Whether they are starting a new business, finding a new supplier, or launching a new product, tea buyers will often encounter a learning curve as they navigate the process of securing teas and botanicals. The process not only involves understanding the aspects of the product itself, but the activities involved in the transaction of tea. After speaking with tea vendors about their side of the experience, they described five common areas where misunderstandings can arise.
Here are the top five mistakes to avoid in buying tea from a wholesaler or vendor.
1. Not being helpful in zeroing-in on the specific tea (and quantity) needed.
“One of the first steps in helping new clients is narrowing down the details of the tea they are looking for,” said one vendor. “I get calls and emails from folks who ask: ‘Do you sell black tea?’ When I show them we stock dozens of black teas based on origin, leaf grade, and certification (e.g. conventional versus organic), some customers get a little overwhelmed at first.”
It is ok to start off by saying that you’re looking for a black tea, but that is only the beginning of the conversation. From there, talk can turn towards a few questions to find the best options for you.
- Are you looking for a particular origin or flavor profile? India produces black teas in the Assam and Darjeeling regions, but their flavor and characteristics are significantly different. China produces dozens of different green teas with distinct profiles. When you are not sure of any origin preference, it helps to describe the taste profile you may be looking for, be it malty, chocolatey, floral, brisk, or other.
- Do you need a particular leaf grade? The same tea leaf from the same location and same taste profile can be sorted into various grades. These often range from full leaf to fannings. To confuse things further, different tea-producing countries can have different protocols for defining their leaf grades. India, for example, uses a grading system of abbreviations (e.g. OP, TGFOP, etc), while China often uses a numeric system (e.g. Keemun 1243, 1254, 1265, 1276, etc). When you are uncertain about what leaf grade you may need, your tea vendor may ask you:
- Will this tea be packed in a teabag?
- Will this tea be combined with other ingredients or flavoring?
2. Not being clear on the product format, or capabilities needed for an order.
Another tea wholesaler we spoke with explained how customers may not be as familiar with the processes and operations of wholesale tea products. “We see this most often when a newer customer assumes that all tea vendors produce the same teas in the same way,” she said.
There is no universally standardized recipe for teas like Earl Grey or masala chai, so tea vendors’ teas can vary according to the origin/profile of tea used. Flavors (like bergamot for Earl Grey) will differ depending on the flavor house that produces the flavor.
In addition, tea vendors will often produce blended and/or flavored teas on an on-demand basis. As separate ingredients, black tea, cinnamon, and ginger can be sold separately or used to produce a range of tea blends. Once combined into a masala chai blend, those stock ingredients are committed until the chai is sold. Blending teas to order can take more time than pulling a pre-made blend off the shelf, but has its advantages. Freshly-made blends usually result in brighter flavor and longer shelf life.
Another important point: Consider the operational capabilities of your tea vendor. Are you looking for teas packed in tins or pouches? Do you need pyramid teabags or foodservice packaging? Tea vendors may not possess all the necessary equipment to pack all of these formats, but they may have partners who do. At the very least, your tea supplier can give you information on minimum order quantity (MOQ), turnaround time, and ship-from location for teas that you are looking to order.
3. Not having an appreciation of logistics.
By the time tea is delivered to a door in North America, those leaves are true global travelers. Since most teas are produced overseas in places like China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya, tea has made the trip across oceans on a container vessel, unloaded at a port of entry, and then transported by truck to a warehouse.
To get there, they may be packed in foil lined paper sacks weighing over 100 lbs, or they may be in sealed bags inside cardboard boxes weighing anywhere from 15 to 45 lbs. Getting from the warehouse to your designated location often requires ground shipping or LTL (less than truckload) service.
Cases weighing less than 50 lbs can usually be shipped by the major carriers, like UPS or FedEx Ground. Papersacks that weigh nearly 100 lbs often need to be shipped on a pallet via LTL.
FedEx and UPS offer convenient delivery to most business locations. LTL, however, can require a loading dock or liftgate, which can come at extra cost, and a pallet jack or forklift for unloading. Carriers like UPS and FedEx are known for more timely delivery along scheduled routes. LTL trucks can take longer due to the various stops and loading/unloading times for pallets being delivered to separate destinations.
It is often advised to insure your order for damages caused during shipping, which can add another, sometimes unexpected cost.
However your order is shipped, logistics still involves the human interactions that add to the time needed. Confirmation/communication related to order approval and details, physically pulling items from warehouse inventory, securing shipments for transport, and driver schedules—these all add to the time needed to get an order from door-to-door.
4. Not aware of the significance of documentation and records.
With the increasing amount of regulatory standards in place for food safety, even a basic understanding of certifications and documentation can help with tea procurement. Some of the standard documentation for tea products includes COAs (Certificate of Analysis) and product specification sheets. These documents (particularly the COA) record testing results for important food safety elements, like the presence of any mold and heavy metals in a tea. Product spec sheets provide a description of a tea’s sensory characteristics, including color and taste.
Beyond that, wholesale customers may need organic certification documentation to verify chain of custody. Simply buying organic product does not make your business organic compliant. Various paperwork may also be needed for Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Non-GMO, Kosher, and other sustainability and traceability standards.
5. A lack of appreciation for the seasonal and environmental conditions that affect agricultural production.
As anyone who has regularly tended a backyard garden can attest, this year’s vegetables don’t always turn out the same as last year’s. Rainfall levels and temperature variations cause early/late frosts, droughts, arrival of pests, and other factors that affect the volume and quality of vegetables produced.
To a degree, tea producers can compensate for minor variations by combining lots of healthier leaf with lots of teas that need a boost. These micro-lots get blended together to create a larger, more consistent, and commercially viable lot. At other times, large-scale, seasonal impacts can lower overall yields and quality for the season. An example of this kind of event took place in India, when a combination of drought and flooding contributed to Assam shutting down tea production a month shorter than the usual season.
Certain teas and botanicals are also known for having a narrower window in terms of production season. In this scenario, buyers often have to secure the full quantity needed until next year’s harvest. If their projections are wrong, or there is a surge in demand, they run out of inventory, and there is nothing to be had until next year’s harvest. It pays to work with your vendor to better understand buying patterns and inventory levels so that you both can prepare for eventualities.
Your tea supplier and all the members of the tea industry are working to support new and growing tea businesses, so they are ready to help find the teas you need and make them available to you. Educating yourself and your business team on the aspects of tea product characteristics, format, logistics, documentation, and seasonality will help make your tea buying process go more smoothly and steadily.
Jason Walker is Marketing Director for Firsd Tea North America. Prior to his work with Firsd Tea, Jason served in a variety of roles in marketing and operations.
His 15 years of tea and beverage experience includes marketing consulting services for tea brands, publishing a top-ranked online destination for tea consumer education, and operating a coffee company. Jason was a keynote speaker at the 3rd China International Tea Expo, a repeat speaker at World Tea Expo, and an editorial advisory board member of Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
Jason’s work with Firsd Tea involves sustainability and traceability projects, including the Sustainability Perspectives Report. The report is based on a global survey that captures industry views of coffee and tea professionals. Jason regularly shares sustainability findings in the press and industry events.
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