Wednesday, October 19, 2011

QTrade Expands, plan your visit with us

Share the news! Plan your visit with us next year and tour our new facility!  Our capacity to blend your teas is now 40,000 lbs of tea per day. Check out link below for more info.


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/QTrade-Expands-to-a-New-Facility.html?soid=1102498753007&aid=DL435ETMz1o

Monday, October 17, 2011

From where I sit...

My tea journey started in 1996 in the Ritz Carlton. Harney and Sons Loose Leaf teas where flowing to any $40 a head High Tea ticket purchaser. My absolute favorite was Jasmine Oolong piping hot, with a spike of milk and one brown sugar cube - of course tasting best out of a Ritz Carlton fine bone China cup. The jasmine was light and pure, not heavy and weighted on the tongue. Many of the high tea guests at the Ritz Carlton had no idea about the tea they were drinking and often wanted to purchase everything about the experience to replicate at home; the Ritz had many retail missed opportunities. My fellow tea service gals and I had discussed opening our own tea rooms;  fast forward to 2002 and I actually made it happen. I had spent the interim years in Franchise ownership of quick service deserts and drinks. So what if I could put the two together? And blend my own tea blends with exciting embellishments of fruit pieces, chile threads, or even candy? That is what I did in creating the Lavender Lounge Tea Company. Not a tea room, but a Tea Lounge ~ a tea salon and tea bar type concept. Urban, eclectic, and uniquely like no other. I loved chatting to the guests and taking polls on the next desired flavor concoction or what they enjoyed as their family tea tradition. So many folks grew up with such uniquely special tea traditions. I loved helping to create Southern California's new tea traditions and succeeded in creating the teenage and mother and father alike "hot spot" for sipping hot tea and slurping iced tea, and selling all they needed to take the intimidation out of any loose tea experience, so they could continue the experiences at home. After 7 years, I learned what I needed to in tea, QS tea, and retail and slowly grew exhausted of managing he day to day of owning and operating my own stores, brand, blends, employees, and wholesale accounts. I tried to divide the company when I sold in 2008, but ended up by negotiating entirely all - the sale of the brand, stores, and wholesale accounts as well.  Now I work for one of the largest tea importers in the United States. From where I sit, it is ever so interesting to see all the applications of tea. From RTD, Chai's, blends, to Skin and Dog Food companies using teas and herbs. But what is most exciting is to see - what I created in my small brand that could have gone chain wide - being picked up conceptually by other chains and they are growing more every day. My concepts in my tea shops are what I see in almost every successful brand and growing store tea chain out there. When I started, the only way to find tea was tea at a "tea room" venue, and that was not really for retail, just a meal. Now there are tea retailers like my concept and they are even using more candy shop like feel in tea, more and more. Speaking of fun blends and trends, I can tell you of at least 6 tea blends of mine that were my crazy and unorthodox brainstorms that I see "borrowed" permanently, and I am flattered. (Now I know why these random marketing companies would order one pound here and five pounds there). But how do these
tea chains measure success, I wonder? Tea is an ever so laborious product, if you consider it start to finish, but that is for another blog title! It is certainly exciting to see where Starbucks will go now in the newest tea concept store, and certainly exciting to see this race finally get started. I can't wait to see who will compete on the West Coast in tea retail and tea bar concept action. I am ready to visit and critique. I am ready to see how it measures up to what I dream up of now - adding up what I did then, from where I sit now, to what the gap is on the street today. From where I sit, I am am ready to run. Tea concept stores are about to hit that tipping point, and I am ready.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Congratulations Numi Tea

09 Oct 2011 By World Tea News OAKLAND, Calif. Numi Organic Tea is the nation’s leading brand importer of Fair Trade certified tea and tisanes, according to Fair Trade USA. The announcement is in celebration of Fair Trade Month and recognizes the worldwide program to guarantee that farmers are paid a fair wage for their labor. Growers certified under the program receive a community development premium that can be used to improve education, roads, schools, product quality and healthcare. While a part of Fairtrade International (FLO) Fair Trade USA certified more than 9,500 products in the United States offered by more than 700 industry partners at more than 60,000 retail locations. The organization recently split from European-based FLO to create its own program. The certifier cited examples such as the Dazhangshan Organic Tea Farmer Association in China which was able to purchase new tea processing equipment to improve the quality of its tea and the living conditions of its members. “Members of the association, nearly 35 percent of which are women, now make nearly 20 percent more than other families in the area,” according to Fair Trade USA. In honor of Fair Trade Month, Numi asks consumers to take a deeper look into what goes in their shopping cart – and their teacup, says Ahmed Rahim, CEO and Co-Founder of Numi "From our humble beginnings in 1999, we have made it a major part of our mission to source from suppliers who believe in not just Organic farming but in ethically supporting their workers through Fair Trade initiatives,” says Rahim. The result is access to healthcare, higher wages, better education, homes, roads and overall, a more balanced quality of life, he says. "It is exciting to see Numi Organic Tea grow in market share while maintaining its strong relationship with its tea growers and deep commitment to Fair Trade," said Paul Rice, President & CEO of Fair Trade USA. "In addition to the far-reaching benefits of Numi's Fair Trade purchases, the company has made it possible for consumers to find Fair Trade tea at thousands of retailers throughout the country and make a real difference with every cup they drink." Numi Organic Tea purchases more Fair Trade Certified tea than any other U.S. brand. With more than half of their blends (and 80 percent of the raw ingredients purchased) bearing the Fair Trade Certified label, Numi is proudly dedicated to the Fair Trade system that helps workers earn fair wages across the world. Numi’s Fair Trade imports are projected in 2011 to grow by more than 75 percent over 2010. Numi is also working on a new social certification called Fair Labor Practices, which ensures a level of social responsibility that directly benefits workers, their families and their communities. Fair Labor Practices can certify all crops in all countries, farms of all sizes, domestically and internationally. It audits every step of the supply chain from farm to cup, including domestic operations. During this process, Numi has funded social, economic, and environmental development projects in the villages where the ancient Pu-erh tea trees exist. Numi Organic Pu-erh Teas will be the first product line to bear the Fair Labor Practices label. To learn more please visit http://numitea.com/people/fair-trade-certified/ or join Numi's "communitea" at https://www.facebook.com/numitea. Source: Numi Organic Tea, Fair Trade USA

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Pucker Up: North America Embraces Hibiscus Tea



Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) has become increasingly popular across the US and Canada in recent years. Big name brands are now carrying hibiscus products in an effort to cater to increasingly health-conscious and exotically-minded consumers. Yet this surge interest is only beginning to catch up with the global enthusiasm for hibiscus that has been developing for some time.

Hibiscus the World Over
Technically a tisane, infusions made with Hibiscus often go by the name “Hibiscus tea” in English. This “tea” is also known by a variety of other names: Bissap in West Africa (the national drink of Senegal), Karkadé or Karakady in Egypt, Sudan, and Switzerland, flor de Jamaica or rosa de Jamaica in Mexico, Gudhal in India where it is appreciated for its Ayurvedic properties, and Gongura in Brazil. Other common names for hibiscus include “roselle” and “sorrel” (not to be confused with the vegetable Rumex acetosa).

Hibiscus tea is a frequent companion to celebrations of all kinds, as the bright red liquor shows up beautifully in the cup. It has long been a staple of Christmas celebrations in the Caribbean, where it is blended with spices and served with rum or wine. There is a growing trend in parts of the Middle East to drink iced hibiscus tea during Ramadan’s evening meals, while North American consumers are increasingly requesting it from coffee shops during the hot summer months.

Not Your Typical “Loose Leaf”
Few people realize that hibiscus tea is not made from the flowers or leaves of the plant. The infusion is actually prepared using the hibiscus’ calyx (calyces plural). The calyx is the hard, leaf-like protector of the hibiscus tree’s fruit, similar to what you find on the top of a tomato. The hibiscus calyx is harvested along with the fruit, and set out to dry in the sun. As it dries, the calyx develops its trademark purple color. Hibiscus is mostly grown in Egypt, Sudan, China, and parts of Southeast Asia for tea production.

Gorgeous Color in the Cup
Hibiscus tea is made by steeping calyces into hot water for 3-5 minutes and can be served hot or iced. Hibiscus tea has a tart flavor that is frequently compared to cranberry juice. As a result many people blend it with ginger, sugars, or other spices to offset the tartness.

Another appealing quality of the tea is its bright red color. Tea blenders often add hibiscus to their blends for the color alone. A small amount of hibiscus can brighten any blend dramatically, even if it is “steeped” in cold water.

Our Rosa De Jamaica

Rosa De Jamaica TBC
At QTrade we use hibiscus in a number of our tea blends. One of our most popular blends, the aptly named “Rosa de Jamaica” iced tea, recently won an award at the North American Tea Championship and has consistently been one of our most requested products ever since. We carry organic, fair trade, and conventional hibiscus in C/S and TBC cuts.

Please contact us for a complete list of our hibiscus blends as well as information about how we can create hibiscus products for you.http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Pucker-Up--America-Embraces-Hibiscus-Tea.html?soid=1102498753007&aid=54jVpPPftjE