Tearooms return to tackle high street coffee culture
Here is a great article about how tea is still clawing it's way into the coffee culture.The British tradition of afternoon tea is enjoying a renaissance. Sales of speciality teas are growing at record rates, there are two-month waiting lists for afternoon tea at London’s top hotels, and a new chain of high street tearooms is set to open.
William Gorman, executive director of the Tea Council, said that women between the ages of 20 and 40 were leading a boom in tea drinking. He said: “We drink 165 million cups of tea per day, as a nation, compared with 70 million cups of coffee, but 90 per cent of tea is drunk in the home. The market is ripe for a new, public, tea venture.”
Continue reading Comments (0) brewed on Jul 18th, 2007
McDonald's Opening Coffee Chain in Japan
McDonald's is set to take on Starbucks in Japan with a new chain of coffee shops brewing up bargain lattes, the fast food chain said Thursday.The Japan unit of U.S.-based McDonald's Corp. will launch 15 pilot "McCafe" stores in the Tokyo area on August 29, according to a company release.
The stores, the burger chain's first foray into the coffee shop business, will offer drinks at low prices to target families, the release said. McDonald's said it will consider opening McCafes across Japan in the next fiscal year.
The cafe business in Japan has been shrinking and stood at 1.052 trillion yen (US$8.61 billion) in 2006, down 5 percent from the previous year.
Still, sales at specialty coffee shops like Starbucks have soared. The Seattle-based coffee chain, which launched in Japan in 1997, has almost 700 stores across the country and saw sales jump 16 percent last year to 78.9 billion yen (US$646 million).
Comments (0) brewed on Jul 12th, 2007
Tea Immersion Week
Immerse yourself in the hypnotic world of Tea . . .Spend a week exploring the riches of the Chinese and Japanese cultures that lie at the heart of Tea. Experts on music, Asian culture, and the world of tea will guide your journey through Tan Dun's musical and theatrical world, Chinese and Japanese tea ceremonies, raku ceramics (including a special "Tea in Your Own Bowl" event), yoga and tai chi, and themed dinners in several of Santa Fe's finest restaurants. Guest speakers include the noted tea expert and author James Norwood Pratt. Your journey will be capped by the American premiere performance of Tea: A Mirror of Soul.
The Tea Immersion Week is housed at Sunrise Springs, a 70-acre resort retreat noted for its lush solitude, with towering cottonwoods, healing gardens, and spring-fed ponds, and the contemporary elegance of its guest casitas, each of which includes a kitchenette, master bathroom, computer alcove, fireplace, and private patio. Luxuriant spa treatments, including reiki and hot-stone massages, are available at Spa Samadhi. Click here to learn more about Sunrise Springs.
The Tea Immersion Week begins on Monday, July 16 and concludes on Sunday, July 22. Click here to see a complete outline of planned events.
Click here for Tea Immersion Week pricing information or if you can't make the whole week, click here for details on Day Passes.
Comments (0) brewed on Jul 3rd, 2007
Coffee Company Success
I just read a blog post about a coffee company having some cool ideas to increase sales and spread the word about their products.
This is a good strategy by itself; but they do something else that is very innovative. They started purchasing additional domain names including the names of the charities followed by the word “coffee.” For example RedCrossCoffee.com, PetCoffee.com (Humane Society). The owner claims that this is one of his best ideas as it brings residual traffic to his business from type-ins. Customers tell their friends that they order their coffee beans at RedCrossCoffee.com and the power of word-of-mouth marketing sets in.
This is the kind of forward thinking we need to propell our tea and coffee businesses.
LINKS
DotSauce
Chris Ambler
Specialty Roast
Comments (2) brewed on Jun 28th, 2007
