Attempting to keep New Year’s resolutions

It’s the new year and yet some things never change—I’m still a glutton for punishment! Once again, I decided to make New Year’s resolutions. But I believe that this year’s resolutions are more manageable than my past resolutions solutions. And yet, given the hour at which I’m writing this piece, I’m already failing miserably at my annual number one resolution—to get more sleep.

I’m hoping I’ll have better luck with my second resolution, to drink more tea. It’s a perfect month for this resolution as January is National Hot Tea month. As I’ve mentioned in previous pieces, I love coffee—I’m a multi-cup per day/prepared with a French press coffee drinker. I tend to have a mug of coffee in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, and I alternate between them all day, every day (of course, on occasion, at cocktail hour, I may switch to an alcoholic libation…). While I have no plans to curtail my coffee consumption, I intend to incorporate more tea into my diet. I’m not doing it for any health or holistic reasons, simply because my position with Tea & Coffee Trade Journal has opened my eyes to a world of teas I never knew existed and I’m eager to try many of them. Just this week, editing stories for our website, I’ve come across names such as “Royal Palace Pu’erh,” “Jasmine Pearls,” “Chamomile Blossoms” and “Armenian Mint” from Argo Tea that sound wonderfully enticing. I’ve also learned that ITO EN North America is introducing two flavours from it Match LOVE Organics line in select CVS pharmacy stores around the US, making it even easier to snag premium, RTD green tea (I have no excuse to not try these teas as New York City is peppered with CVS stores!). It seems that I’m not the only one looking to drink more tea.

A new out-of-home tea consumption report (focusing on the UK) from Tetley Tea found that tea drinking in the UK is growing. The report stresses that tea can be enjoyed across a range of day parts in a variety of different environments. Operators, the report states, that offer a variety of tea blends can dispel the myth that only a strong coffee will stimulate the mind. This will be challenging though as many coffee drinkers ─ whether real or imagined ─ believe that they need their morning cup of joe to jump start their day. But there is hope. Tetley’s report finds that breakfast is a key area of growth for fruit and herbal tea, with 28% of purchases occurring between 6am-9am.

The report recommends tapping into trends and understanding customer needs across different channels, occasions and day parts in order to allow operators to tailor their tea offering, thereby appealing to a much wider consumer demographic. By offering beverage solutions that appeal to consumers varying emotional and functional requirements, there’s an opportunity to attract new supporters to the category. As a potential “new supporter,” I’m willing to try.

I’m off to find a “nighttime, calm-inducing, relaxation” tea. Good luck with your resolutions and may 2017 be filled with peace, hope, good health, and good fortune. Happy New Year!

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