Taking Tea to New Highs

Priti Sen Arora & Dhiraj Arora

There was a time when coffee was cool and tea or chai was more of a comfort beverage people had at home or on the go. A growing number of lounges and cafes today are now offering tea as a gourmet or aspirational product with tags like artisanal, hand blended, single estate, infused and exotic. Owners of Kolkata based Karma Kettle, PritiSenArora and Dhiraj Aror aspeak to FEA about tea trends that the HORECA industry must be prepared for.

Why did you start Karma Kettle?

Between 2007 and 2011, we were importers of premium Indian teas into Singapore. In 2015, we returned to India and launched Karma Kettle, an artisanal tea blending company with its own cafes in Kolkata. The main idea of the company was to rebrand tea as a versatilebeverage that can enhance any lifestyle by bringing out options in cold brews, hot brews, blends, infusions and so forth. Today, we are an artisanal tea company specializing in over 60 varieties and flavours.

Our speciality teas are blended with the freshest of herbs, spices, fruits and flowers. Each blend is handcrafted and produced in small batches for specific clients to ensure quality and freshness in every cup. Our product range is extensive. We offer double-chambered, pyramid, biodegradable and loose leaf teas in various categories, classified as – Travel, Zen, Wellness, Ayurvedic, Tropical, Planters Pick, Gift Sets, Breakfast Collections and Regional Specialties. We are extremely strong in the wellness, tisane and tropical teas as these are our in-house creations. We have an in house team of tea blenders who are passionate about innovative blends that not only look glorious but also taste divine.

What are the factors that have contributed to the boom in tea cafes, tea lounges and tea boutiques?

In the last couple of years, there has been a surge in gourmet cafes and restaurants in India that are serving upscale food without compromising on the quality of ingredients. Though India is not as experimental as the rest of the world, over time the shift in peoples liking towards gourmet food has been noticeable and this extends to gourmet teas as well.

This trend has emerged because consumers are no longer just consuming tea,they await a wholesome tea drinking experience. They want to relax over tea or coffee at a place that has a varied menu, welcoming staff, appropriate décor, pleasing ambience and value for money prices.

People are fed up of colas and carbonated beverages when they are dining and would like to be experimental with their beverage. They are also looking for health benefits that are closely associated with various teas like green tea, white tea, oolong tea and black tea. The lower caffeine content of teas as opposed to some of the other beverages and the immense wellness benefits it brings has leveraged it as a popular beverage choice amongst people of all ages specially those who are health conscious. The new avatars of tea drinks like iced teas, tisanes, bubble teas, nitro teas and chai lattes has helped make tea popular among the younger set. We believe there is more potential for growth as the consumer taste will continue to evolve.

What is the customer mix you have seen at tea lounges and cafes? Is there any specific segment that is frequenting tea lounges?

Specialist cafes and lounges allure young people, particularly in large cities, as they not only offer exclusivity, but also free Wi-Fi and a friendly setting. There are different timings for different sets – mornings and evenings you see people using tea lounges and cafes for meetings, working on their laptops or as co workspaces, and you also see gym-goers who come for a cup of tea after the workout. Afternoons and evenings you find a different gentry in the 45+ age group who wants a leisurely high tea, some alone time or gupshup over tea. Late evenings and nights, young people and students gather at lounges to hangout over teas, coffees and other drinks.

Are teas also selling well in coffee bars and cafes?

Yes, we supply leading roasteries and coffee centred cafes across India. Of course, the range is around five or six varieties but the popularity is there. Across every table of five, we have noticed there are two who prefer tea even at a café, maybe just as a lifestyle health choice or because of the time of the day. Conversely tea lounges too have to serve coffees and other beverages – Karma Kettle’s company owned cafes also serve Italian and Indian coffee drinks. We are looking to retail freshly roasted coffee in retail packs from 2020, which will be roasted by an Australia trained roaster.

What are the new trends seen in tea drinks? What is driving these trends?

Iced tea and cold brews have gained popularity as it defeats the age-old impression of tea as a hot beverage. Tisanes (teas without any tea leaf Camellia sinensis) with unique herbs and botanicals (cocoa husk, cascara, seabuckthorn, buckwheat, edible flowers and so on) are also likely to trend. We have incorporated a range of eight regional chais in our menu – noon chai, lebu cha, cutting chai, tandoori chai are all becoming popular too as people are very specific about how they like their tea when they are looking at it as a comfort drink.

There is also a growing awareness about medicinal or wellness benefits of tea, which is leading to a demand for herb infused blended teas among the fitness and health conscious. We have launched products like moringa, ashwagandha, turmeric and ginseng for this segment.

Are premium teas getting acceptance in the market?

More and more people are travelling these days, and they are trying different varietals and types of tea that they then start craving when they return home. Moreover, change in taste preferences, their purchasing power, health consciousness and the introduction of additional wholesome ingredients in tea by various market players are some of the factors fuelling the market growth for different types of tea. We find customers asking for single estate teas, white teas, special seasonal flush teas or imported premium varieties like hojicha, rooibos, matchaand pu-erh.

What kind of decor and food service are becoming popular at tea lounges and cafes?

Customers are looking for places that offer a wide variety of teas

Decor can be either very minimalistic Zen, the traditional English tea room Victorian style, a Parisian décor with some open-air seating arrangements, all work well. Tea can be paired with food, Try serving an English style high tea with scones, finger sandwiches and the likes, dim sums with Chinese teas, or even local favourites like maska bun or vada pav with chai.

What are the innovative teas that you recommend for the HORECA sector’s menu?

We think Paan Chai, Chilli Chai, Masala Chai, Green tea with flavours like Peach, Jasmine, Lychee and Rose, all these can work for our Indian palates. Ashwagandha, Vanilla matcha, Karakoram, Bliss and Moksha are some of our hot selling specialty tea products we are supplying to the market. Silver Needles white tea, Dragon well tea from China and Gyokuro from Japan are trending in certain segments. Indian teas like Darjeeling First Flush and Assam Golden Buds have wide acceptability. You can look for some different blends – at Karma Kettle, we sell Shanti (Sencha Jasmine), Istanbul (Turkish Apple tea), Canton (LapsangSouchong) and Seville (Mandarin Spiced Oolong)

Are Indian restaurateurs and chefs experimenting with using tea as an ingredient, infusion or flavor for foods? What are your thoughts on tea included beverages like mocktails, cocktails, craft beer and herbal infused teas?

Green tea, Matcha, Darjeeling or Earl Gray go well with savoury dishes. You see a growing number of places that are serving Matchacheese cakes, cookies and cupcakes there days. Matcha is being increasingly used for ice creams as well.

At our own cafes we have successfully launched Green and Jasmine Ice cream with toasted sesame seeds, Earl Grey Pannacotta, Matcha Latte, MatchaAffogato, Fruit salad with Passion Fruit Tea and Chai Biskoot Ice Cream which is a big hit.

For Karma Kettle customers we can suggest recipes for salad dressings, baked goods and desserts that can be made using teas.

For specialty tea lounges, tea infused recipes can be good way to invite non tea drinkers to try different teas.

Do you think pairing teas with food can be a successful option for the HORECA sector?

The purpose of pairing tea with food is to enhance the taste of both the dish and the beverage. Traditionally, tea has always been paired with baked goods like cakes and biscuits. But tea is a very versatile drink that can go with savoury dishes too. Picking the right tea to go with a meal or vice versa can enhance the customer experience at a hotel, restaurant, café of lounge. To give you can example, our Seville Iced Tea is an Oolong with Mandarin blend that pairs well with Italian and Mediterranean food items. The Great Wall is our tea that goes well with Pan-Asian dishes. For example, our Kanchenjunga High Tea Setserved at Karma Kettle’s cafes pairs our Chinese inspired tea with momos and spring rolls.

What kind of equipment do you think a caterer, cafe, lounge or restaurant should invest in if they plan to launch a range of teas and tea-based drinks?

Tea is the easiest drink to brew- all you need is a kettle. Innovations such as pyramid tea bags have ensured the best teas can be also made available in a teabag. You can enhance the experience using different accessories, steepware, new technologies, cupping sets, crockery, tea bag rests, sand timers, teapots and so forth but things can be kept simple if you do not want to invest too much at the initial stage of your enterprise.

Do you have any tips for places to increase their sales and profitability by adding tea to their menus?

Afternoon tea sets, exclusive range of tea mocktails, a couple of after-dinner tea suggestions by the staff, and tea – dessert pairings are some cross-selling ideas that can help increase sales of the restaurant or café by offering tea as an additional and complementary product with the food. For this, we arrange tea education, brewing guides, training sessions and brewing videos for Karma Kettle’s customer base of hotels, restaurants and cafes.

Do you think customers today are becoming more tea savvy?

Yes, there is much more awareness today. A decade ago tea in India was still being traditionally marketed as Chai or CTC. Five years back customers began to wake up to green tea and iced tea. Today, we find there are customers who can tell their chamomile from their jasmine teas. At hotels, restaurants, cafes, lounges and retail stores, you now hear customers asking for a specific tea like silver needles, oolong, Moroccan mint or sencha. Customers are also much more experimental and willing to give the cafes a chance to surprise them with an interesting blend or infusion.

What do you think are the upcoming trends that owners of tea lounges, tearooms and tea cafes should prepare themselves for? Will there be a new wave in tea drinks?

Kombucha is very in right now and I think it’s here to stay for a while. At present bubble teas are popular but that trend may or may not sustain. Maybe cheese teas are going to be in trend for a while. Eventually, with the extreme climates, we have in India interesting iced tea beverages and interesting winter blends will always be popular. Just like Vietnamese coffee is very popular, I think people look forward to nice artisanal crockery, handmade cups, interesting glassware, banta bottles and other ways of serving tea. Iced tea drinks with low sugar or without sugar will grow in popularity.

We have started nitro teas for our iced teas and they are working well, giving a creaminess and body to the beverage. Also, we have started cold brews for iced teas- we now have six iced teas with more coming up this summer season. Kombucha, iced chai lattes, turmeric lattes and matcha lattes are hip.

I love the artisanal coffee movement happening in the country. The availability and diversity in our coffee are outstanding. I am happy to see innovations happening with tea too. We are on the crux of a tea revolution.

What are your plans for Karma Kettle?

We are a strong HORECA player with 200+ hotels, restaurants and cafes on our client list. Currently, we own a couple of cafes in Kolkata and looking to open franchise outlets across different cities in 2020. We are coming up with tea gifting ranges as we think such alternative gifting is becoming popular across occasions as opposed to the traditional gifts. We have another 10 interesting blends in our research and development pipeline.

Dhiraj Arora is a passionate tea connoisseur who did his specialization from the World Tea Academy USA and is also a certified tea Sommelier from Sri Lanka. He started a 32-room heritage theme hotel called Cochrane Place at Kurseong, with a view of some of India’s best-known tea estates and a popular café called Chai Country serving Darjeeling and signature blended teas at the hotel.

Priti Sen Arora comes from a Hospitality industry background having worked with leading hotel chains in the USA and UK. At the age of 26 she set up her own restaurants in Singapore. On Today, Priti leads Karma Kettle’s marketing team and is behind Karma Kettle’s innovative packaging.