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We will always have tea
Known to contain antioxidants that are beneficial to health and well-liked because of its taste, tea is also considered to have strong business potential.
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e all have a soft spot for tea. It could be the strong black tea we choose instead of coffee to help us wake up and complete our breakfast, for instance. Apart from its antioxidant properties, black tea – which has a stronger flavor as well - contains more caffeine than other teas, but still less than coffee.
It could also be the green tea that we like to sip after a sinful lunch, because this type of tea is said to be linked to weight loss. According to Healthline, green tea is loaded with antioxidants including epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which can improve metabolism by boosting the effects of some fat-burning hormones including norepinephrine.
And then, enter Taiwanese bubble tea, which has caused long lines at bubble tea stalls and even led to “boba festivals”. But as the times have abruptly changed, we see no more lines for bubble tea, let alone people gathering over a cup of tea in a tea room or café.
People, therefore, enjoy tea at home, whether they prepare it themselves or have it delivered. And while almost all coffee shops offer coffee-based beverages in 1-liter bottles, they also offer tea-based drinks in 1-liter bottles simply because not everyone drinks coffee but those who drink coffee usually like tea as well.
Nabila, a graphic designer in her early thirties, said she liked to buy tea as well as coffee in 1-liter bottles.
“Sometimes I buy Earl Grey milk tea from Dua Coffee, peach mint milk tea from Toodz House or royal tea from Blue Korintji,” says Nabila, adding that she also liked Earl Grey milk tea from Pancious, and she usually drinks it after lunch or late in the afternoon.
She feels it is important to have 1-liter bottles of tea and coffee at home, especially when working from home, because it is practical as you only need to pour and add some ice cubes to a glass, and the whole bottle can last 3 to 4 days.
Gaurishankar, who runs a food and beverage business, said coffee shops usually provided tea to complete the menu, and that providing the two different beverages under one roof was not a challenge.
“[Especially as] tea-based drinks require less investment in equipment than coffee,” Gauri says.
These coffee shops expect more demand for coffee as it is their main offering, of course, but more people are considering the tea business now.
Aiming to provide tea-based drink recipes for those looking to start a small business, tea sommelier and author Ratna Somantri published her recipes in a book titled Teh Kekinian untuk Usaha (Contemporary Teas for Business) in November 2019.
“[I published the book] so more businesses would sell drinks made with loose-leaf tea and especially Indonesian tea,” Ratna told The Jakarta Post.
She went on to say that the book sold so well that it had to be reprinted in March.
“[…] This is the first book I wrote that had to be reprinted,” says Ratna, who previously wrote The Story in a Cup of Tea and Iced Tea Book.
However, as the pandemic hit, book sales declined. Apparently, for the kind of book that Ratna wrote, the biggest sales still come from brick and mortar bookstores, in this case, Gramedia bookstore. And, although online sales are not as high as offline, there has still been an increase in online sales.
Ratna also tried to sell her books through Instagram and WhatsApp groups comprising tea webinar participants, and sold 140 books of three titles in two days.
“It seems like people are exploring business possibilities and they become interested in tea,” Ratna said.
Apart from writing books, Ratna also teaches classes on behalf of the Indonesia Tea Institute, in which the participants will get a certificate. Starting only last year, she has completed seven batches but there have not been any more classes because of the pandemic.
Ratna plans to conduct the next class in August, and apart from sharing her knowledge on online platforms, she is now preparing to launch her signature tea-based drink with a soon-to-open café.
