How to sell tea in a takeaway-only world

What is the best way to serve takeaway tea?

For preparing teas to go, you can either use your loose leaf teas along with our unbleached, self-fill tea filters (like a DIY tea bag) or simply order from our range of 100% compostable tea bags.

What is the best breakfast tea for takeaway?

Any of our breakfast blends will brew a delicious cup, but in a particularly fast-paced setting (e.g train stations) there is a risk of customers removing the bag in such haste that they could leave the flavour lacking. Our fastest-brewing breakfast tea is Breakfast Brew - originally created for office-workers with a need for speed, this latest house blend is therefore well-suited to takeaway, delivering a delicious, robust cup in under a minute. 

Should I put the milk in for them?

The way people take their tea is about as personal as it gets and the simple question of whether they want milk or not misses a huge amount in-between. We always recommend that you let the customer do their own milk and sugar after you’ve handed over the tea - they’ll be accustomed to judging it by colour to ensure it is exactly as they want it.

Should I take the bag out before handing it over? 

In an ideal world yes - you’d brew behind the bar, whether loose in a pot or using a tea bag, and only pour it into the paper cup when it’s perfectly infused. However, if you’re not set up for brewing behind the bar you'll likely need to hand the brewing reins over to the customer and see them on their way. Just make sure that regardless of whether you've used loose leaf in a self-fill filter or a simple tea bag, the customer knows that the tea will need a couple of minutes to infuse before removing the bag in order to ensure the best possible flavour.

What teas should I have on a takeaway menu? 

We would always recommend keeping the menu tight for takeaway, ensuring you include a Breakfast tea, Earl Grey, Jade Tips (green), Peppermint & Rooibos. Beyond that it's up to you!

What else can I do to get it right? 

All the rest remains the same as when you prepare your teas for sit-in customers - water quality and temperature still matter to get the most out of every cup and it's all down to communicating with your customer that their tea will take a few moments to infuse. They'll thank you after that first sip...

What else can we do to support our tea sales if we can’t offer tea to sit-in?

Your customers are no doubt well versed at making tea at home, particularly in tea bags, so retail teas tend to move much faster than retail coffee, which can feel intimidating for some. If they’ve enjoyed the teas on offer in your cafe or restaurant, it’s only natural that they’d be interested in bringing that experience home so offering a retail range of teas to mirror the menu is a no brainer. And once they start buying their tea from you, they may well be back every couple of weeks to stock up again!

Finally, what are your bestsellers for Retail? 

Whether loose leaf or tea bags, our bestsellers for customers to brew at home are our Breakfast blends, Assam, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Jade Tips (green), Peppermint & Chamomile, plus any other herbals you might have on your menu. You know your customers best though so if they're Matcha latte devotees, you may want to consider having Matcha tins, and even Matcha Whisks, on your shelves for them to try at home. Our full range of Retail teas & tea accessories can be found on our Wholesale Pricelist or on the ordering portal here.

For help with creating a range, more tips on brewing for takeaway or to try a sample of our any of our teas don't hesitate to get in touch at wholesale@goodandpropertea.com.