Is tea the new coffee? Ask Barack Obama

There’s no doubt that coffee holds a unique place in our culture. You know the routine by now. A colleague wants to talk to you about a project — let’s have coffee. You want to catch up with an old friend — let’s have coffee. Someone wants to ask you out on a date, but is either too chicken or doesn’t really want to pony up that much cash — let’s go get coffee.

But tea -- cold or hot -- is giving coffee some competition. It is the second most widely consumed beverage in the world. (The first is water.) We’ve recently been bombarded with messages about the ancient drink’s health benefits. Starbucks is unveiling a new line of tea drinks — London Fog Latte, anyone? And as it turns out, bottled tea beverages are one of President-elect Barack Obama’s favorite things.

However, Seth Goldman, president and co-founder of Honest Tea –- a bottled tea favored by the president-elect -- rejects the notion that tea is the new coffee.

“Tea is the new tea," he said. “Tea is the world’s second most popular drink. It has been around for thousands of years. People are moving away from soda and looking for healthier options. Tea is its own thing.”

Goldman said Honest Tea came together about 11 years ago, when he and co-founder....

Goldman said Honest Tea came together about 11 years ago, when he and co-founder, professor Barry Nalebuff of the Yale School of Management, realized that “nothing was quenching our thirst. We had always had an idea of creating a drink with not a lot of sugar, but something that tasted great where you could taste the real ingredients....Tea tastes great and it has healthful and functional properties. The highest quality tea can still be enjoyed for pennies per bottle. We can have this very high quality product at a very affordable price. Everything we make is organic.”

In total, Honest Tea has 20 varieties. The company found out Obama was partial to it after he was elected to the U.S. Senate. “We got a call from his office and they wanted to know where he could buy it,” Goldman said.

A few years later, Goldman was on a plane to Chicago and ran into Obama, who was also on board. “I introduced myself. He said: ‘Oh, I had just been drinking Dragon Tea on the way to the airport.’ I ran into him again and he said he had to move away from the green teas because the caffeine was keeping him up.”

Goldman said that Black Forest Berry (which has no caffeine) is Obama’s Honest Tea of choice now.

Honest Tea will be in Washington to celebrate the inauguration -- and give out free samples. Each bottle has a “neck hanger” that reads in part: “We live in an amazing country where dreams can come true...”

Starbucks has woken up and smelled the coffee –- er, tea -– and is also trying to get in on the game. It's unveiling a new line of hot and cold tea beverages to respond to customers’ request for more choices.

Among them: three new lattes, including the Tazo London Fog Tea Latte, and two fruit-flavored chai tea infusions, apple and berry.

Starbucks called in Lisa Drayer, a registered dietitian, wellness expert and health reporter who frequently appears on the "Today Show" and "Good Morning America" to discuss the health benefits of tea -– and why a “tea break” might be just what folks need to regroup during a busy day.

"People think of tea as an afternoon ritual. Tea is a lifestyle change that people can make to rejuvenate. It provides a great break during a busy day, and it can be just 15 minutes,” she said. "Coffee can have 75 milligrams [or more] of caffeine. Whereas a 12-ounce London Fog latte has 10 milligrams of caffeine. So I’d suggest coffee for the a.m. and tea in the afternoon because it gives you just enough caffeine to keep you going.”

Drayer said the reason to drink tea are the multiple health benefits, namely that famous “a” word we all know by now.

“Antioxidants!... Tea boosts immunity and can be beneficial in fighting off bacteria. Antioxidants fight aging and disease. We see studies showing these outcomes.”

She also advises that the U.S. take a page from Britain. “Because we are in such stressful times, a lot of us are seeking an afternoon break. Adding a 15-minute tea break is an easy thing to do. There is always a silver lining when things get stressful, and a tea break is a great thing. I encourage everyone to add tea time to their day.” She added: “A tea break certainly allows us to re-charge. The Brits have it right.”

What do you think? Will tea become more popular in 2009? Can tea replace coffee in the American diet?

--Lori Kozlowski

Photo credit: Honest Tea

Comments

[buy darjeeling tea]

i agree on that there’s no doubt that coffee holds a unique place in our culture when it comes to cold mornings.t I think now tea is giving coffee some competition. It is hard to believe but true that tea is the second most widely consumed beverage in the world and the first is water. Interesting post, liked it.

[Blooming tea guy]

Because tea is recognized as one of the richest sources of natural antioxidants on earth that help neutralize chronic and age-related diseases, it will possibly surpass coffee's popularity worldwide.

[Joe Mescher]

Brilliant!

Google Trends is reporting searches for 'Honest Tea' hold the #12 spot overall currently.

Could there be a better example of a relatively small player in the market benefitting from a social media 'free advertising phenomenon'?

[Alexa Fleckenstein M.D.]

With Obama - let's reach across the isle! It is not coffee or tea. We can enjoy both (preferably tea more often because of its health benefits).

All teas are delicious - with or without caffeine! But we have to move away from the tea bags. American tea bags taste as if somebody swept up the refuse from the factory floor...

Green tea - beside its health benefits - has another advantage: One can use the leaves for several steepings (provided it is a good tea) - which is economical.

Alexa Fleckenstein M.D., physician, author.

[caroline]

Tea is delicious. properly prepared, it is the finest beverage on earth.

Honest tea is a wonderful brand. I hope it's the new Snapple.

[JJ Flash]

As an ex-pat Brit I can confirm that you STILL can't get a decent cup of in America. By "tea" I mean real English breakfast tea, or "builders tea" as it is affectionately known back home.
How to make it correctly? It's very simple really - just make sure that when you pour the water over the tea leaves or teabag - NOT dunk a teabag into already poured water - it is BOILING. Not hot, or just boiled, but BOILING. This process brings out the flavor of the leaves. Then let it sit for a minute or two, and add COLD milk to taste.
Easy - and deliciously refreshing.
Cheers!

[Mark]

Back in the day, the British government changed the national taste from coffee to tea because of the money being spent on coffee to import it. So its subjects had to by tea from British controlled territories. Here in America, we threw out our taste for tea at the Boston Tea party. So coffee was something we liked and it didn't represent the Brits. Coffee has been engraved so much in our culture at this point tea won't catch up for a very long time.

[Robert B]

I have enjoyed good tea for many years but find americans do not know how to make it. Invariably, most people I know make it too strong. They make a pot or cup of green tea to find it nasty and bitter. I prepare some in a clear teapot, stop the infusion when the color is right, and have several acquaintances who marveled at how delicious the tea was.

I like Oolongs, Green and White Teas from Ten Ren and many Mariage Frere floral infused teas. Rose Tea from Rose Tree Cottage in Pasadena is also a favorite.

As an aside, in the South, where I am from, it is common for tea to be boiled in the making of iced tea. This is a practice in some parts of India as well.

[swag]

Over the past decade it seems a week doesn't go by without some publication telling us "tea is the new coffee".