Some Like It Sweet: Beyond the Cube

This is an excerpt from one of my World Tea News articles. It’s part two in a three part series. Read part one here and part three here. 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.

Let’s face it: America has gone foodie. In the past, customers added sweeteners to tea with no thought to the impact on flavor. Today, they are demanding a more sophisticated sweet tea.

Tea blenders say striking a balance between sweetness and tea taste is key. Rona Tison, ITO EN’s senior vice president of corporate relations, said the goal is to “keep the sugar level down” while “bringing out a profile that enhances the tea flavor.” Most sources advocated considering the unique flavors of both sweeteners and teas when pairing.

The Sweet Life

Sweeteners are, in part, a lifestyle choice, and consumers’ growing preference for healthier options has big implications for tea. Americans are switching beverages for health reasons, and to accommodate them, beverage manufacturers are changing levels and types of sweeteners.

Devan Shah, owner of International Tea Importers, said that masala chai “made a U-turn” in sweetness because of public health concerns. Tison said many RTD consumers have moved away from the extremely sweet teas that were popular in the past.

It’s not just about calories, added Michelle Weisblatt, Sweet Leaf Tea’s vice president of marketing. She said consumers are concerned about the sweeteners themselves, because of the link between obesity and high fructose corn syrup. This has been apparent in manufacturers’ reactions; for instance, Snapple.com replaced HFCS with cane sugar, crystalline fructose, pear juice and honey in its newest lines.

Tison also noted the sweetener switch is not limited to Baby Boomers; when school boards banned sodas, the youth market turned to healthier beverages, too.

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