The other day I found myself wandering around in one of those well-known discount stores. You know the kind: Designer names for less. Anyway, I was browsing the home goods section and came upon a few shelves dedicated to Tea, Tea Foods and other treats. This got me thinking about how certain brands of tea end up in places like this and how people end up buying them BECAUSE they end up in places like this. The “discount” isnt significant but the fact that its priced lower does tend to bring out the desire to buy.
Some of the brands I did not recognize and some were well known. The one that caught my eye and prompting this blog was none other than NUMI. Yes. NUMI flowering teas were being sold… at a discount. Im curious to know how Numi would feel about this if they knew thats where their tea ended up.
As a new tea merchant, I was disheartened by the fact that tea was cast aside as an item to be discounted and that those who would buy were going to taste some very old, lifeless leaves. Of course, one could argue that perhaps someone who doesnt know anything about tea would be exposed to it via this venue thereby creating an opportunity for a person to try something new.
Perhaps. But most of us know that many teas have a shelf life and there is NOTHING better than STEEPING a lusicious cup of fresh tea leaves.
One of my missions at Pearl, is to try to educate anyone that will listen to me wax on and on about the virtues of tea. To try to open their minds and expand their palates and try new flavors. I almost love trying to figure out what someone might like as much as sipping tea myself.
So I dont know. Discount Tea: A good thing or a bad thing?
Curious if anyone has a thought on this.
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