Who’s the Right Tea Vendor for You?

This is an excerpt from one of my World Tea News articles. To find out more about my freelance writing or to ask me about writing copy for your tea business, please contact me at vee at veetea dot com. Thank you.

Picking tea vendors is tricky business, especially with so many to choose from and so many factors to consider. World Tea News got advice from vendors and tea room owners about finding the right fit.

Quality first

In picking your vendor, the quality of the tea he or she offers seems so obvious a factor, it almost goes without saying, but determining quality takes care. Benjamin Harrison, Rishi’s co-owner, said the only way to be sure about quality is to cup similar teas from multiple vendors at the same time.

Talk to me

Kelli Bernard, owner and buyer of Amai Tea and Bake House, said communication is the most important aspect of customer service to her. Each tea room has its own unique needs, which can be accommodated by different vendors’ varying styles of customer service.

For example, Rishi has a reputation for empowering individual businesses, Art of Tea is known as “the fun guys” with high-tech quality control, and TeaGschwendner uses its position as the world’s largest tea retailer to bring buying power, quality and experience to customers.

Bernard described follow-through as “critical,” adding, “It is really great to have someone that understands your business and supports what you are doing. This can be as simple as sending a sample of a new tea they think you will like, or asking if you need to reorder” – without using it as an opportunity to just push new product.

Soon, you’ll be able to read the remainder of this article on my portfolio site, Copy & Taste.