

Need delicious tea suggestions for your late summer menu? We have just the brews! Read on and order our late summer tea suggestions today!

Need to brush up on your tea knowledge? Our FREE tea educational website is a great place to start! Read on to learn more!

Calling on all coffee roasters to check your tea menu! Have you neglected it? Here's why you shouldn't and we can help!

Earn MORE loyalty points for your wholesale account with AdagioXL. All the new ways to earn are revealed for you! Read on!

Looking for pre-measured loose leaf tea for your 3-gallon tea brewer? We have the solution! Learn about our new 3-gallon packets.

Create and print your fine tea menu directly from our wholesale website! Having a premium tea service has never been so easy!

New summery teas for your iced tea menu! Have the MOST popular teas in town with our new teas!

Tea importing is typically trouble free, but these days, like so many things, the pandemic has brought unusual challenges. Here's why some items are not currently available and why there's no need to panic.

Introducing a new feature for our B2B website! Our wholesale clients can now leave product reviews just like on our retail website! By leaving reviews you can earn extra loyalty points.

Summer will be here before you know it! Check out our handy guide to brewing our gallon iced tea pouches and be ready!

Are you looking for festive, delicious teas for spring events? Try our Berry Creme Compote and Lemon Meringue teas!

Do you have what clients want? Consumers continue to seek immunity boosters and teas for stress relief. We have suggestions!

Be ready for Valentine’s Day with dessert themes teas. Valentine’s Day is approaching quickly! By offering better-for-you dessert themed teas, you help sweethearts to share love and wellness in these difficult times.

Try our tasty teas for hot toddies! Keep your customers warm with hot tea toddies. Don’t use mediocre, sub-par commercial grade tea bags. Level up and treat your guests well with loose-leaf premium teas or premium pyramid full-leaf teabags.

Due to the ongoing pandemic packing on pounds, and the holiday season indulgences, perhaps January 2021 will bring a strong focus on trimming down and getting a better balance of diet and exercise. With these things in mind, let us see what teas will fit the bill

If we gazed into a crystal ball last December, it must have faulty because we did not foresee the many challenges of 2020. As we prepare to turn the calendar to the New Year, let us try again. Perhaps with some pandemic experience, we can provide a sense of what lies ahead.

In a year unlike any other, it has been thrilling, scary, and awe inspiring to watch our business clients handle the many challenges of 2020. In a word: PIVOT.

Sharing our best selling holiday teas is what AdagioXL is all about! Read on for customer favorites that you can easily rename as your own special holiday teas.

As we move with caution into the the busiest time of an already challenging year, we share some handy holiday season staff training tips for you and your crew!

Whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay. Even though it may have many negative aspects, by using it to your benefit, you are sharing the wonders of tea, promoting your business, and providing light in a deep dark forest. Consider that most people spend roughly 1.5 to 2 hours on social media per day, therein lies opportunity to engage!

One of our most popular gift items for the fast-approaching holiday season has a new look and some new options. Read on to learn more and checkout the best tea gift for this holiday seasong!

Never miss a reorder or run out of your bestselling teas with our new auto delivery service! Read on to learn more about how it works.

When developing your new business (or even growing an established one), it helps to have a theme or focus on which to build your concept. The world of tea is vast with much to offer. By selecting a type of customer to pursue, you can determine a suitable start up line of products to carry within that focus. Read on to learn more!

The mere whisper of cooler weather and back-to-school planning means autumn is soon to arrive! For many, autumn is a favorite season with gentler temperatures and seasonal tastes and treats to look forward to. In this crazy year, it also means moving into the future and eventually putting 2020 behind us.

In recent weeks, one of the most frequently asked questions from our business clients is which teas help with anxiety. With some much going on in 2020, we completely understand this need. Read on to learn which teas are most helpful in trying times.

Adagio Teas is pleased to be able to offer this best selling tea kettle in a new design with convenient upgrades. Read on to learn about the new features!

In recent weeks, the long ailing Davids Tea took steps to restructure in Canada and to file bankruptcy in the US. This means that all locations are closed, and the company is reportedly pulling out of the US market. Be ready to please local customers looking for a new tea shop!

Looking for quick serve tea options in a busy cafe or for your tea-to-go pandemic service? We have perfect single serve solutions in our Presto Liquid Concentrates and Portions Pre-Measured Leaf Packets.

Specialty tea purveyors all seem to reporting a swell of sales growth that started when the COVID-19 panic struck the United States. Consumers, in the most stressful of times, are seeking the comfort and wellness of our precious teas and tisanes.

Visually appealing, colorful beverages are immensely popular. Did you know that they could also be marketing beacons to your business? Read on for colorful insight into how eye-popping tea drinks can advertise for you!

Our new harvest Masters Teas are available for business purchasing! Read on to see how these super special, small lot, hand-made teas can benefit your business.

Entice summer tea sales with our new sophisticated Mocktail Teas sampler set. Booze-free living is a big trend! Tea-totaling made easy and sexy!

What should your Summer 2020 tea menu consist of as the US reopens post COVID-19 shutdown? We have some ideas!

As summer weather approaches, it is time to prepare a tasty summer tea menu. Whether sipping at home, offering curbside pick up, or if you can now have clients dine in, consider these fruity, summery teas.

Adagio Teas’ wholesale team is pleased to announce the addition of raw honey varieties curated to perfectly pair with different tea types. Tasting all the different honey types and learning which best suited each tea type, was one of the sweetest projects we ever had the pleasure of working! Pun totally intended!

Are you a commercial brewer seeking loose leaf bulk teas, herbs, and spices for your brews? Small batch craft beverages like cider, mead, beer, and kombucha continue to increase in popularity. These fermented beverages tend to be filled with flavor, and often reflect their locality’s unique character. Creative brewers have been expanding their range of flavors with the addition of tea, herbs, and spices and you can, too!

Mother’s Day is soon to arrive and gift givers are looking for uplifting, healthy options. Happily, tea perfectly suits the need! Whether you have pivoted to online sales or curbside pickup, we have some beautiful suggestions to perk up your Mother’s Day business.

Some new items to share and new services for our wholesale partners. Loose leaf options, some new Masters Teas, auto delivery, and more!

Chances are that your community and business have been affected by the current efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19. How do we handle such unusual times? Tea drinkers may already have an advantage.

With tea gaining in popularity and the wealth of wellness it provides, tea for kids makes perfect sense. Kids can have fun and start on a path of quiet time, healthy beverages, and the wonder of all things tea.

Ease the transition from winter to spring with seasonal tea suggestions. Comfort and wellness yield happy customers and spring sales.

Walking into a well appointed tea shop with a wall of teas or even a café with a sizable drink menu can be intimidating for a new customer. Their eyes glaze over and decision making stress can take make them unsure about what to order. Be ready with guidance so your new client has a happy, successful experience.

Ginger has long been a favorite ingredient in tea and food all over the world. Here we have some history and a new ginger-based tea for your offering!

As you catch your breath after the busy holiday season, remember to plan ahead for the next winter event: Valentine’s Day! If you have a tea room, Valentine’s Day is probably one of your busiest times of the year, so be sure to plan a tasty menu that includes delicious teas in line with the theme.

New Year - New Decade! Some thoughtful suggestions on wonderful, tasty teas for a healthy start to the year.

Recent additions to our bulk Herbs & Spices wholesale offering are two popular flowers: lavender and butterfly pea flower. Let us explore these herbs for their traditional uses and how best to use them in your own blends.

Hohoho! The holiday season is here! Take advantage of the thirst for seasonal flavors with some of our perennial best selling teas in loose leaf bulk for wholesale.

Are you thinking of trying our new wholesale create-a-blend service for your business? If so, you might benefit from a few handy blending tips to get started.

Check out one of the newest additions to Adagio Teas is the SimpliciTEA Teapot. Added to our line of functional, stylish teaware back in May of 2019, this little teapot is the answer for tea fans that like the ease of a gravity style steeper but prefer glass.

Holiday gift items made easy for stocking your tea shop shelves. Advent calendars, electronic tea makers, loose leaf bestsellers, and more for your holiday success!

Our periodic tea exploring adventures have taken us recently to Vietnam as part of the Tea Masters Cup event. We explored ancient tea tree forests that are akin to the most famous ones in Yunnan, China.

Adagio Wholesale adds a new category for herbs and spices. Everything you need for enhance tea blends or creating your own.

Create-a-Blend coming to Adagio Wholesale!

Summer brings updates! Check out the new features and changes happening at AdagioXL! This is our B2B portal for businesses who purchase tea to resell. With over 20 years in the tea industry, we are happy to share our success with our business clients.

The hottest (or coolest) trends for summer and tea are those that combine tea with tasty things like lemonade, soda/sparkling water, boba, juices, and various adult beverages. It all starts with great quality tea and a great infusion.

The latest wave of trends in the tea world are spiritual/metaphysical in nature. The concept of holistically healing ties the ethereal and the sippable together. Spiritual healers of one sort or another are enhancing their offering with teas and herbal blends that support their clientele in the physical realm as they help work on their metaphysical growth.

May brings beautiful things such as flowers and tea harvests! As we seek the best of this year’s tea crops, your customers are seeking iced teas for the season.

What teas should you offer during the transitional spring month of April? Something warming for showers and something lively for flowers!

Despite what you might see online, there is still no cure for the common cold. That said, tea and tisanes may certainly help make their symptoms more tolerable. The mere act of sipping a hot beverage can ease congestion and soothe a scratchy throat. If you have to suffer, why not suffer with a hot cup of something lovely?

As your clients fight winter's frigid temps, help them hold on until spring with fun amorous, Valentine's tea fun! Whether your customers seek chocolaty teas or creamy, fruity flavors, we have them covered!

As we wiggle, wobble, and waddle from the holidays into the New Year, consumers will be seeking wellness help from their tea sellers. We have recently expanded our wellness options with two new teas: Minty Comfort and Speedy Recovery to help comfort during cold and flu season.

Festive tea options sparkle during holiday season as well as throughout the cold weather months. Be sure to include various chai blend options for hot tea, tea lattes, and boba if you serve it to warm those chilly winter souls.

Tea makes a great gift! It offers tastiness, comfort, self-care, and wellness all in one so be sure to have a vibrant tea gift offering this holiday season.

Sure, the rest of the world might be apple and pumpkin smitten right now, but tea aficionados are thinking about oolong teas. As the weather cools, and our bodies adapt to the season, a warm, toasty rock oolong or a crisp, lilting jade oolong sooth the soul and palate.

Tea has a long history of being associated with wellness. One of the very first things the early tea sippers in ancient China noticed was the way drinking a warm cup of camellia sinensis made them feel, so this association is well entwined within the history of tea. In addition, herbal infusions, aka tisanes, are also universally seen as folk medicine, are also viewed colloquially as "tea." This presents a unique problem for passionate tea lovers and sellers who have fallen in love with true tea, camellia sinensis, for its wonderfully vast variety of tastes. The problem it presents is that people seek tea for potential health benefits versus how it tastes versus seeking it for the enjoyment value.

While the August sun still burns brightly, each day is a little bit shorter as we approach autumn in the US. Now is the time to plan your autumn tea menu so you can purchase ahead and be ready when the hot tea seekers come calling.

With specialty tea continuing to gain ground as a go-to beverage at some point in consumers’ lives, coffee shops are seeking to embrace the trend and put more energy into their tea offering. Here are some basics!

Everything is coming up roses, as the old song says, but also hibiscus, apples, lemongrass, rose hips and a myriad of other botanical items that are trending intensely this year. Many consumers have incorporated some form of tea into their daily lives and it seems herbal infusions, aka tisanes are a staple.

Any good quality tea should lend itself well to being served hot or iced, so it is likely that your current menu bestsellers for hot tea service, can also transfer easily to iced tea.

There is a little winter left here in the northern hemisphere but most people are getting a sense that spring is near. With it comes the notion of nature renewal and the same in our selves.

Great things come from great beginnings, and if your primary product is one of these popular drinks, you must start with high quality leaves to achieve the aspired greatness.

As the holidays approach consumers will be focusing on what they are thankful for and finding ways to embrace the little joys in life. Be sure they include tea as one of those gems

While being conservative is usually a sensible option, when it comes to stocking up for the holidays, it might not be so. Holiday shoppers tend to be low on time and high on impulse, so if you do not have what they seek when they are in your shop, you might miss out on the sale entirely.

We often get questions about how to select teas for your offering. Whether a café or a tea retailer, the approach can be similar. Decide how many teas you wish to offer. This can be based on space constraints for storage or display as well as how many your staffer can feasibly handle. Regardless of how many teas you decide to offer, you will want to represent a couple teas from each tea category to present a balanced assortment.

Sweet summer is finally here and warm weather refreshment means iced teatime! Americans notoriously drink more iced tea than hot, so warm weather should yield good business.

With 2017 off to a tumultuous start for so many people, tea is more essential than ever. Everyone can benefit from the clarity and solace found in a good cup of our favorite beverage.

Tea industry veterans will clearly remember the tea landscape prior to Teavana populating malls throughout the US. It took a lot of preaching, teaching and convincing to get consumers to let go of their precious beany beverage and try something outside of a cup of coffee.

he holiday season is just around the corner! Now is the time to bulk up on stock and take advantage of newly arrived harvests. In addition to holiday treat teas, have plenty of customer favorites on hand to help them survive the most wonderful time of the year!

Tea and spice seem to go hand in hand. They pair so very nicely together that selling one can often lead to selling the other. So it is with our new bulk spice section!

September is the season of apples and spice! While consumers transition from the lazy days of summer to back-to-school and work schedules, be sure to offer the perfect pick-me-up!

Our wholesale partners can now earn loyalty points with every purchase! Many of you have suggested adding such a program over the year and we are happy to finally offer it!

Every four years the US goes a little crazy when the presidential election is at hand. This year is certainly no exception and quite possibly the worst one yet. What can a tea retailer expect?

During the warm summer months, iced teas reign supreme. The diverse palate preferences of millennials lean toward tropical with a hint of the exotic. Here are our picks for summer 2016.

Planes, trains and automobiles will carry tea industrialites* to Las Vegas mid-June to congregate at the World Tea Expo. With its move back to Sin City, it seems as if many of those who skipped Long Beach are eager to attend this year.

Often we talk about so many other factors of running a successful business but one of the most important can be overlooked. Consistency is essential to maintaining long-term relationships with your customers. Consistency applies to several aspects. Here are three.

Our product development team has been working overtime! Here are some new things to share with our wholesale clients!

Spring is here in the northern hemisphere and thoughts are already turning to iced teas. It can’t hurt to plan your iced tea offering now so you can stay ahead of seasonal sold outs as new harvest time approaches.

The recent news of Starbucks closing its Teavana tea bar concept locations, David’s Tea struggles and those of other retailers have independent tea shop owners a little leery. With the Internet’s ability to let a consumer purchase just about anything at a good price, what commodity will hold their interest and get them into a store?

March is exciting for tea people as the harvest season is right around the corner. For those of you who are new to the specialty tea industry, it’s important to know that the best teas are primarily harvested in the spring. Most tea companies will purchase in spring and early summer for the whole year.

Even with the economy pinching up a bit, tea still makes sense as an affordable luxury. With a tumultuous election year ahead in the US and weirdness all around the globe, tea offers comfort, energy and a respite from the stressors of modern life.

In recent months, Adagio Teas Wholesale has added some new features and we are working on still more.

Here in the US, January is National Hot Tea Month, which provides a great opportunity to promote tea and all it has to offer. It coincides with consumers seeking wellness options this time of year; be prepared to educate the wellness seeking, detox oriented, health-minded consumer.

Gourmet tea is truly hitting its stride as more and more mainstream consumers are embracing it as part of their daily lifestyle. While drawn to tea for the reputed health benefits, they stay with it for the wealth of flavors and superior taste.

Indications suggest that this will be a solid holiday season for tea sellers. Tea is trending, people are ready to do their holiday shopping, and tea awareness has never been better. If you’ve properly prepared for the season, you should be in good shape. Here are some thoughts/reminders for the depths of December

As luck would have it, an opportunity arose to travel to Japan to visit tea farms and meet the farmers. During my time in the tea industry, my palate has certainly evolved with experience and exposure to many teas, eventually settling on fine, crisp, lingering sencha as a personal and professional favorite.

The matcha tea trend is still going strong! Consumers enjoy the easy prep, rich taste, health benefits and versatility this tea has to offer. If you have not added matcha to you tea offering, you may wish to consider.

Nothing captures holiday season sales like ready-to-go gift sets. Shoppers get overwhelmed with the hustle bustle of the season and underestimate their time needs. Be their hero by making gift buying easy, which will pay off for you in added sales.

As the holiday season approaches October is a good time to update your Teamap listing for content as well as seasonal events.

August has galloped right along, taking the last bits of summer with it. Among the usual uptick in wholesale order volume and incoming shipments, a visit to our Adagio stores in the Chicago area was also on the schedule.

The time is nigh for holiday season planning! The busiest part of the year is essentially here for tea retailers. Heaven knows things have picked up on the wholesale side, which means stores are ramping up for autumn and the holidays. If you haven’t already, please consider doing the same. You will thank yourself later.

For your seasonal promos, consider a tea and cider infusion to draw in sippers and home steepers alike. Spiced tea blends pair very well with apple cider for autumnal enjoyment.

Humans are all born with a natural ability to detect sensations on our palate that we call taste. As we grow we quickly learn to associate taste with liking or disliking of any particular sampled item. We don’t necessarily have to discern anything particular about the item as all we need to know is do we or do we not like it. Here are some simple ways to begin learning tea tasting.

While enjoying the last weeks of summer, turn your thoughts to autumn and prepare for hot tea season. Plan your autumn tea menu now and stock up early to save time and energy later.

August is a good time to have your staff brush up on their sales spiel before the busy season arrives. Whether you have some new team members or veterans, everyone can use a little sales technique refreshers.

As tea grows in popularity the notion that tea is a medicine of sorts grows along with it. The traditional correlation between tea and good health is a strong one and leaves the every day consumer asking, “What will this tea do for me?”

Unless tea is being sniffed or slurped, it cannot speak for itself. Because of this, tea relies heavily on its loving human caretakers to relay its wonders to the world (and potential sippers.) Whether you are creating packaging, a menu or a website, the descriptions given to your teas can make or break their sales.

Every now and then we will notice a flavor trend blip on our radar while looking at other stats. Most recently, it appears that peach-flavored teas are unusually popular as we roll into summer. Sometimes national chains promoting a special item, such as beverage or confection, foster these trends.

With the wonderful tea renaissance happening these days, it is not surprising that people want to enjoy their tea with a little something extra. And by something extra, I mean something with a little kick.

Recently, the founder of a newly formed tea start-up asked what I wished that I knew when starting in the tea world nearly sixteen years ago. What advice would I give myself if I could go back and do so?

Tea is a natural product. The first sentence should surprise no one reading this article, but the significance of that statement might truly surprise the uninitiated.

So, have you read enough show recaps? If so, then you know most of us who attended and exhibited came back pretty exited. This year’s show, while smaller, seemed to have a vibrant energy.

At least the calendar says it’s spring. Some of those in the northern US may still feel a little frosty in the mornings but rest assured, winter is coming to a close. As the transition occurs, it is important to have a variety on your tea menu that reflects the changing season

Many of you are planning to attend the World Tea Expo in sunny Long Beach, CA in early May. Adagio Teas will be exhibiting again, this time at booth number 839. Our new items this year include some retail ready iced tea pouches that make one quart of cold brewed tea (or hot, to be poured over ice.) Easy preparation enables the home iced tea drinker to conveniently offer fresh, healthy iced tea to their families and introduce them to the world of gourmet tea. No sweeteners are added, so the consumer has ultimate control over the calorie content. Easy peasy!

Tea companies that do their own branding include brewing information for each tea on their packages. The idea of doing so is to offer their suggestion of how to bring out the best in each tea while ensuring success for tea newbies. When using these parameters, individual brewing circumstances can be quite different than those of your beloved tea vendor, occasionally causing unfavorable results. This can cause frustration and dismissal of a very good tea as bad by the user, whether a consumer or another tea purveyor, café, etc.

In the tea world, we all get requests for teas carried by competitors, which presents a dilemma: to conform and carry what everyone else has or to offer unique selections. The average tea consumer is not especially tea savvy. They have discovered better tea options in recent years, discovering alternatives to fanning-and-dust-filled, lackluster tea bags. But unless they become overnight aficionados, they won’t understand that all tea companies don't carry the same teas.

The smart tea purveyor is already thinking about spring, planning iced teas, menu changes and preparing a season ahead. While winter still holds us tightly, consider two tea trends: lattes and matcha. These are somewhat intertwined as matcha makes for a tasty latte.

Inspiration can come from the oddest places. Recently, we watched a documentary about bourbon, which struck a chord within. With elegance and warmth, the film informed the viewer about what bourbon is, where it comes from and most importantly about the passion of its devotees and distillers.

Reuters reports that there are indications that David’s Tea is preparing for their IPO. While their sources are anonymous, there is a strong possibility of accuracy. David’s Tea has been growing quickly and opening new stores rapidly in various high visibility markets to potentially sweeten the investor pool.

A few national advertising spots caught our eye this year. As tea consumption in the US has become more commonplace, perhaps promoting one’s brand as a source for the stuff makes the expense worthwhile.

The beginning of a new year is a good time to make changes to your tea offering while stock levels are lower and customer’s tastes are transitioning from indulgence to health consciousness. While you analyze bestsellers and sleeping, please recall that we now offer a Tea Market Snapshot that can be cater to your locality.

A Tea Scrooge is that inscrutable person, who stubbornly insists that they do not like tea. We have all encountered such resistant people in our tea lives. As tea enthusiasts and tea sellers, we feel compelled to show them the light. Tea, as we know it, encompasses such variety that we wonder how can anyone simply dismiss it as a whole?

Healthy habits start young! Be sure to have tea gift for children this holiday season. Tiny teapots and themed tea blends encourage small sippers to take time for tea and to eschew sugary beverages. Kids are persnickety so chose teas that are fruity flavored and maybe those with candy themes like chocolate and caramel. Most children find spiced teas to be an acquired taste, so perhaps stay clear of those. Parents will appreciate caffeine-free rooibos and fruit blends to keep the holiday bouncing to a minimum.

Often brick and mortar teashop owners worry about the proliferation of online tea businesses as threat to their business. Online shopping certainly offers convenience but it cannot replace the human factor. Brick and mortar stores offer much that can’t be replicated online.

Are your customers always looking for functional herbal blends to ease what ails them? Blending your own takes time and much research, which may have prevented you from filling this need.

The holidays are right around the corner! Hopefully, you already have a solid game plan and are well prepared for the season. If not, even late starters still have time to get a little holiday prep in before the busy season really takes off, but it would be best to rally now for a successful holiday season.

Tea gifts are the best gifts, say we! Be sure you have plenty to offer to make your shop the most convenient for your tea gift customers. Making your own gift sets is certainly an option. Packaged teas paired with a handy teaware item such as an infuser mug, at an attractive price point are sure to be bestsellers.

Regular users will have already noticed Teamap’s new elegant design. With a color palette change and more concise layout, Teamap is looking better than ever!

A decade and a half or so ago this debate would have been no contest in the world of fine teas. Loose tea was the only way to get the best quality. How times have changed. With the advent of the pyramid style teabag, which offers glorious room for leaves to unfurl, the choice has become about convenience and no longer about quality.

While those of us in the tea industry know that chai simply means tea, to the mainstream US consumer it means a spiced tea, usually sweetened and most likely with milk or cream. There's no use in fighting it. Chai in this context has taken on a life of its own and pervades the market in many forms such as shelf stable concentrates and powdered chai mixes as well as the more traditional leaf and spice blend

Ever wonder if your tea selection is doing its best for you? Are you missing trends and seasonal opportunities with your tea line? If you have answered yes to either of these questions, perhaps you would like a tea menu review.

The first crisp evenings that whisper of autumn’s arrival, have been cooling off summer's hot sunny days here in New England. With these whispers comes the soon to be ubiquitous pumpkin product onslaught. Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere!

Time to plan ahead to get a good supply of the items you wish to offer in your gift sets to ensure availability and no last minute shipping delays

Back to school time and the fall kick off are just around the corner. August is a good time of year to have a sale to clear out slow movers and make room for fresh stock. Your tea vendors are likely to start getting new harvests in soon, and you don’t want older lots lingering when new crops are coming into port.

The holiday season is not far off for those who retail. With this in mind we wanted to tell you early about our newest tea ware items now that they’ve arrived.

Engaging the customer during the summer has gotten easier over the years. What used to be tea’s off-season is now good business if you have an enticing iced tea offering. Premeasured pouches or simple instructions for using loose leaves enable the consumer to easily brew iced teas at a fraction of the cost of bottled beverages with ultimate control over added sweeteners.

Taste buds, that is! We are roughly two thirds through our cupping of new harvest teas and waiting on the next round. As with every year, some samples came in spot on while others require additional searching for the perfect lot

Trends this year will include the addition of fresh garden herbs to enhance the traditional iced tea glass. Keep fresh herbs on hand and use as a garnish or muddle in the bottom of a glass, then add iced and tea.

At the end of this month we will be exhibiting at the World Tea Expo in its new venue at Long Beach, California. While we are certainly looking forward to being out of the hot stare of the Nevada sun and feeling the Pacific breezes on our faces, mostly we are looking forward to seeing you.

At the first sign of snow melting after this long, cold winter, we couldn’t wait to launch a new tea for spring!

March is finally here with its promise of transition. The weather can take any form on any day this time of year; so while we may be wishing for springtime teas, keep those spiced teas handy for the blustery days and occasion snow squalls.

We will be heading to Chicago soon for the 2014 International Home + Housewares Show at McCormick Place. (March 15-18, 2014) One of our favorite venues with one of our favorite shows! If you plan on attending, please note that we have a new booth location S343.

February is upon us! Cold and snowy in most parts of the US and Europe, teatime was never more needed!

In tea news, Adagio Teas has added Japanese matcha green tea powder to our wholesale offering.

At some point as a tea business owner, you may wish to create something unique for your shop or recreate something you can no longer get from a vendor. Let us share some basics of tea blending to get you started.

Hope everyone had a happy and successful Q4. Now the holiday season is behind us and the New Year is an open road! What is your strategy for 2014? What would you like to do better?

Happy to announce that our new wellness blends called Body & Soul, are available to our wholesale clients in the loose-leaf bulk option.

The holiday season brings opportunities to businesses like no other time of year. Not only is it the busiest time for sales in the present, it is also a pivotal point of the year to make new customer relationships that can carry you throughout the year.

Last month we introduced children’s themed teas in gift tins and now happily to report they are favorably reviewed and selling well. Also available is a new line of wellness blends in gift tins called Body & Soul. So far they are also selling well! The teas (technically tisanes) are comprised of an assortment of herbs intended to support various needs.

In a few short weeks Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will be here! These two holidays overlap this year with Hanukkah a month ahead of Christmas, which may result in an unusual flow to the gift buying tide.

The big recent news in the tea world is that Teavana has opened its first concept store since being acquired by coffee industry giant Starbucks. While the move was certainly expected, it has sent ripples through the specialty tea industry as speculation circulates on what it affects it will have on independent retailers.

Hear ye, hear ye! Just in time for the gift-giving season, Adagio Teas is adding to our tea gift sets. Princesses, princes, astronauts, monsters and wee paleontologists can all now enjoy teatime. Three new sets each containing three new themed tea blends packaged in full-leaf pyramid teabags within playfully designed tea tins. All are caffeine-free and blended with young taste buds in mind.

October is one of the very best months of the year. The weather tends to be forgiving, the deciduous trees turn an array of lovely colors and our palates are ready for some spice. Fortunately, tea and spices are an ancient and favorable combination and lend themselves well to this colorful time of year.

As the holidays approach many of you are planning events, promos and gift offerings. As business starts to increase, so will the demands on your time and energy. October is likely the last chance you really have to get organized and trouble shoot your operations.

Every September the denizens our town eagerly await the annual reopening of the local cider mill. Only open from September through the holiday season, the cider mill is a popular stop for locals and tourists alike who come to partake in pick-your-own apples and of course, delicious cider.

As holiday season lurks in the shadows, it is time to think about purchasing key items to entice the gift shopper. As tea enjoyment becomes more mainstream, tea gifts will follow suit.

Along with the annual arrival of fresh teas from origin, this fall we will be adding four new blends. Pu’erh tea is an aged tea where the leaves go through a natural fermentation process. The result is smooth and refreshing with reputed health benefits touted by popular health pundits.

As the summer of 2013 draws to a close, the smart retailer is already planning for fall teas, back to school, and the holiday season And perhaps taking one long breathe before the busy season comes.

To better support our wholesale clients, we are happy to introduce a new feature to help make selling our teas even easier. Product images of purchased items will be automatically added to a client’s account. The images can then be used for their own marketing purposes such as websites, email promos or tea menus.

During the month of August, please take time while the remaining slow season is here to review and update your Teamap listing.

Those readers who also are wholesale client of ours, may have noticed a new look when logging into our wholesale website. Happy to say that after a long wait, our wholesale clients can now enjoy the same features and beautiful functionality of our retail site users.

When chatting with tea business folks, the topic often turns to hiring help. Finding the right personalities for a staff that is cohesive and productive can be more challenging than hiring a few nice folks.

As we slide in July and the hot summer months here in the US, everyone’s iced tea plan should be in full effect to convert those non-tea holdouts into tea enthusiasts.

May went by in the blink of an eye and June is already upon us. With it comes the World Tea Expo, which is June 7-9th in sunny Las Vegas. Many of you are attending this year and I’m looking forward to seeing all tea-friends and clients who will visit our booth.

Here at Adagio Teas we often get asked for teas with certain functions, such as those to help one sleep. Our TeaSmart readers may receive similar inquiries and so we thought it might be helpful to share how to advise your clients with some herbal blends as well a little sleep advice

As most of our TeaSmart readers know, TeaMap is an online listing of tearooms. It is a free service provided by Adagio Teas for both tearoom owners and tearoom visitors to help build the growing US tea industry.The tearoom owner can manage their listing on TeaMap by adding pictures, events, hours and a description of their business. The description is referred to as the ‘overview’ in the TeaMap admin and should contain a detailed description to complete the listing.

National Strawberry Month sounds delicious! Here in New England we really embrace the seasons and the tasty bounty that they bring. Toward the end of May, our local farmers offer Pick Your Own Strawberries and nearby towns have festivals celebrating these darling little fruits.

very thriving team-like entity, be it a family, school or business, requires good communication. Your business probably has many parts to run efficiently; and so many of these parts are human. Humans require information to operate optimally and the only way to disseminate information is communication.

April is finally here and for those of us coming to the end of our North American winter, it arrives not a moment too soon. And while still chilly, many of our clients are already planning their iced teas for the summer. We are thinking of summer as well. Maybe it was the many shovelfuls of snow we moved after Blizzard Nemo or maybe it was the long windy night Superstorm Sandy raged through the northeast, but we are looking especially forward to warm sunny days.

Moms and tea are inextricably connected in my mind. My mother is and has always been a tea drinker. Growing up, tea was invariably available in our house to comfort, revive or console when needed, much like a mom in its own way. Giving any mother teatime is an act of care and completes a perfect comfort-giving cycle.

Tea purveyors should be able to cup tea in order to decide their product line, conduct quality control and to describe and speak knowledgably about their teas. Here are a few quick cupping tips...

March 2013 has much to offer for events and occasions. Passover, Easter the official beginning of spring as well as St Patrick’s Day festivities. Keep the decorations handy for quick changes and have holiday tea promotions ready to go! Now although the snow is stilling falling here in Connecticut, let us talk about ice tea.

Your poor customers likely made resolutions early in January only to have them undermined by sweet, innocent February - the month that comes in quietly and entices everyone to indulge in chocolates and pink candy hearts

When we first encounter a customer looking for tea or tea time, our initial approach is quite important. Whether coaching new staff members or just for our selves, having some suggestions, reminders and what seems to work for others helps greatly in improving this valuable interaction.

Fruit tisanes are herbal blends comprised primarily of dried fruit and usually have the addition of some herbs such as rose hips and hibiscus. Very popular in Europe they have developed a faithful following in the US. The infusions they yield are naturally sweet and if they contain hibiscus, refreshingly tangy.

With the holiday season in the rear view mirror, we move boldly (mostly) into a bright and shiny new year. For most retailers this is a time of being less busy with the exception of gift returns and gift card redemption.

While most of us are just catching our breath from the frenzied holiday season (many of you reported record breaking results -congrats!), it is already time to think about the next retail-gift-event bonanza. Yes, Valentine’s Day is coming soon and it is best to plan and purchase now, than to scramble when February 1st pops up on the calendar.

While gift shopping this holiday season, I found myself in a local JC Penney partially for gift shopping and partially out of curiosity. There has been much in the news about JC Penney’s change in leadership in the past year as well as the attempt transition their image and business style.

Big news hit the specialty tea industry recently with the announcement of coffee behemoth Starbucks buying specialty tea retailer Teavana.

Can you believe it is already December? We are two thirds through Q4 and sliding into the chunkiest, most hectic part of the year. Although, those of you in the northeastern US know that November was unusually challenging post Hurricane Sandy.

With corporate America taking notice of specialty tea and strong support from influential celebrities like a certain daytime TV doctor, we are likely to see an influx of tea novices (noobs, in geek speak.

And just like that - it’s November! Month of many things, November 2012 boasts a presidential election as well as the usual the kick-off to the holiday season. Post-election, hopefully everyone can relax, have some tea and chat about the weather.

The holiday season means entertaining - possibly more so than any other time of the year. Encouraging customers to incorporate tea into their holiday settings builds and shares a warm, relaxing, tea-centric lifestyle. Inviting blends and charismatic teaware set the stage for adding tea to a holiday table. Create vignettes in your shop to show your customer an appealing display they can easily envision in their home.

Last month kicked off with a blast of energy from World Tea East. The show was in Philly for its second year at the very beginning of October. Attendees came to our booth almost steadily for the first day and even with some frequency on the second day. It was great fun as usual to show off our teas, wares and gift items as well as seeing and meeting east coast tea folk.

While merely October, savvy retailers know the season of giving will soon be upon us. Gorgeous tea wares and delectable teas always make for great gifts as they provide comfort, beauty and enjoyment.

Leaves are falling, pumpkins are aglow and evenings are chilly, which can only mean it is October- and officially fourth quarter. Now is the time to ensure bright holiday successes by drawing in customers who seek warming refreshments and getting them to think TEA for holiday gift giving.

There’s absolutely no good reason to eat a Twinkie. (Hang with me here Hostess fans.) The iconic sugary, crème filled sponge cake has virtually no nutritional value. There is nothing in it that is going to make you thinner, prettier, anti-oxidize you or make you live longer.

Cool autumn air breezes in to refresh everything, while deciduous trees make the world grandly colorful. For those of us in the tea world, it’s prime tea time. Vacations are over, everyone returns to their normal flow of life, and hot beverages keep the machine in motion.

Back for its second year, World Tea East is coming to Philadelphia on October 2-3 to bring east coast tea industry professionals together. Happy to say that Adagio Teas will be exhibiting again, with yours truly waiting to meet you at booth 201

While August may not have any major holidays, it resonates with most as the end of summer – the season is a holiday in itself! A few short weeks and it will be time for back to school and dreaded daily grind. As the summer winds down, iced teas are still on tap and popular as ever. The increase in tea consumption continues to grow as tea edges its way into the mainstream.

Peaches! Whether baked with cinnamon in a cobbler or simply sliced fresh (and quickly devoured), peaches are a great summer treat. Generally in season from May to September, this year’s unusually warm weather has pushed many crops forward. August may be your last chance to enjoy ripe peaches fresh from the orchard.

Our long popular personaliTEA ceramic teapot is now part of a family. Previously, this 21ounce, easy to use little beauty was only available in snowy white. We are very pleased to announce a plethora of colors to match different moods, themes or décor.

If your tearoom or shop offers tea flights or origin tastings, you may wish to check out our Rwanda Rukeri offering. This full-bodied black tea has character reminiscent of Assam, Kenyan and some Ceylon teas

The anticipated news has been revealed! Now we can settle our bets, as they have announced plans to open a teashop in the Seattle area for their Tazo brand in October of this year.

July is the perfect summer month in the northern hemisphere, and is all about beaches, picnics, vacations and cold beverages. In years past, July would slow dramatically for tea people and all but come to a standstill. These days the culture seems to be changing and more and more iced tea is becoming the refreshment of choice.

June is here and summer will officially begin! While many tea businesses will slow down due to warmer weather and vacationing locals, there are still ways to drive business.

Tea professionals gathered this week in Las Vegas for the 10th World Tea Expo. Show and industry veterans reminisced and waxed poetic about the show and evolution of the US tea industry.

On the way to the World Tea Expo, a side mission was on my itinerary. This mission was to check out a new commercial coffee brewer which made its maiden appearance at the recent SCAA show in Portland, OR. The darling of the show, this intriguing machine drew daily crowds as people watched the baristas brewing coffee in its four chambers.

Iced Tea season might be here a little ahead of schedule this year, but May is always a perfectly good month to get started. With specialty tea becoming more popular, your iced tea offering should be in great demand. Amazingly diverse and wonderfully refreshing, iced tea can both quench the thirst and convert the masses to the wonders of full-leaf tea.

Coming up soon is the 2012 World Tea Expo! Once again convening in Las Vegas, June 1-3 are this year's dates for specialty tea industry’s business-to-business event.

Spring and summer are busy times for tea room owners. Here are some answers to our most frequent questions about Teamap!

April is a lovely month, notorious for showers and flowers here in the Northeast though this year head start on the latter! Easter and Passover fall early in the month while Earth Day and Arbor Day (Hug a Tree!) are in the second half. It is also National Autism Awareness Month and National Poetry Month. It seems April is full of fun and meaningful themes for your tea business!

Just last night, a national news show aired a segment about researchers and doctors announcing that sugar is toxic. The news of course, is not new to those of us in the tea industry. Many of us were drawn to tea because we were looking to avoid sugary beverages and found tea to have fabulous flavor and soothing effects. We got lucky early and discovered that a well-brewed cup of tea needs no enhancement and have benefited since.

Blossoms blooming, bees are buzzing and teas are brewing. This year we are happy to present a lovely collection of three springtime blends in decorative tins for Mother's Day (or any of your vernal gift giving occasions) packaged in a handsome gift box.

March: The third month of the year and the end of the first quarter. It also signifies a transition in the northern hemisphere to spring and the vernal equinox. For tea sellers it can denote a transition in tea offering.

Five years ago my tea journey took a turn. After many years with the now defunct SpecialTeas and in need of a change, I'd considered leaving tea altogether with the notion of seeking new challenges. A mutual friend and client was kind enough to connect me to Adagio Teas prior to making that somewhat hasty exit from the world of tea.

If your Victorian themed tearoom is experiencing an uptick in popularity of late, you may be benefiting from a renewal of interest in 19th century culture.

For those of you who retail and maybe even those of you who don't, we just added a beautiful romance themed gift set. Called Love Petals, our new gift set contains three artfully decorated tea tins each filled with and enchanting new blends sure to entice the shopper and the sipper alike.

Adagio Teas recently announced the release of the second version of Teamap for iPhone. TeaMap is the online destination for finding tearooms in and around your area.

January went but like a lightning bolt and fabulous February is at hand! One twelfth of the year is done and from the looks of January it is shaping up to be a nice one!

We made it through another 365 days on our spinning planet and are ready to welcome the next. The recent holiday season was hard to predict and delivered a sort of roller coaster ride for many. Hopefully all our readers landed on the upside and had a terrific season.

Indulge in too many sugarplums? We all do it this time of year and then face January with regret. What can we offer the customer wanting to lighten up and re-point their dietary intake? What flavors are popular with the post-holiday side of winter?

It is always great to receive new products, but we are especially pleased to announce the addition of cast iron teapots to our wholesale offering. Long used in Japan and revered for their elegance, durability and heat retention, cast iron teapots have become a popular choice for tea enthusiasts in the western parts of the globe.

Welcome to December! It is hard to believe we are in the very last month of the year and knee deep in the holiday season. Tea retailers are going full throttle selling tea gifts and tea servers are brewing up holiday treats.

While everyone's focus right now is on the season at hand, the December holidays, the smart tea purveyor should have or should be thinking about their January plan. While most retailers see a big slow down in January, those who sell hot beverages should not feel quite the same dip in activity.

Throughout the month of December, your selling skills will be put to the test. Volume, exhaustion and harried customers will combine to make you less than your usual sparkling self.

In October many of our tea friends mentioned they were just trying to get their minds around the holiday season. It seems to be upon us quickly this year and there will be a scramble for gifty things. The good news, like every year, is that tea is a great gift: It's useful, guilt-free, generally healthy and oh-so-affordable. The tricky part is the packaging.

Nothing makes a person appreciate the little things like difficult times. Whether the difficulties are personal or more visceral like losing heat and power during a storm, sometimes circumstances can makes us ponder what we really need in life.

Sometimes, for all your planning and persistence, things just go awry. Unforeseen obstacles present themselves at the worst possible times and cause ripples that seemingly affect everything in their path. When this happens it is easy to focus on problems. They certainly demand attention and require it for correction but too many times business folks will fixate on the negative.

No one really knew what to expect from World Tea East that was held in Philadelphia early September, but many of us were delightfully surprised. Despite foul weather causing floods and travel delays en route to the show, it certainly seemed well attended and as effective as the Las Vegas show.

It's October and all palates turn to the seasonal goodness of pumpkin! The highly celebrated king of squash, pumpkin reigns supreme over the late part of the year.

One of the most important things you can do as your busy season approaches, is staff training and education. Most businesses add new staffers for the busy holiday season and will need to focus on various aspects of training the new hires as well as getting seasoned staffers to brush up and be ready for what lies ahead.

While chatting with a tea friend last week, who is also in the business of tea, we happened upon the topic of sales skills. When one thinks about selling, it is very easy to conjure up the caricature of a sleazy, do-anything-for-the-sale, kind of a used car guy. If this is what your teashop staff thinks about selling, you might have to deprogram them a bit.

Eastern US tea folks are heading to Philadelphia this month for the World Tea East September 9-10. This trade show and educational conference brings tea professionals together for networking, honing skills and sourcing.

Our local meteorologist, who has been busy as a bee with Hurricane Irene, tweeted this morning that September 1 is the meteorological beginning of fall. For tearooms, tea purveyors and moms, autumn brings relief. For us teafolks, cooler weather and back to school signal the end of summer and the beginning of increased tea enjoyment.

In the past month or so since the World Tea Expo, I've had the opportunity to chat with many of our clients and tea friends about life, the expo, and the tea industry in general. One recurring theme kept popping up in conversation - the Teavana IPO.

The Specialty Tea industry is ever growing and evolving. There is a typical ebb and flow of businesses that come and go. The same is usually true for trends, but over the past year or two what we seem to be seeing in the tea biz, is specialization in a specialty market. That is to say, some new tea businesses are developing niche products.

August is here and so we have reached late summer. As the season starts to wind down remember to squeeze in some beach time, lake time, picnic time and fall planning time. The latter does not sound nearly as fun as the others, but you will be thanking yourself once the fall hits and things get back to their hectic pace.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, July brings the famous sultry weather associated with the "Dog Days of Summer." This time of year is named for Sirius the Dog Star and the ancient beliefs associated with its position in the heavens above. July days are typically hot and long, created a desire for cold beverages and lots of them.

Last week's World Tea Expo went by so very quickly. The tea intensive show was jam-packed with activity and seemed to speed by. Our booth this year had a stronger presentation of our loose tea offering and this certainly seemed to attract more booth visitors.

Fans of our modestly priced, bestselling, variable temperature kettle, UtiliTEA will be glad to see a slightly more upscale version in our new VarieTEA Kettle.

Don't forget (how could we?) that June is National Iced Tea Month! An American favorite, iced tea still makes up about 85% of all tea consumed in the US, so make sure you have some delicious offerings. A great substitute for sugary sodas and juices, iced tea is refreshing and needs little to no sweetening if made properly.

One of the most popular features Teamap has to offer is the "Promote Your Tearoom" service. By using this function, tearoom owners can enter a promotional email that will be sent by the Teamap administrators to Teamap users who are registered to receive info in that Tearoom's locality.

We are gearing up and finalizing details for the upcoming World Tea Expo at the end of this month, where we will turn Sin City into (Camellia) SINensis City. (hehe!) Hopefully, all our tea-friends will be attending this exciting three-day event.

May has always been one of my favorite months. Spring begins to fully bloom where I live in the Northeast with its promise of April showers bringing May flowers.

Last month, as many of you know, I went on a tea trip to China with two colleagues for Adagio Teas. Suzette Hammond was kind enough to write about our trip as we went along, but I'd also like to share a few personal impressions of the trip.

As many of you know, selling tea is not for the faint of heart. With so little inherent tea culture in the US and the proliferation of coffee in the last century, getting into tea retailing is not even remotely a get rich quick endeavor.

Spring has finally sprung and all things in nature are sprouting - flowers, grasses and our favorite sprout - tealeaves! Happy and excited (practically delirious) to announce that this month I will get the honor of witnessing these sprouts and their transformation into the various kind of tea on a trip to China!

Among the usual April occasions such as National Poetry Month, Earth Day, Arbor Day, and Conch Republic Day in Key West, this year April will boast the added celebration of a royal wedding. Teamap users are already adding events to celebrate the special occasion.

Will you be attending the World Tea Expo this year? If so, you can register for free general admission and 20% off Core Conference Seminars until April 22nd.

Per Wikipedia, March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of the seven months that are 31 days long. It is typically a month of wild weather transitions, as winter officially leaves on March 20th and spring (finally) arrives.

We've been slowing adding requested blends to our selection over the past few months and February was no exception. In case you missed the direct email we sent mid-month we are happy to introduce a lemon-cream rooibos blend we lovingly call Rooibos Lemon Cloud.

In years past, March has given the first whispers of the tea harvest season. Sometimes, when the weather is right and conditions are prefect, you might even see a first flush Darjeeling harvest oh so early. If we get so lucky this year, it is always a treat to have the first leaves of spring in our cups. Be sure to keep a close watch on your tea vendors, if you are interested in early crops.

For those of you who regularly manage your Teamap listing we have some updates to tell you about, but we want to start with a little basic information for those who may not be that familiar with some of the features.

Without Valentine's Day what would frosty February really have going for it? Boasting only a couple of presidential birthdays and a questionable marmot weather forecaster, February would be a winter wasteland and 28 (or 29) days of dismal mid-winter doldrums for anyone living in the colder regions.

Recently we had he pleasure of adding green rooibos to our tea offering. I'm happy to say they could not have come at a better time. Some of our wholesale customers needed to replace a few green rooibos blends from a vendor who is no longer in business but also because of this darned winter.

Welcome to a new year with new hopes, dreams and all the promise of the future. While I don't believe in New Year resolutions (because I think we should revise as we go and resolve to make change as necessary- blah, blah, blah), I do think taking stock of the successes and missed marks of the past year can provide valuable information for the coming year. Most importantly, setting reasonable goals and a strategy of how to achieve them.

There's a lot of winter left and tea is the perfect comfort food. Non-caloric when pure, full of flavor and natural soul soothing L-Theanine, I can't think of a winter where tea didn't see me through.

The past couple of years have certainly been a challenge for most tea retailers and 2010 was no exception. While tea culture in the US is certainly on the upswing and many tea centric businesses saw a delightful bounce back in interest, traffic flow and sales, this year still found a way to kick us in the shins - or in the teacup, as it were...

Every year the holiday season has inherent challenges such as what to offer, how much of it to buy and what events to plan. There is also always the conflict of whether to offer the traditional versus what is novel. Should you go with the tried and true or be daring and take risks with the new and untested?

In case you are looking for some holiday teas to add merriment to your tea offering for the season, we would like to suggest the following time tested deliciousness...

You might have visions of sugarplums dancing in your head but you should be strategizing. No other time of year will so many people come through your door. The holiday season is the perfect opportunity to sow some seeds of information and build your client base.

Sometimes in any business it becomes necessary to transition from old faithful products to new ones. This can be stressful and even traumatic for you and your customers when dealing with a comfort food such as tea.

With the holidays fast approaching, entertaining at home is on everyone’s minds. Guests will be coming, meals are to be prepared and tables to be set. Holiday decor can mean so much when gathering with loved ones so it is important to set a festive tone

Are you wondering where the year went? Seems like moments ago we were celebrating 2010 as a brand new year and making plans and goals for the months to come when - lo and behold we are all knee deep in Q4 poised to do the most business of the year.

The famous Shakespeare quote is, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet." This may be true but when it comes to tea names, capturing the essence of the blend and adding a touch of romance is helpful to the customer and good marketing.

October is one of my favorite months - colorful trees, refreshing cooler temperatures and all the fun of autumnal festivities. A lot of people feel this way so it makes sense to incorporate the seasonal info your business. Craving tastes of autumn and attracted to seasonal decorations make sure customers will be drawn to you. It is a good time to advertise seasonal menus, special autumn events and partake in some local festivals to get the word out about your business.

Yerba Mate has long been a social beverage in South American countries such as Argentina and Brazil. It is customary to enjoy a gourd-full of brewed mate and sip through a metal straw while enjoying the drink and the company of friends and companions.

With most of summer in the rear view mirror, it is time to keep a keen eye on the road before us. Some of the more savvy tea businesses have already begun their planning and purchasing of teas and wares for the fall and holiday seasons.

September signals our "prepare for autumn" response and thus, many tea businesses are already seeking suggestions for fall teas. Nothing quite embraces the season like a delightful array of teas to brew. Make sure you have the flavors well represented by the following blends.

As summer winds down and hot days start to give way to cooler nights hinting at the soft approach of autumn, it is time for the savvy tea business owner to plan, plan, and plan some more.

If you have been in the tea business for a few years and have survived the last couple, you have likely vaulted over some pretty high hurdles. Congratulations! Many small businesses never make it to where you are - many never make it out of the first year, sadly.

August is our last chance to enjoy what summer has to offer as the season seemingly spirals quickly into back-to-school and spills us headlong in to fall. As your customers come in still feeling the golden glow of late summer, offer them refreshment in the form of delicious caffeine-free fruit blends.

Are you berry crazed? We love berries, especially July's beautiful blueberries. Some blueberry tea suggestions for your iced tea offering and an ingenious brew method.

June has gone by fast and furiously for us at Adagio Teas with so many recent trade shows. As always it was great to get out and meet folks! For those that we had the pleasure of seeing, hope you enjoyed the shows as much as we did and think you will agree that every show was high energy, bustling with activity and really a great sign that the economic squeeze is relinquishing its boa constrictor-like grasp.

The dream I had eleven years ago, first starting out in the fine tea world as an enthusiast turned tea biz manager, was that a tea drinker could walk into almost any establishment and find great tea has been coming closer and closer to fruition. This dream seems to be shared by many in the tea industry and is perhaps what unites us.

June kicks off the season of summer berry-liciousness! Berries are one of nature's gifts of wonder. Not only do they offer antioxidants galore but more importantly - fresh, ripe, in-season berries really deliver fabulous flavor. As tea people, we are incredibly spoiled - strawberry teas are available all year to delight our palates. Even so, every June thoughts turn to strawberry teas with more intensity.

Finding your tearoom just got easier for the iPhone set! Ever keeping in step with technology, Adagio Teas has released TeaMap for iPhone.

A little reminder about tea enjoyment and how it enhances life in tumultuous times. Refocus yourself and guide your customers through tea appreciation.

Trade show season heats up with the weather this time of year and we will be out and about. Here are a few shows we never miss:

With our tea room directory TeaMap growing more popular, more questions arise about rankings and what they mean. Read on to learn a little about how rankings are determined and how to handle not being Number One.

For all the rain much of the country has had in March, we certainly hope to be spared April's showers this year. Although, we will gladly take May flowers as early as possible, pretty please!

We've been gleaning insights from TeaMap reviews. The current customer weather seems to be "stormy" with a chance of complaints and grumpiness. Bring your umbrella, read on and March will be in like a lion and with some TLC out like a lamb.

Looking to refresh your tea service? March is a great month to celebrate Irish heritage with St Patrick's Day and the awakening of Spring with fine green teas. While Irish Breakfast might be the traditional brew of the occasion, the great popularity of green teas should also be embraced.

Lately, tea news alerts have fallen down the rabbit hole! Reclaim the term "Tea Party" with a Mad Tea Party tea event!

From ground dwelling prognosticating rodents to chocolate hearts to presidents, February certainly has an eclectic lot of themes. Valentine's Day and all its sweetness gets the most amount of attention of course, because what else can so effectively distract us from our winter doldrums than love and sweet treats?

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 hopes that it will bring less misfortune and greater good for all.

Cross-sell by providing small lists of teas that people who buy a particular tea also enjoy. For example, if a customer is deeply attached to Irish Breakfast, they may also enjoy a hearty Assam or a full-bodied China black tea. A green tea aficionado may enjoy a lightly oxidized oolong. Darjeeling lovers also seem to enjoy Fancy Formosa Bai Hao style oolongs.

Winter is upon us and entered in grand style this past week by besieging those of us in New England with unrelenting snow and wind. Now that the holidays have past, we take a moment to catch our breath and consider the dark-eyed junco.

...Is not for the faint-hearted. There has been so much anticipation and so much debate about how much stock to carry or not carry. And oh so much nervousness! But by all accounts, people are out there, spending and looking for ways to gift appropriately and make the people in their lives feel special.

Loose bulk teas, gourmet tea bags and even retail ready Adagio branded tins are available for wholesale purchase. Our famous ingenuiTEA tea maker as well as an assortment of lovely glassware can be purchased by the case at special wholesale pricing.

Every shop owner and tearoom owner I've gotten to know over the years has a tendency to work themselves into oblivious this time of year. This season especially you might have not hired as much help as in years past with the dismal economic news. Remember that managing stress is as vital as managing your business, so here a few tips for keeping yourself healthy this holiday season.

The holiday season can be enormously stressful, even more so during difficult economic times. Anyone who has spent any time in retail or in customer service has likely seen the darker side of human nature when someone forgets their manners and is, shall we say, less than respectful.

Just in time for the holidays, Adagio Teas Wholesale has added two new lines to our bulk tea offerings. Fabulous chai blend and some rather cutting edge new teas to tantalize taste buds! Also our ever-popular holiday teas are ready to go!

Growing up in New England, I've always come to think of autumn as the season of change. Deciduous trees shedding their leaves denote this transition of nature clearing out the old in anticipation of the new. And so it was for me one autumn ten years ago as I was leaving behind an old career in anticipation of something new.

Guess what? It's October! That means leaves are changing, cooler weather, hayrides and pumpkin carving - ah, so idyllic! But it also means it is officially fourth quarter. Eeeek!

If your tea business is like most, you are about to get busy. Finally! After the long, slow pace of summer, people are getting back to school, back to work and that means...Tea Time!

Once upon a time life was easy. Historical sales information was a reliable indicator of what could be expected year-to-year and season-to-season. Recent times have been tricky, unprecedented and downright unpredictable. This makes it very hard to project sales and determine how much stock to have on had at any given time. While over-buying seems likely to be a huge pitfall, under-buying is just as serious a business mistake. Let us ponder which is the lesser of two evils.

Summer can be long and painful for the fine tea purveyor. Even though iced tea is such a popular beverage, the hot version is what sustains throughout the year and generally the focus of tea businesses. And given the current economic climate, this means more pain for most than the usual seasonal slowdown.

Recently it seems more and more people are going to tearooms for the first time. This is a very good thing, and generally they enjoy it immensely, however the comment frequently heard is lack of a strong tea presence. They expected more tea selection and to learn more about this previous brew. How can this be in such an enlightened age?

In today business world it is becoming increasingly more important to have a web presence. Even if you do not actually sell products online or even in your tearoom or cafe, people frequently do online searches to find information about a business before they go. Sometimes all they need is business hours, address or a phone number, but it creates a great opportunity to grab their attention, let them know what you offer and what they can expect when they visit.

Every summer New York City's Javits center is the venue for the NASFT Fancy Food Show - a veritable cakewalk of treats and trends in the gourmet food industry. As many of you also offer food or sweets to go with your tea selection, it seems like a good topic to cover.

Even the best tea businesses have felt the recent economic contraction - some more dramatically than others. While difficult times may cause anxiety and stress, it is not a time to worry, pace and ring ones hands. One thing any business owner has too little of is time, so if you are finding yourself with a little too much of this precious resource, here are some ways other business owners are putting it to good use.

Every May TeaMap is loaded with Mother's Day events, but as June rolls in there is nary a one for Father's Day. Interesting. Why such gender disparity? True, many a tearoom is Victorian and a bit heavy on the frou-frou to appeal to the average guy, but don’t dads deserve the same opportunity for a day out and all the special goodies that come with a tea service?

This time of year is magical for those of us who have suffered through a long New England winter now that the weather has stabilized and summer will soon officially arrive. As picnics, patio dinners and grilling almost anything you can eat become popular pastimes, iced tea becomes the beverage of the season!

May is usually quite a glorious month, with all of nature kicking it into high gear, and numerous special occasions to celebrate! Aside from the annual pollen attack, it is one of my favorite months of the year.

Over the past couple of years blooming teas have really blossomed (sorry – couldn't resist) in popularity. The visual impact of the slowly unfurled hand-tied leaves accounts for the immense draw these teas possess. Their beauty and exquisite nature make any tea moment a celebration.

Finally with winter in our rear view and nature slowly reawakening we can enjoy the renewal and hope of this trans-formative season - Spring! There still may be rain and snowstorms about but even the massive yield of a blizzard is no match for the warm weather hopping down the bunny trail.

Spring usually brings a flurry of activity in the tearooms. In almost every way this is a very good thing, but it will also mean an increase in reviews of your business on reviewer sites such as TeaMap and the like. Most of the time reviews are positive things with the occasional constructive criticism, but good-natured overall. But every now and then someone will really rip your business in a very public way. When someone negatively comments about something you are passionate about it can really sting.

Chances are good your customers have a touch of cabin fever, which will segue this month into an acute case of spring fever. Welcome the arrival of nature’s reawakening with spring themed events. A chance to learn paired with having tea is a win-win.

One of the most popular tea blends for any tea company is Irish Breakfast. Traditionally a hearty brew that usually gets its familiar malty character from a rich Assam and is good with cream and sugar. It is bold enough to stand up against a stout TIB - traditional Irish breakfast - or a hearty plate of corned beef and cabbage.

Many of you have already planned your special events for Valentine's Day and are hoping for booked tearooms. In making your event a success, give special consideration to your tea offerings. It's always good to offer both flavored and non-flavored teas especially when a meal is part of the special event menu. We suggest either a nice second flush Darjeeling or a more intriguing choice such as a fine Ti Kuan Yin oolong.

Economic uncertainty has everyone nervous. The media seems hell bent on reporting the bad news and giving us very little good news to keep us going. People are scared to spend money even if they are not feeling a financial pinch. It has been reported that shoppers and corporations are afraid that they will look insensitive to the current struggles of others and are buying less, canceling major events, and reining in spending in general. All this contributes to a downward spiral.

What a year 2008! Many of us are still scratching our heads or reeling from all the upheaval and uncertainty. Hopefully, the worst is behind us and as we move into 2009 we can focus on healing, rebuilding and re-growth.

With two more months of winter left to endure, we are still in peak tea selling season. Freshen up your tea selection, revive your menu and keep the ball rolling. Some of your vendors may be out of some items post-holiday season, but don't be afraid to try some new teas out on an ever more sophisticated tea customer.

Retailing in this unsteady economic climate has been particularly challenging. Fortunately, tea is one of the healthiest comfort foods as well as an affordable luxury. It seems the tea retailers that are doing the best are the ones who really understand this and are able to convey it to their customers.

Every shop owner and tearoom owner I've gotten to know over the years has a tendency to work themselves into oblivious this time of year. This season especially you might have not hired as much help as in years past with the dismal economic news. Remember that managing stress is as vital as managing your business, so here a few tips for keeping yourself healthy this holiday season.

The autumn colors are more muted now. The bright yellows and reds have given way to mellow honeys and russets. Some trees are nearly naked with only the most tenacious leaves still clinging to their branches. With so much beauty surrounding us it is important to take moment to appreciate these little things in life. During this season of change as we all wait and watch, financial markets and the future seem to quiver like willows on a fault line.

In today business world it is becoming increasingly more important to have a web presence. Even if you do not actually sell products online or even in your tearoom or cafe, people frequently do online searches to find information about a business before they go. Sometimes all they need is business hours, address or a phone number, but it creates a great opportunity to grab their attention, let them know what you offer and what they can expect when they visit.

Roobos' Sweeter Sister - In recent years, Rooibos also known as African Red Tea has become quite the celebrity. Appearing in wild blends, hip new pyramid bags and even in super trendy RTD bottles, Rooibos is as popular as a young starlet. But Rooibos is not the only caffeine-free herbal beauty Africa has to offer. Just out of the limelight, is her lesser-known sister, Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.) Equally as rich in reputed health benefits, just as valuable as a tea placebo for the late night sipper, and perhaps just a bit more approachable.

Ramping Up for Fall

Working Together to Grow

Choosing and Selling a Tea You Hate

Tips for Success

What's In Your Cup?

Happy New Year!