CHICAGO - Since the Boston
Tea Party 240 years ago, Americans have not embraced tea as readily as we have
coffee. But in recent years, the popularity of tea ?" both iced and hot ?" has
begun to soar, especially on restaurant menus, Nation??s Restaurant News
reports.
Last year, tea appeared on
74% of restaurant menus selling drinks, behind only soft drinks among
nonalcoholic drinks, according to Datassential??s MenuTrends. Hot tea graced 63%
of menus last year, ranking higher than milk, hot chocolate, iced coffee,
premium coffee and lemonade, among other drinks.
The upward movement of tea
can be traced to the fact that drinks overall are "super hot" right now, said
Nancy Kruse, president of the Kruse Company. "Second, and related to the first,
is that beverages offer superior margins. Plus, tea is very versatile and mixes
well with a range of flavor treatments. I also think that tea benefits from the
halo of health, and patrons like better than to feel virtuous while indulging
in something they truly like."
Restaurants spice things
up with iced tea by adding fruit flavoring to the beverage, raspberry being the
most popular addition. Other fruit flavors often paired with tea include
strawberry, peach, mango and lemon. Last year, restaurants debuting new
flavored iced teas included Arby??s (Passion Fruit Iced Tea), Peet??s Coffee
& Tea (Berry Pomegranate Tea Freddo), Ruby Tuesday (Blackberry Handcrafted
Fruit Tea) and Wendy??s (Wild Berry Tea).
Hot tea also has shown
growth. Top flavors in hot tea include chai, green and herbal, as well as
chamomile, Earl Grey and jasmine. In 2012, Teavanna (recently bought by Starbucks) debuted Sweet Fruit Garden Herbal Tea, while
California Pizza Kitchen added Zen Tea to its hot-tea menu.
"I think the tea trend
will pick up steam as operators innovate around flavors," said Kruse. "I think
the tea-shop niche will evolve and grow. I don??t think it will ever really
threaten the primacy of the coffee chains, Americans are still dedicated coffee
drinkers, but I do think smart merchandising and appealing products will allow
some specialists to flourish."