A hot trend brewing with millennials
We emerge from a soothing slumber and firmly place once-warm feet on a frigid floor, stretch fatigued bones and wipe the sleep from the corners of drowsy eyes. During a typical morning ritual we wearily saunter to our kitchens and make a steaming cup of something to help propel us into a hectic world. Now more than ever people are ditching beans and reaching for leaves to brew a perfect cup to get their day started.
Whether you’re a tea connoisseur, new to the tea game or an avid coffee consumer, it’s hard to deny tea is a steadily increasing trend. According to the Tea Association of the USA, Americans consumed more than 80 billion servings of tea in 2014, more than 3.60 billion gallons.
As tea consumption is continuously growing, gaining on the popularity of coffee, there is one group embracing the tea craze at an escalating rate: millennials. Over one half of the American population drinks tea on any given day, and 87 percent of those tea drinkers are millennials, according to the Tea Association of the USA.
“I have been drinking tea forever,” said Santa Rosa Junior College student Liz Fendrick, 22. “Tea is an entity I vibe with and allow to move me. When I know something is good for me, I love it.”
Paige Michaels, regional tea trainer at a large tea company, said the primary demographic of people she notices buying tea is middle aged, health conscious women, though the 14 to 24-year-old age range is steadily increasing.
Tea companies target millennials with creative blends and innovative tea tools, though they tend to buy more ready-made tea beverages over loose leaf tea, and those who do purchase loose leaf often buy in small quantities to save money, Michaels said.
Michaels believes one of the biggest factors in switching from coffee to tea is the caffeine element. While coffee provides a large energy boost, it normally leaves you with jitters then a crash. Tea, on the other hand, has the right amount of caffeine to refresh and invigorate, says Michaels, “just enough to stimulate your mind.”
Tea is more than the typical temporary health craze, though its benefits are attracting to the more health conscious generation. Aside from the more moderate, and subsequently less addicting, amount of caffeine, unsweetened tea is also high in polyphenols and antioxidants, which makes it a healthier alternative to other sugary drinks, Michaels says.
Fendrick said, “I drink tea for the medicinal gifts. When I feel off, the herbs bring me back to life.”
The natural and refreshing taste of tea often vanishes with packets of sweetener. With infusions of berries, herbs and spices, or even just an old fashioned touch of lemon and honey, tea can be transformed into a sweet and pleasant beverage without sacrificing its health benefits.
The taste and benefits of tea aren’t the only attracting qualities to the younger generation. If there’s one thing millennials love, it’s options. They want more social media sites to express themselves, more Netflix shows to watch and more Thai restaurants to frequent. The wonderful world of tea gives them that variety they crave.
Tea isn’t all just black and green anymore. There’s white, herbal, oolong, mate, Darjeeling, rooibos, pu-erh and hundreds of tea blends and fusions to choose from. “Chamomile and honey were my first love,” Fendrick said. “These days I love mate and the amazing health benefits.”
Not only is there a diversity of teas, but now there is a plethora of ways to make and consume it. Tea companies are making tea more accessible than ever with everything from loose leaf infusers for individual servings to infuser teapots. With the plentiful tea supply and the various gadgets to make brewing tea even easier, it’s no wonder millennials are hopping on the tea bandwagon.
Millennial college student Matthew Koch, 20, said, “Not only do I enjoy the taste, I enjoy the process. You put a few minutes into fabricating this thing and in return you receive pride and fuller fulfillment in having made it.”
Euromonitor International predicts off-trade value sales of tea to increase by 7 percent from 2014, reaching a $2.6 billion revenue, and they project volume sales to increase by 2 percent totaling 37,333 tons of imported tea.
Michaels predicts as the health trend continues to grow, the tea trend will continue with it; and with many tea companies getting creative with their blends and gadgets, tea consumption with millennials will keep growing.
“Tea today is not what tea was 60 years ago; this is not your grandmother’s cup of tea anymore,” Michaels said.
