The tradition of drinking tea, herbal infusions, and spiced beverages during the holiday season has evolved from medieval medicinal remedies to sophisticated and cherished modern holiday customs, reflecting centuries of cultural exchange, religious symbolism, and festive cheer.
Who better to describe this history than our guest today, Santa Claus? Jolly old St. Nicholas recounts the nearly two-thousand-year evolution of holiday beverages.
The History of Tea at Christmas | Santa is reading the Travels of Marco Polo
The Spirit of Christmas
By Jolly Old St. Nick
My first memories are of a magnificent seaside home on the Island of Lycia [LIE see-uh], in a place now called Türkiye [TOOR kee yeh]. It was then the land of the Greeks, who were under the rule of Rome.
Patara [PAH tah rah] was a maritime city, a city of commerce, and the capital of Lycia, [LIE see-uh] distant by road from Athens but close by sea.
Tea was unknown where I lived. In those times, we drank chilled juice, milk with honey, and wine diluted with water, all handed down from Alexander the Great, who conquered Lycia 300 years before the Christian era.
I was born to luxury but cursed by my parents’ early deaths in the plague.
Left with great riches, I devoted myself to Christianity from an early age and vowed to spend my wealth on the needy and disadvantaged children of every class. An acolyte with great religious vigor, I was sent to Myra, where, in time, I was elected bishop. Persecuted and imprisoned for years until freed by Emperor Constantine, I survived to perform miracles, rescue the innocent, protect children, and care for others with generosity.
Sainthood followed my passing in December 343 AD. I became St. Nicholas, San Nicola, and over time, Noel Baba (Türkiye), Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas, Papa Noel, Grandfather Frost (Russia), and in Italy, [BAH boh nah TAH leh] Babbo Natale (Father Christmas).
For 1,754 years, I have been the spirit of Christmas, overseeing the annual winter celebrations with joy.
Here is a brief history of what I’ve seen.
MEDIEVAL CELEBRATIONS
Five hundred years after Roman times had passed, St. Nicholas Day had become a major feast in Europe, where children received small gifts in my honor. Tea was unknown in Europe during his time, but herbal infusions made from local plants like mint, sage, and rosemary were commonly consumed during winter feasts. These herbs were valued for their warming and medicinal properties.
MONASTIC INFLUENCE
Monasteries were centers of herbal knowledge. Monks cultivated herbs such as chamomile, fennel, and mint and used them to make soothing infusions. During Christmas feasts, these drinks were offered to pilgrims and the poor as a symbol of hospitality and charity.
DURING THE MIDDLE AGES
As trade routes expanded, Europeans were introduced to exotic spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. These spices were brewed into hot beverages such as “wassail,” a spiced cider, or ale consumed during Christmas festivities and communal gatherings. The word is from an Old English greeting, “waes hael” [WAH sul], meaning to “be whole” or “be in good health.”
MULLED WINE
In the late Middle Ages, mulled wine emerged as the forerunner of holiday drinks. Called [HIH-puh-kras] “hypocras.” Named for Hippocrates, it became a popular celebratory drink, often served warm with honey and spices.
DUTCH INFLUENCE
Dutch and Portuguese traders introduced tea to Europe in the early 17th century. By the late 1600s, it became a fashionable beverage in aristocratic circles and eventually influenced holiday gatherings. The Dutch celebrated Sinterklaas, who wears a red bishop’s robe, miter, and staff with a long white beard and visits on December 5 (the eve of St. Nicholas). Children left their shoes by the fireplace or windowsill and awakened to find treats such as oranges and candy if they’ve been good. Dutch settlers brought Santa Claus to New Amsterdam (New York), where Washington Irving, Clement Clarke Moore, and Thomas Nast established Santa’s modern appearance, arrival by sleigh and home at the North Pole.
EARLY MODERN PERIOD
In Britain and its colonies, including America, tea-drinking rituals became an essential part of social and holiday celebrations. Unique blends with spices, fruits, and herbs were prepared for Christmas and New Year’s feasts. By the 1830s, tea had spawned its own afternoon meal.
VICTORIAN ERA
The Victorians, inspired by Charles Dickens’s depictions of Christmas, embraced tea drinking as a central part of holiday gatherings. Tea rooms and homes served holiday blends featuring cinnamon, cloves, orange peel, and vanilla. Herbal infusions like spiced apple cider and cranberry tea gained popularity due to their warming properties and festive flavors. Historian Erika Rappaport writes that thousands would gather in great halls to take tea, organized by Temperance reformers who taught that “by drinking tea instead of alcohol, consumers would achieve class and gender harmony, political citizenship, and a heavenly home.”
IN MODERN TIMES
Tea companies began producing special holiday-themed teas, blending black tea with festive spices, dried fruits, and floral notes. Herbal teas such as peppermint, ginger, and rooibos are particularly popular in winter. Many cultures preserved traditional herbal infusions associated with the holidays, including Scandinavian glögg and South American yerba mate.
Santa’s legacy has endured for centuries through charitable giving, holiday traditions, and the enduring spirit of kindness and generosity that defines the Christmas Season.
Less well-known is my fondness for tea.
Thomas Nash portrait of St. Nick | 1881 Harper’s Weekly
Top tea buyer Cargill Kenya has been winding down its annual 60,000 metric tons of tea purchases at the Mombasa Tea Auction for some time. A corporate memo laments the loss of Unilever and clients like Van Rees and recommends closing the trade desk and six warehouses after 40 years. It is a strategic move driven by lower commodity prices globally. With a $160 billion turnover, US-based Cargill reported a $17 billion decline in yearly sales in May. | Tea importers in Pakistan are resisting the imposition of a Minimum Retail Price as the base for payment of sales tax, which, at 18%, adds Rs 216 per kilo to the cost of bulk tea. Importers want the tax applied to the import value as a raw product. | The Netherlands-based nonprofit True Price Foundation released a food and beverage report for retail and food service, making the business case for calculating and transparently communicating the hidden costs to people and the environment for producing food.
Cargill Kenya, Ltd., the largest buyer at the Mombasa auction, announced it will cease trading tea after 40 years.
The company purchases approximately 60,000 metric tons annually, which gives it a 15% to 20% market share at the weekly auction. The annual trade value ranges from $180 to $210 million. Sales have declined in the past year following the sale of Unilever’s tea properties to Lipton Teas & Infusions. Cargill also manages six Mombasa warehouses with a combined capacity of 20,000 metric tons.
Continued…
Cargill has extensive trade contracts for wheat, maize, barley, and soybeans grown in East Africa. An internal Cargill memo, reported by Food Business Africa, disclosed that the tea business lacks clear synergies with Cargill’s other agricultural and trading divisions, prompting the decision to divest.
Tea operations were initially developed to support Unilever’s tea holdings. However, according to the memo, the business is no longer a strategic fit following Unilever’s sale. The Mombasa operation employs 40 workers.
Cargill Chairman and CEO Brian Sikes, who joined the Minnesota-based company’s board last January, has consolidated the company’s operational units globally in response to declining commodity prices. He announced, QUOTE, “Our recent performance and emerging market trends underscore the urgent need for change.”
Cargill is the largest privately held company in the US, with an annual turnover of $160 billion for the fiscal year ending May 2024, a decrease from the previous year’s $177 billion.
Cargill Kenya is the company’s oldest footprint on the African continent. The tea trading operation was founded in 1948 by the Ralli Brothers, who initially traded cotton. Cargill acquired Ralli in 1984, and the tea operations were integrated into the company’s Agricultural Supply Chain (CASC) Enterprise in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region.
According to Agriss News, Cargill’s clients include Van Rees, Mitchell Cotts, and KTDA-Chai Trading, all of which have transitioned to other service providers.
There are 82 trading companies active in the Mombasa Tea Auction
BIZ INSIGHT – The Eastleigh Voice writes, “Cargill’s exit is expected to create downward pressure on tea prices, potentially reducing farmers’ incomes at a time when they were hoping for improvement through ongoing sector reforms.”
Pakistan’s newly imposed Minimum Retail Price (MRP) for tea imports and locally grown tea is taxing the patience of importers and tea sellers.
Black tea imports dropped 24% in November to $38 million, down Rs 1.78 billion, as an estimated one-quarter of tea imports shifted to illegal channels, according to Pakistan Tea Association (PTA) Chairman Muhammad Altaf.
The 1200 rupee per kilo retail price minimum set by Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for black tea has raised concerns about increased costs and depressed demand. FBR initiated the minimum to enhance government revenue during a fiscal crisis.
Importers protest that the tax should apply to the actual import value of processed tea, mainly landed in bulk for blending and packaging. Instead, FBR levies a standardized 18% sales tax based on a retail market price determined by the government, resulting in a sales tax of Rs 216 per kilo.
If the actual retail price of tea exceeds the MRP of Rs. 1,200 per kilogram, the sales tax is calculated on the higher price. According to FBR, this policy ensures that the tax reflects the true market value of the product.
Tea Association officials said the fixed MRP will increase packaged tea prices by Rs 150 to Rs 300 per kilo, burdening consumers and encouraging the smuggling of lower-quality tea from Afghanistan. Altaf told Pakistan Today that the standardized MSR oversimplifies the complexities of the tea trade and will lead to significant revenue loss by the end of the fiscal year.
The Sales Tax Act 1990 does not explicitly classify tea as a raw material. Instead, tea is grouped with mate under the provisions of the Customs Act of 1969. Applying the tax to the declared import value will lower tax revenue.
Pakistan imported 161,823 metric tons of tea during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (January-July). The tea, mainly supplied by Kenya, was valued at $391 million, an increase of 7.6% compared to last year. Kenya exports 83% of Pakistan’s imports, with Rwanda (4.5%) and Uganda (4%) accounting for the remainder.
True Pricing in Food Retail and Food Service
Nonprofit True Pricing Releases Food and Beverage Report
The True Price Foundation has published an insightful 28-page report on food pricing in retail and food service. The report is relevant to cafes, canteens, restaurants, supermarkets, and tea shops.
The foundation is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the Netherlands dedicated to fully understanding the hidden social and environmental impacts of products not included in prices. “In the context of food, true pricing aims to ensure affordable and healthy food is accessible to people.
The report is free to download at www.trueprice.org and responds to growing momentum for true pricing in food retail and food service.
“True pricing is increasingly becoming a tendering distinguisher in public procurement for catering and supermarkets,” the report describes a true pricing pilot at German retailer PENNY.
Transparency is the heart of the foundation’s work.
“At its core, true pricing is about comprehensive transparency on products, how they are made, and what additional costs might be associated with a transition to a food system that respects the rights of people and ecological boundaries.”
According to the report, “what you can achieve with true pricing depends on the traceability level of your assortment.”
The report identifies several business advantages of true pricing, including greater engagement with consumers, trust in supply chains that help prevent price shocks, differentiation from competitors, and data generation to meet forthcoming compliance requirements for sustainability established by EU regulators.
The report encourages retailers to discover hidden costs and then close the gap between market price and true price, noting that the most significant impacts of food often occur within the product value chain, especially on farms.
The foundation has developed a True Price Method to quantify hidden costs. “The degree of detail of a true price scan increases when a business and its suppliers collect more data, allowing you to make more informed decisions about products or suppliers. Data collection and refinement of the true price scan is an ongoing process.
BIZ INSIGHT—The report advises producers to first align their company with sustainability practices and retailers to incentivize consumers and, with the help of sommeliers, baristas, and waitstaff, communicate in the consumers’ own language. Retailers benefit, for example, by identifying environmental costs that amount to 18% of the purchase price backed by an audit of the supply chain using the True Price methodology.
The tradition of drinking tea, herbal infusions, and spiced beverages during the holiday season has evolved from medieval medicinal remedies to sophisticated and cherished modern holiday customs, reflecting centuries of cultural exchange, religious symbolism, and festive cheer.
Who better to describe this history than our guest today, Santa Claus? Jolly old St. Nicholas recounts the nearly two-thousand-year evolution of holiday beverages.
Listen to the story
The History of Tea at Christmas | As told by Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Top Buyer Cargill Exits the Mombasa Tea Auction after 40 Years | Tea Importers Oppose Pakistan’s Minimum Retail Price | Nonprofit True Pricing Releases Food and Beverage Report | PLUS | The History of Tea at Christmas by Jolly Old St. Nicholas | Episode 198 | 13 December 2024
The Argentine tea harvest began in October, with good weather and high yields per hectare in Misiones, the heart of the country’s tea-producing region.
Automated harvesters and favorable terrain enable Argentina to supply about half of the black tea consumed in the US. The country has optimized production by adopting vegetative propagation using cultivars with yields as high as 2,500 kilos per hectare. For decades, the harvest averaged 70,000 to 90,000 metric tons annually. However, demand is declining as consumers drink less flavored, artificially colored, sweetened iced tea.
Argentina exported only 50,000 metric tons of tea last year. Export revenue fell to $58.5 million in 2023, down 10.6% from the previous year. Growers shut down production mid-season after fulfilling their contracts.
Now, Argentina needs to find new export markets to maintain previous volumes. The domestic market is limited as citizens favor yerba mate by a wide margin, consuming 5.9 kilos per capita annually compared to 250 grams of mainly black tea.
Sales and traffic manager Pedro Newell at Don Basilio SRL explains that long-term relationships with buyers enable producers to balance supply and demand accurately. He said, “Argentina tea producers have had good production for years. It was only last year that we had to finish harvesting before the season ended and only after we produced what was contracted.”
Don Basilio, owned by the Okulovich family, is a tea and yerba mate plantation with a history that dates to 1935. There is plenty of capacity to expand production, says Newell. “As long as the U.S. continues to demand iced tea, Argentina will remain a key supplier, drawing on decades of expertise and production capacity to meet this market’s needs. We are not prepared to move away from a market that, although no longer growing, still represents our highest volume demand,” he said. “At the same time, we are open to exploring new markets and co-developing products tailored to specific requirements,” he said.
He explains that the company is seeking export partners. Expanding into markets like the European Union presents particular challenges, as compliance with their strict PA regulations significantly raises our production costs.” Ensuring compliance requires manual field cleansing, involving teams of 50 to 70 people manually removing weeds across plantations, he said. Don Basilio supplies tea for iced tea blends to Unilever/Ekaterra.
One possibility is Chile, a big consumer of black tea that has been importing $50 to $75 million annually in the past three years. In 2021, Chile imported $7 million worth of Argentine tea, about 10% of the $63 million Chileans spent on tea imports that year. In contrast, Chile imported 74% of its yerba mate from Argentina last year.
BIZ INSIGHT – Argentina is a compelling example of how origins that conform to the demands of destination markets can shape their supply chains to prosper in every conceivable way—until the market does an about-face.
Dan is a content creator who fosters genuine connections globally through informative, educational, and captivating conversations centered on tea. Tea Biz Blog | Podcast
US Climate Commitment Questioned at COP29 | Argentina’s Tea Harvest is Off to a Good Start | FAO Food Outlook Reveals Rising Coffee and Tea Prices | PLUS | Kurush Bharucha is among the foremost tea tasters in the world and a brilliant teacher. He shares his tasting insights in the latest Tea Journey Taster’s Profile. Read more…
US plans to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement were viewed as a setback this week as delegates assembled in Baku, Azerbaijan, to attend COP29.
The annual gathering sponsored by the United Nations seeks to coordinate efforts to reduce global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions. The world is on track to once again set a record as the hottest on Earth in modern times. For the first time, average temperatures will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming compared to pre-industrial times.
According to the New York Times, scientists say nations must cut emissions by 40% by the end of this decade. Instead, global greenhouse gas emissions soared to a record 57 gigatons last year.
Continued…
“The consequences of that warming are being felt on every continent,” writes the Times, citing torrential rain in Brazil, flash floods in Spain, hurricanes in the US, and expansive wildfires.
Financial aid for developing nations, many of which grow tea, is a focus of the talks attended by world leaders, green market investors, and climate scientists.
On the eve of the event, more than 650 investors with $33 trillion in assets worldwide urged governments to enact policies to prevent temperatures from reaching catastrophic levels.
The US helped design the agreement under President Barack Obama. President-elect Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement during his first term, a decision reversed by President Biden in 2020.
Almost every country now has a plan to draw down emissions. The US is pumping at least $390 billion into wind, solar, and other clean energy manufacturing. The automotive industry has transitioned to electric vehicles and hybrids. Nuclear power generation is gaining renewed acceptance. During the last gathering, nearly every country, including the United States, pledged to transition from fossil fuels.
The Paris Agreement is a pact stating that nations of all levels of wealth share responsibility for causing climate change. Individual countries set emissions targets. Targets are not legally binding, and there are no penalties for failure to meet goals. In 2017, no country followed the US withdrawal from the agreement, and none have indicated they will do so in 2025 when Trump takes office. Withdrawal requires one year’s notice, meaning the US exit will not be official until 2026.
Scientists say temperatures that trigger extreme weather will only stop if emissions decline. Beyond that threshold, the world risks a significant increase in drought, heat waves, wildfires, and erratic rain, all of which have an outsized impact on tea.
BIZ INSIGHT – Exceeding the 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warming threshold for a single year differs from the goal adopted in the 2015 Paris Agreement. That goal was to cap warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius on average over 20 or 30 years to stave off the worst effects of climate change on humanity, including extreme weather. This year, A United Nations report said that since the mid-1800s, the world has already heated 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) on average.
Argentine Tea Harvest Underway
Argentina’s Tea Harvest is Off to a Good Start
By Dan Bolton
Automated harvesters and favorable terrain enable Argentina to supply about half of the black tea consumed in the US. The country has optimized production by adopting vegetative propagation using cultivars with yields as high as 2,500 kilos per hectare. For decades, the harvest averaged 70,000 to 90,000 metric tons annually. However, demand is declining as consumers drink less and less flavored, sweetened iced tea. Last year, Argentina exported only 50,000 metric tons.
Export revenue fell to $58.5 million last year, down 10.6%. Growers shut down production mid-season after fulfilling their contracts.
Now, Argentina needs to find new export markets to maintain previous volumes. The domestic market is limited as citizens favor yerba mate by a wide margin, consuming 5.9 kilos per capita annually compared to 250 grams of mainly black tea.
Sales and traffic manager Pedro Newell at Don Basilio SRL explains that long-term relationships with buyers enable producers to balance supply and demand accurately. He said, “Argentina tea producers have had good production for years. It was only last year that we had to finish harvesting before the season ended and only after we produced what was contracted.”
Don Basilio, owned by the Okulovich family, is a tea and yerba mate plantation with a history that dates to 1935. There is plenty of capacity to expand production, says Newell. “As long as the U.S. continues to demand iced tea, Argentina will remain a key supplier, drawing on decades of expertise and production capacity to meet this market’s needs. We are not prepared to move away from a market that, although no longer growing, still represents our highest volume demand,” he said. “At the same time, we are open to exploring new markets and co-developing products tailored to specific requirements,” he said.
He explains that the company is exploring new export partners. Expanding into markets like the European Union presents particular challenges, as compliance with their strict PA regulations significantly raises our production costs.” Ensuring compliance requires manual field cleansing, involving teams of 50 to 70 people manually removing weeds across plantations, he said. Don Basilio supplies tea for iced tea blends to Unilever/Ekaterra.
Chile is a big consumer of black tea, importing $50 to $75 million annually in the past three years. In 2021, Chile imported $7 million worth of Argentine tea, about 10% of the $63 million Chileans spent on tea imports that year. In contrast, Chile imported 74% of its yerba mate from Argentina last year.
BIZ INSIGHT- Argentina is a compelling example of how origins that conform to the demands of destination markets can shape their supply chains to prosper in every conceivable way—until the market does an about-face.
FAO Food Outlook Shows Rising Coffee and Tea Prices
Prices of commodity beverages, including cocoa, coffee, and tea, boosted the global import food bill to more than $2 trillion, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
FAO’s Food Outlook November 2024 report indicates that import expenditures on cocoa, coffee, and tea are anticipated to increase by 22.9% this year, accounting for more than half of the $2 trillion overall increase in value terms.
“That reflects soaring international prices for these commodities due mostly to weather conditions and logistics issues. Cocoa prices reached almost four times their ten-year average earlier this year, those for coffee nearly doubled, and those for tea rose 15% above their usual long-term levels,” according to FAO.
FAO Food Outlook 2024
The Economist Intelligence Unit Tea Forecast projects black tea prices will average $2.83 per kilo in 2024, up from $2.74 in 2023. The World Bank reports the October 2024 average price for tea globally (which includes both black and green tea) was $2.31 per kilo.
Food expenses were also buoyed by higher import costs for fruits and vegetables, according to FAO Food Outlook, released Nov. 14.
Meanwhile, declining import bills for cereals and oilseeds offer relief to lower-income countries. High-income countries account for two-thirds of the global food import bill and will face a 4.4% increase in 2024, while the bills for upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, and low-income countries are likely to contract.
FAO’s latest forecasts point to favorable output outlooks across most basic foodstuffs, although global production systems remain vulnerable to risks from extreme weather events, rising geopolitical tensions, and policy changes. These could tip delicate demand-supply balances and dampen prospects for international trade in food commodities and global food security.
The FAO’s biannual publication offers updated forecasts for major food staples’ production, trade, utilization, and stocks and explores topical themes. The latest issue features an analysis of fertilizers, noting sharp drops in quotations for nitrogen products, which closely track natural gas prices and potassium fertilizers. However, phosphate fertilizers have not displayed a broader decline due in part to ongoing trade barriers. Overall, in September 2024, a basket of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium price series had declined by more than 50% since their April 2022 peak.
Kurush Bharucha is among the foremost tea tasters in the world and a brilliant teacher. As a student of his craft, he has always followed the mantra, ‘Practice makes perfect, so perfect your practice’ – which describes his apprentice days when he tasted up to 1,000 cups of tea daily. His expertise, over four decades, extends well beyond the ability to discern quality tea. Seeing synergies across all links in the beverage chain has enabled him to develop a sharp and holistic appreciation of ground realities, constantly pushing boundaries and “asking the right questions to constructively challenge the status quo.” As the former head of global tea expertise at Lipton Tea & Infusions, our guest today is in demand as an advisor, educator, and judge of tea competitions.Read more…
US Climate Commitment Questioned at COP29 | Argentina’s Tea Harvest is Off to a Good Start | FAO Food Outlook Reveals Rising Coffee and Tea Prices | PLUS | Kurush Bharucha is among the foremost tea tasters in the world and a brilliant teacher. He shares his tasting insights in the latest Tea Journey Taster’s Profile. | Episode 194 | 15 November 2024
The Republic of Tea’s Minister of Enlightenment and Commerce, Kristina Tucker, discusses how the California-based brand cleverly transformed an unconscious beverage habit into a mindful lifestyle choice. Citizens (customers) of the Republic share a sense of mindfulness and practice self-care rituals, brewing a range of more than 350 teas and herbal infusions. Conceived by Banana Republic founders Mel and Patricia Ziegler in 1992 and nurtured by CEO Will Rosenzweig, the company sources exceptional teas from multiple origins. It markets traditional, functional, and beautifying infusions with a holistic narrative that tea is a gateway to healthier, more intentional living. The Republic of Tea is a pioneer in specialty tea and was founded on the idea that a tea brand could inspire a lifestyle of intentional living, embodying tranquility, creativity, and personal well-being.
Listen to her story
The Republic of Tea Minister of Enlightenment and Commerce Kristina Tucker
Kristina Tucker, Minister of Enlightenment and Commerce, visiting Uji, Japan
Inspiring a Lifestyle of Intentional Living
By Dan Bolton
As vice president of sales and communications for The Republic of Tea, Kristina Tucker believes in the beauty and power of the leaf. Her mission is to educate and inspire people worldwide about teas and herbs: their varieties, origins, rituals, cultures, and health benefits. She joined The Republic of Tea in 2003 and was named Minister of Enlightenment in 2007. Before that, she was the national sales manager at Just Desserts and worked as the promotions manager at Whole Foods Market’s Allegro Coffee Company in Boulder, Colo. She is the current chair of the board of trustees of the American Herbal Products Association. Tucker holds a degree in economics from Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics at the University of Delaware and a master’s in strategic communication from the American University School of Communication.
Dan: The Republic of Tea first articulated its commitment to ethical sourcing, fair labor practices, reducing waste, rejuvenating land, and sustainable cultivation over thirty years ago. Advocating a daily tea ritual to drink tea Sip by Sip Rather Than Gulp by Gulp resonated with consumers, who were pleased to find more from a tea brand than attractive tins and eco-friendly messaging. Will you describe how that advocacy evolved?
Kristina: We’re so fortunate at the Republic of Tea that the brand’s concept is in a book called The Republic of Tea, which Mel Patricia Ziegler and Bill Rosenzweig wrote in the early 90s. All the ideas are captured in this book, so we can always refer back to it for inspiration and go back to where it began and then infused all of us.
The Republic of Tea book was first published in 1992
Dan: Author Simon Sinek, in START WITH WHY, discusses the importance of companies establishing they exist. Sinek argues that people are drawn not to what an organization does but to why it does it. This approach builds deeper loyalty and trust. During a lengthy correspondence, The Republic of Tea’s founders applied this approach, describing the process in a 355-page book of letters to a young entrepreneur. The book details ‘What we want The Republic of Tea to be, ‘ the values they aspire to, and the steps necessary to realize their vision. Will you talk a little about convincing millions of consumers to emigrate to the Republic?
Kristina: Well, of course, it all starts with great taste. You know, all these different varieties, all this innovation is all about delivering on that promise, that it’s going to taste amazing, and then we work from there. Part of that taste experience is the philosophy and lifestyle that we emphasize. It begins there, and then it expands.
We created The Republic of Tea so that people can emigrate and become a citizen. And this whimsy, this idea that you’ve immigrated to a special place that the tea takes you to, and that helps you have this lifestyle of well-being, is really quite magical and fun. And yes, at times, it might be a little bit of a stretch for some, but when you embrace it, it becomes part of your whole experience. And that’s our promise to deliver that great taste experience as part of being a citizen.
Dan: In the last few years, we’ve seen the word botanicals or infusions attached to several former “tea” companies. As you developed your concept, you did not signal, “We are Camellia sinensis and nothing else.” Instead, you promoted a range of infusions, herbal blends, and green tea. The Republic of Tea, for example, was always big on green tea. Talk about why infusions are now a thing.
Kristina: We think of it this way. All these magical plants, Camellia sinensis to chamomile to hibiscus to ginseng – you name it- all of these plants, herbs, shrubs, and roots come together and unite in the blends we make at the Republic of Tea.
We have over 350 varieties of teas and herbs, including botanicals blended with Camellia sinensis and traditional black and green tea.
So it’s just being innovative and creative, not being afraid. We take a lot of risks. We import from over 80 countries now, so we play with all the different ingredients all the time.
When it comes to trends, we really listen to our citizens. They often tell us what they’re looking for in herbal infusions and botanicals. Some are looking for functions.
We started blending with more herbs right from the beginning, but then, in 2006, we expanded into our Be Well collection, so we started working more with function with our beautifying botanicals, which we launched a few years back. We played with blue butterfly pea flowers and different white hibiscus. Then we launched our super adapt collection, using ashwagandha, rhodiola, and some of these wonderful adaptogenic herbs.
We have a collection of our super herbs, our single herbs of origin that are all organic, premium, best in class, and different herbals, like Egyptian hibiscus or South African Green Rooibos. We are always looking again for the best flavor in the cup.
Daisy and Mrs. Patmore’s TeaGrantham’s English Breakfast TeaLady Cora’s Evening Tea
Dan: TV audiences monitor every detail on series like Downton Abbey and Bridgerton, and Tea enthusiasts like to chat about what Lady Mary or Violet Crawley are drinking or the beautiful silver service polished in the kitchen.
The Republic of Tea brought fantasy to life with a Downton Abbey line that includes eight teas, gift sets, a recipe journal, seven Bridgerton teas, and the Official Bridgerton Guide to Entertaining.
Kristina: Well, let me go back even further than that…
It started with Memoirs of a Geisha, our first collaboration in 2005. We know people like to enjoy tea when they’re reading or watching a series like Downton Abbey or Bridgerton, so that’s where the connection begins.
We had success with Memoirs of a Geisha, but these partnerships really blossomed with the movie Eat, Pray, Love in 2010. That was really fun. We used black tea inspired by the Hari Mandir Ashram in Pataudi, Haryana, where the Indian scenes were filmed, cinnamon from Indonesia, and blood orange from Italy. These origins and their distinctive flavors are integrated with the story, and the idea of creating blends matched to characters started to come together.
The blends are collaborative. So, we’re working with the respective Netflix, Disney, or BBC creatives. We all taste teas together and talk about the characters and what they would drink or what symbolizes that character, and it blossoms from there. They’re so much fun to work on, and these blends really connect with the citizens.
We still see great sales of the Downton Abbey collection and Bridgerton. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to let those go.
Pumpkin Pie Chai and Pumpkin Spice Chai
Dan: You regularly introduce seasonal favorites and limited-time offers as well.
Kristina: Yes, we are in tea-drinking season, and the fall flavors are just a thrill. We have our iconic hot apple cider, our top seller year in and year out for our fall teas. We also have a new Pumpkin Pie Chai that we launched this year. It’s made with interesting ingredients. We’ve got cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin, and nutmeg, all standards, of course, but there’s also roasted dandelion root in here, which makes this blend so well-rounded. It has a sister, Apple Pie Chai.
Dan: Many young people now drink tea and infusions. A study by GlobalData highlighted that tea consumption trends among younger generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, are reshaping the market. Around 87% of Millennials report regular tea consumption, which has been integrated into daily life for many in Gen Z. Are you focused on a specific demographic? Which generations are more likely to become citizens (regular consumers)?
Kristina: We appeal to multiple demographics across all ages, but we continue to see the awareness of different taste profiles from a younger demographic. Millennials, Gen Z, are certainly looking for The Republic of Tea to bring that innovation, that one thing that they might be looking for, whether it’s an ingredient, the new functional herb, or just the creative combinations that we come up with.
Some of our blends have quite a few different ingredients. And that kind of creativity, that surprise, delight various demographics. I often hear people say, Oh, my mom drank The Republic of Tea, and that’s how I found it. So, I think we’re seeing part of it within families. We often hear how special our fall and holiday flavors are this time of the year because people have traditions like sipping our Comfort and Joy blend when wrapping Christmas presents. Others mention certain teas they drink as a family when watching movies. So we hear a lot of that, where we’re spanning multiple generations.
Holiday selection with Tablespoon Peppermint Bark tea concentrate
Dan: How about the beautifying botanicals category or the super herbs? Are these popular with women?
Kristina: Yes. We find that the vast majority of people who are drinking beautifying botanicals are women in the 30, 40, and 50-year range. Okay, but it’s certainly not exclusive to that group. In some of our research, we have found that we over-index relative to other tea brands with male tea drinkers.
Dan: Which teas are most popular with men?
Kristina: We see it with our black teas but also with our functional herbs.
Dan: Research indicates that young people begin showing a preference for tea during adolescence, although exact ages can vary based on cultural and regional influences. At what age do you notice consumers becoming fans of the brand?
Kristina: We have high school students who are avid citizens of The Republic of Tea, creating tea clubs at their schools. Also, college students get together and pick our tea for their club. We’ve always aspired to be something for every man, woman, and child, to find something in the assortment.
Comfort and Joy black tea with spicesCollagen promoting blue butterfly pea flower teaDouble Green Matcha Tea
Dan: Three hundred fifty teas is a wide range. I’m going to guess 10% to 20% are traditional teas; almost everything else is blended.
Kristina: You’re right about that.
Dan: So blends dominate, which means changing preferences, trending flavors, and availability of ingredients make it likely many will come and go, often in a short period of time. Will you name two or three all-time best sellers that have become iconic and associated with the company’s history and tradition?
Kristina: The most iconic at The Republic of Tea is our Ginger Peach Black Tea. But iconic is more than just flavors. Our tin packaging is truly significant, so it starts there. Our Ginger Peach black tea is one of the originals. Other iconic blends from the very beginning, from 1992, would be Blackberry Sage Black tea and Chamomile Lemon, another of the first blends.
I need to mention our organic Double Green Matcha. It’s really innovative. We blend matcha powder and green tea leaves together and put them into our signature round bleached paper tea bag. That tea has been a top seller since we launched Double Green Matcha in 2007.
Ginger Peach Black Tea
Those three have been in the marketplace for well over 32 years and are still great sellers.
So those are just a few of the best-known blends that we offer, but I can go on and on.
Dan: Go on! This is good. I wanted to help our overseas listeners visualize non-traditional products. You mentioned packaging, and the introduction of simple, tagless round tea bags remains the standard. Your tins are recyclable, tea bags are biodegradable and compostable, and you use recycled PET if needed.
Kristina: Innovation is a core value at The Republic of Tea in any way we can define it. We’re constantly reminding ourselves to be innovative in our approach when it comes to our tea blends and packaging. At the core is this unbleached paper tea bag. It started with full-leaf tea first and then migrated into the tea bag. The company wanted something without the unnecessary strings tag staples; try to avoid single use if possible, and then something that can be easily compostable or just biodegradable. That value is at the very core of The Republic of Tea. But we also want to be sure that our teas and herbs are kept fresh, so they are made with recyclable steel and are really great to reuse; plus, they’re beautiful, and they look so lovely on people’s kitchen countertops.
Dan: I also noticed a statement on upcycling waste, the appealing example of your Root to Petal blends that use roots and husks to create teas, and the idea of end-of-life and end-of-product-life planning for packaging.
Kristina: We are conscious of what happens after the tea is enjoyed. So we advocate that after you enjoy your cup of tea or herbs, you compost it, put it in your flower bed, and find a way to let it live on, if possible, but also make sure that you’re not contributing to something not having an end of life. Give it a chance to erode or biodegrade or compost in some way.
Dan: The brand is best known in the US and Canada. Do you foresee expansion into overseas markets?
Kristina: Right now, it is the United States, for the most part, but we are always entertaining exploration into different markets abroad. As you know, there are challenges when trying to export tea, especially exporting tea and herbs to certain countries. So, it can be challenging, but it’s always an option; whenever we can make it work, where it’s seamless, and there are good partnerships to help escort The Republic of Tea into new markets, we are always open to that. But there are business challenges that come with exporting internationally, especially with some of the ingredients that we blend with. Certainly, in the future, I can see that exporting will continue to grow, especially as more people are looking for discovery. They want something that they’ve never seen before. They want teas that will thrill them, delight them, that they’ll enjoy. And some of those countries you mentioned, Dan, do have sophisticated palettes. They want to explore more culinary options. They also enjoy this sort of packaging, so we travel to origin and bring tins to show there; it’s always just as appreciated as it is here in the US. So I’d say, to answer your question, in the long term, we are always looking for new ways to bring more citizens to The Republic of Tea worldwide.
Dan: Your continuity with the company is impressive. Messaging certainly changes over 20 years, becoming more perceptive, insightful, and effective, but core values are timeless. I’ve seen lifestyle brands wax and wane, with many companies spending promotional budgets to raise awareness for a good cause. But when the person championing that cause is replaced, it becomes clear that the company isn’t committed at a deeper level. Companies that do not embrace fearless innovation and a commitment to values in their DNA can drift back to social, environmental, and business practices that are not sustainable.
That will be the death of companies going forward.
Kristina: I agree. That is something distinct about The Republic of Tea. Its bones were built with those values and continue to be at our core; our ethos is built around that.
Regarding your question about the future and looking forward to it, it’s absolutely necessary that we all come together as an industry and work towards resolving all of the issues that different countries are battling at the origin.
As tea companies look to the future and how we can help the livelihood of all in the trade, that holistic, intrinsic need to do good for each other is what’s going to make our beautiful industry thrive.
