TeaChat

I am new here, just having bougth a coffee house. We have improved our food and coffee emensly...now we need tea education and help. When I say we it is my husband, my four children and a whole communities of tea and coffee deprived rural Ohioans.

Welcome. You can pick up a lot of basic info about tea here, to help you give your customers (and yourselves) a better experience!

Everything matters--the quality of the tea leaf, the quantity of leaf, the quality of the brewing water, the temperature of the brew, the timing of the brew.

Brewing if for customers, I imagine it's going to be harder to 'customize' your brews as easily as we can brewing for a few people whose preferences we can take into account (make mine 1/2 the strength of everyone else's, for example). Still, there are plenty of friendly teas that aren't so touchy about brewing conditions--e.g., that aren't lovely lovely lovely then suddenly BITTER! if you go a few seconds too long or use a touch more leaf than usual, and you can learn about them here. Have fun!

+1 .... ohhhh, and don't forget the teaware!!! This can make or break a great tea.

And, one thing I run into in coffee shops that also sell, dispense tea, often the tea aroma/flavor is mobbed by the obtrusive coffee aromas. Tea is a more subtle brew. Also be sure to protect tea loose leaf from coffee aromas.

And welcome to TeaChat. Hope to see you around the forum.