Tea Business
Extreme Sampling
by Bill Waddington

Everyone has heard that sampling is important, and most tea- and coffeehouses offer samples of their daily specials to customers. We have heard this so much that the concept itself—while still valid—has grown old and boring. I strongly believe that you need to take sampling to the next level. You need to live on the sampling edge. You need to engage in extreme sampling. Extreme sampling takes the customer by surprise. It appeals to all of the senses, not just taste. It shakes your customers up and startles them. It happens inside and outside your shop.

I am going to focus on the world of tea, but much of this also could apply to coffee. Tea lends itself more readily to extreme sampling. Most coffeehouses carry five to 15 coffees. But there are more than 10,000 teas out there. Most tea establishments carry at least 20 to 100 teas. And there is a much greater variety among teas: from a gentle soft white tea to a super strong Pu-erh tuo cha (stronger than espresso) to a wild and crazy proprietary blend. So if you have a coffeehouse, perhaps think of implementing extreme sampling with your tea program.

Sampling to other senses

Have your teas out where customers can see, smell, feel, touch and generally play with them. Always remember, “People like to play with their food,” and incorporate this principle into your sampling. Perhaps have the dry tealeaves out and displayed on small plates or in wine goblets. They will catch your customer’s eye. Customers will pick them up, nudge them with their fingers, check out the aroma, and ask what it is and whether they can have a taste.

Argo Tea in Chicago has a row of five to seven clear glass teapots on display as you walk in, which hold the range of daily special teas (red, green, black, white, etc.). The teapots are visually stunning and also become an easy way to sample the teas. Extreme sampling outside your shop

You may have already tried some of these ideas. Some of them may seem ridiculous. My goal is to push you to try things you haven’t tried before. Sometimes you have to be a little wild and crazy.

Consider sampling your teas and coffees in some of the following venues:

• Wine stores and wine tastings
• Local sporting events and activities (serve something sweet with mate)
• Edgy restaurants
• Chocolatiers and bakeries
• Churches and church events
• Book clubs, sewing clubs, quilting clubs, etc.
• Gourmet grocery stores
• Spice stores
• Cookware stores
• Music festivals
• Shopping malls
• Art galleries
• Museums (tie into specific events and exhibits)
• Schools, from elementary through college. Grade-school children will tell their parents about what they tasted (and you may plant some seeds for future employees), and you may have a chance to hook the high school and college kids before they become Starbucked.
• Nightclubs. There often comes a time when folks want to stop drinking alcohol and instead want to drink something that will keep them going. Offer a tea—a sweet, mate blend.
• Independent retailers of almost any stripe: computer, book, music, etc. You may get more cooperation from fellow independent businesses and a greater willingness to try extreme sampling. You also may be targeting an audience that is more receptive to trying something out of the ordinary.
• Wherever people have to wait in line, such as at the auto mechanic’s shop, doctor’s office, pharmacy, bank, photo lab, DMV, post office, ticket lines, etc.
• Wellness businesses: yoga and meditation centers, massage studios, fitness clubs, weight-loss centers and chiropractors
• At the finish lines of events such as marathons or triathlons
• Street fairs, farmer’s markets, amusement parks, carnivals, ethnic festivals
• Neighborhood parades
• Truck stops (Why not? Don’t you think truck drivers are tired of diner coffee?)
• Local businesses, in their lobbies and reception areas
• Offer to provide free tea to real estate agents at their open houses so prospective home buyers walk into a wonderful aroma and have something delicious to sip while they poke around.

Some real-life extreme sampling anecdotes

• Free Tea for the Sweaty: One of our shops is next door to a fitness center, so at random times we put up a sign offering Free Tea for the Sweaty—just show us your gym bag and get a free iced tea. We consider this a large sample, and we only put the sign up occasionally and at random times. We have developed many regular customers from this promotion.
• BYOT (bottle your own tea): We bottled our best-selling iced tea in six-ounce poly bottles with a twist-lock cap and gave them away during our community’s autumn parade. We did the bottling ourselves in our back room, with the health department’s approval as long as it was kept under refrigeration and consumed within 48 hours. We passed out 400 bottles of this tea and almost immediately garnered dozens of regular customers. Check with your own health department for guidelines.
• Sampling Day Tuesday: Every Tuesday is Sample Day at TeaSource. We have huge color posters on the walls and in the windows advertising this. We prepare a special sample tray of five different teas (in five-ounce cups) for $3. And each Sample Day follows a given theme: Teas from India, Exploring Oolongs, Romantic Teas, etc.

Some great extreme sampling ideas

• Conduct a tea sampling that compares different teas (think of the Pepsi Challenge, but instead do Irish Breakfast vs. English Breakfast).
• Don’t make customers stand in line at the counter to get a sample. Have do-it-yourself sampling stations.
• Have a “Try Any Tea for Free” promotion in your shop.
• Have a contest where customers sample mystery teas, and those who identify the tea correctly win a coupon for the next visit. Call it Mystery Tea Day.
• Have sniffing jars out so customers can examine and smell the teas.
• Make sure that when you sample a tea, you weave in a story about it, maybe even with a handout about the tea: where it is from, its history, etc.
• Use a dispensing beverage backpack, like at the ball park, and sample tea anywhere.
• Don’t just sample in paper cups. Use wine goblets or champagne flutes (maybe the plastic kind), or earthenware Asian cups. Make it more of an experience.
• Sample matcha, along with a demonstration of how to prepare and serve it.
• Do sampling in conjunction with foods from local purveyors.
• Offer in-home tea sampling parties (think Tupperware and Mary Kay)
• Offer a sampling Tea Around the World program—every day or week, sample a tea from a different country.
• In response to those countless donation requests for a gift certificate or a gift basket, give them an airpot of free sample tea as well.
• At random times when you have a good crowd, make a fresh pot of an interesting tea and walk around and distribute samples.
• Make sure you also distribute samples of your loose tea, unbrewed. Every retail customer in our stores gets one free sample of a loose-leaf tea. Look for other opportunities to distribute dry samples of your loose teas.

The basic rules of extreme sampling

• Sample the best quality tea you have, and carry the best tea you can find. Don’t sample stuff you are trying to get rid of.
• Sample new items as they appear, don’t just sample old items.
• Sample your most expensive teas. I realize this can be emotionally difficult to see your most expensive product being given away. But your customers should taste the very best product you have.
• Have the discipline to implement and stick to an actual sampling plan and schedule.
• Get your employees involved with suggestions: Chances are they are a heck of a lot more hip and creative than you are. I know my employees are.
• Make sure your company name is prominent when sampling.
• Do sampling follow-up. Have a card and/or coupon identifying the product and telling the story of the item being sampled, and most importantly, where and how to buy it.
• I’ve shared examples of extreme sampling that our company and others have implemented. I hope these ideas will motivate you to implement extreme sampling in your own operation. And when you pull off a particularly audacious extreme sampling, send an e-mail to Fresh Cup so all of us can learn from your success.

 

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