n Calcutta, students gathered in huge numbers at the Chai Ho Jaye stall at Jadavpur University during a recent fest and the tea association hopes to be back at medical colleges, IIM Calcutta and IIT Kharagpur next fest season.
Lifestyle changes over the past decade have reshaped the market dynamics for tea. "Tea has major health benefits and that is its advantage over coffee and aerated drinks. With increasing health awareness, youngsters have taken to drinking tea like never before," Patra said.
Tea remains the preferred first sip of the morning. For Sanjay Bhattacharjee, 40, a refreshing cup of tea is a must on waking up every morning. "I drink a lot of green tea because it's healthy," said the head of retail at Titan.
Kakkar of the Apeejay Surrendra Group, which markets Typhoo Tea, stressed the need for companies to look beyond the classic milk for tea. "To reach out to the emerging audience experimenting with beverage options, it is essential that tea companies refresh their offerings. We have redefined tea with vivacious packaging in all its four major categories - green tea, luxurious black tea, flavoured tea and fruit infusions. We have also introduced decaf tea, which cuts out the caffeine completely," she said.
Convenience is another key factor but without compromising on quality. "Consumers are willing to pay more for quality, convenience and variety. So many more options are available now in the tea bag format, this is because the consumer wants to have that choice of convenience along with variety. Tea brands have risen to the occasion with innovation," Kakkar said.
Two leaves and a bud
In Bengal, the major players in the tea sector are Makaibari Tea, Goodricke and Duncan. "Darjeeling tea is preferred by those who like flavoured tea while Assam tea is preferred by those who prefer a strong and full-bodied taste. And both are trying to lure the youth, whether at the managerial level or by creating a niche market to position a brand," said Nayantara Palchoudhuri, a member of the Tea Board.
Rajah Banerjee of Makaibari Tea, who is considered the pioneer of organic agriculture in the Indian tea industry, said tea consumption in India has been increasing rapidly among the middle class. "Value addition in marketing is a must and one should be relentless on this front. Coffee is marketed as a sexy and hip beverage for the young and thus has captured their taste preferences. These youngsters will obviously influence the taste buds of their children in future. The tea industry should wake up and initiate a high-powered publicity campaign to address and regain lost ground to coffee. This is easily done as tea has only a tenth of the caffeine content of coffee."
Arun N. Singh, the managing director of Goodricke Group Ltd., feels the youth is slowly becoming the focus of the industry. "To tap the youth segment we highlight health benefits and also talk of tea as a lifestyle product. Tea mocktails and cocktails are in now. Variations of tea are being promoted to replace other flavoured drinks."
Serve it in style
Husband-wife duo Shruti and Rishav Kanoi are an example of what young blood can do to the tea business. The Kanois realised that "tea drinking is no longer only about the traditional kullarwala chai " and set up The Tea Trove on Sarat Bose Road in 2012 and another outlet at Lake Terrace the next year.
"Our menu offers options such as Chilli Chai, Vanilla Tea, Moroccan Mint, Tea on the Rocks, Tea Chino, Tea Frappe, Caramel Tea, Jaggery Tea and more. We also have a section where customers can make their own blends. There are jars with orange, lavender and lemon varieties. One can choose a single option or make a variant mix. This has been a big hit with our customers," said the duo.
Rohit Singh and Animesh Ghosh, both second-year students at Bhawanipur Education Society College, are regulars at The Tea Trove outlet on Lansdowne Road. "For us, the day has to begin with milk tea. After that there are endless cups all through the day. Most of it is milk tea. But we also have flavoured tea like green tea, peach tea and lavender tea. It is very refreshing and light. Here we can play games, read books and laze around over various blends of flavoured tea," the friends said.
Agreed Ayan Chakraborty, a lawyer who frequents The Tea Trove. "I went to St. Paul's in Darjeeling. I have literally grown up on tea and tea gardens. I love green tea, which I have almost all the time. It is light, doesn't mess with your system and the flavour is very subtle," he said.
Old and trusted favourites such as Cha Bar on the first floor of Oxford Bookstore and Flurys on Park Street, too, are popular among GenY.
Samarth Mahajan, 24, often drops in at Cha Bar with friends. "I drink a lot of peach tea and masala tea. Coffee is addictive, it makes you its slave. Tea on the other hand frees the mind," said the aspiring entrepreneur.
Cha Bar bestsellers include unfermented Chinese green tea, Masala Cha with a blend of exotic spices, zesty clove, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and black pepper and Kashmiri Kahwa made with peppermint, nutmeg, Tellicherry pepper, cinnamon and cardamom.
Flurys sells almost 250 cups of Darjeeling Tea every day. "That is the most popular item. Tea is gaining ground once again. People order iced tea, white tea and silver tea as well. Tea drinking has become fashionable once again!" said Vikas Kumar, the executive chef at Flurys.
Tea is not just about friends but family too, believes Tea Junction, which caters to a crowd of 16 to 65. "This is a family destination. We sell over 3,000 cups of tea at our 18-odd outlets on any given day. Masala tea is the most popular," said Sarvesh Saharia, the business head (retail) of Ambuja Neotia, which runs Tea Junction.
Koushik Kumar, an engineering student and a regular at the City Centre Salt Lake outlet of Tea Junction, said, "Whenever I am free, I come down here for tea and snacks with my family. The ambience is good, we have a good chat over cups of tea," he said.
Street smart
Russel Punjabi Dhaba has emerged as a brand in itself. "From morning walkers to the party crowd, everyone comes here," said Sukhdev Singh, the owner.
Sujay Majumdar, 32, assistant manager at Jaquar & Company Private Limited, loves the milk and lemon tea at the Russel Street dhaba. "I drink tea four to five times a day. I don't think drinking tea ever went out of fashion. But tea has been re-invented to suit changing tastes," he said.
At Balwant Singh's Eating House on Harish Mukherjee Road, tea has always been king. "We sell about 2,000 cups of tea a day. We are open for 22 hours a day. We have been serving steamed tea since 1926. Ours is a blend of Assam and Darjeeling tea," said owner Lakhvinder Singh.
Cha Bar regular Sanjay Bhattacharjee loves to try a variety of teas at stalls too. "I had tea with chocolate powder near Ram Mandir on MG Road. It was awesome. Another variety is the Patiala Tea, made with a lot of ghee, milk and sugar and is popular in the Girish Park area."
Vijay Sharma, 30, of Sharma Tea is aware that customers are very conscious these days and want only the best. "We have people who have been coming here for the past 30 years. We encourage people to drop by for tea and adda. The ambience is such that they stay for longer than planned. The Masala Chai is a universal favourite," said the new-generation proprietor.
Tea-off
Story on Elgin Road recently launched Tea Story, a section that sells a variety of teas. Sidharth Pansari, the bookstore owner, believes there has been a boom in the tea market. "People have realised that drinking tea is healthy. Every dietician and health expert prescribes green tea. The market potential is vast." Story stocks almost 100 different flavours from chocolate tea to Kashmiri tea.
Swati Gautam, who owns the innerwear brand Necessity, became part-owner of a tea garden near Darjeeling a few years ago. "I got into the business of tea because I realised there's something common to lingerie and tea and that is habit. You wear a particular kind of lingerie because it is comfortable and you are in the habit of wearing it everyday. Tea is a habit, once you get used to good-quality tea, you will never have anything else again," said the t2 columnist.
"Earlier, the best tea was only exported because everyone wanted only milk tea. Now good-quality tea has found a niche market among the middle and upper middle class," said Swati, who sells tea under the brand name Necessitea.
Buying and selling tea online is also catching up quick. Typhoo has interesting blends such as Orange Spicer Blackcurrant Bracer, Lemon and Lime Zest and Green Tea with Moroccan Mint at its online store.
Portals such as Teabox, which has partnered with over 150 tea estates across the Indian subcontinent, sell exclusively online. Customers can choose the type of tea (green, black, white, oolong), region (Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri, Kangra or Northeast) and exotic and rare flavours such as Lopchu Flowery Orange Pekoe Darjeeling Black Tea or Thurbo Moonlight Spring Darjeeling White. The website also helps customers with notes on every variety of tea, what kind of notes or flavours to expect, the right time of the day to have it and more.
"A lot of people are buying tea online. It is convenient and all stores don't sell all kinds of tea. You can choose your brand, pick the right flush and compare prices as well. Online tea market is fast picking up," said Shruti of The Tea Trove, which also retails online.
Drink to the lees
Tea Board member Palchoudhuri stressed the need for involvement of the youth in all aspects of the business, not just as tea drinkers. "We need the youth to take up courses in tea garden management and tea sales. We also need more youth as tea tasters."
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150531/jsp/calcutta/story_23069.jsp
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