BELLINGHAM, Wash.
Kamea Black’s radiant smile is engaging from across the Fairhaven Village Green and her colorful display of teas always draws a crowd at the Saturday Bellingham Farmers Market in this Puget Sound waterfront town.
Black has traveled weekly to both markets the past three years with a car load of tea she and her mother, Cheyenne, blend to taste in their home. She is an astute retailer, offering an informative display and eager to answer questions. Her enthusiasm rings the register with young and old.
“The farmers market has allowed us to get in touch with a vast array of customers from all walks of life,” she explains. Families, tourists who are seeking gifts, college students, seniors and working adults all sip our easy to approach tea, says Black, who is in her 20s. “My generation buys more than most people think and both genders equally purchase from us. Tea is definitely not just for the older set anymore. “
“Certainly the former stigma that only elder people or women drank tea is changing, it's definitely not seen as feminine or antiquated,” she adds.
Black says that introducing people to tea “is my favorite part of this job. I don’t know anyone whose day has not been improved by something as simple as a cup of tea. Stopping to breathe in the steam of something so delicious in the midst of our busy lifestyles – delivering that sense of peace to people – is why we do what we do.”
Are tea drinkers more curious about health attributes or taste? I ask.
“Definitely both,” she says. “Frequently, people come to us with the desire for good tasting tea without the need for fancy ingredients, or a previous knowledge of anything other than the basic American tea bag. They want to drink something that is good for them but they don't want it to taste like medicine. We focus on creating the best flavor and let the tea take care of the health benefits,” says Black.
Inviting questions is good for business, she says. The most common are: Which is your favorite tea? What got you started? How do I brew loose-leaf tea?
“Today people want to know the producer behind their products and feel connected. They want to know where you source from, why you choose the leaves you do, and what makes you different from the big buyers,” says Black.
When you sell someone on the benefits of tea and its taste, do they return for more or are most one-time tasters?
“The biggest benefit of the markets is accessibility. People frequently come back to our booth, and proceed to order in bulk because we showed them how easy Passionately Delicious™ artisan tea can be,” says Black.
“Tea has a bad reputation among the mainstream coffee drinkers as hard to brew. Many do not know what to pick,” she says. “We set out to change that one cup at a time. We feel so blessed to have the base of support that we do in our community. Our regulars turn out to support us week after week and keep us growing by telling their friends and bringing visitors to meet us, and we love them so much!” she exclaims.
Which are the most popular teas with customers?
“Chai (Guru Brew) is by far our best seller, and the whole reason we have the company we do. When I was a little girl, I would beg Mama to make chai, and allow me to help. Together we would mix and crush these spices into cheese cloth sashes that would then be carefully steeped over night. Served over smiles, her chai was, and still is, loved by all.”
A favorite of Western Washington University college students is Sip-T’s “life changing” northwest breakfast tea known as Wakey Wakey. Another popular blend is “our anything but classic berry tea dubbed Wicked Thicket,” says Black who is studying marketing and public relations.
She offers a selection of orthodox teas but most are original blends mixed in two-pound batches. She says she turns to her mother for inspiration.
“It always starts with one of Mama's brilliant ‘do you know what would be delicious?’ ideas, and we go from there. Together, we craft her idea into a reality with much taste testing, and more often than not it is better than we could have imagined. Based on customer interest we are putting a focus on locally grown ingredients. Currently we are developing recipes for a local lavender tea as well as a Washington apple blend,” says Black. Yeti’s Rush is a green mint tea blend that sell for $11 a canister, a $42 one pound bulk bag makes 280 cups at a cost of about 15-cents each. Tea bag samples sell for 99-cents.
Describe your process of discovery and refinement, consumer testing and branding, I ask.
“Once we have an idea, Mama writes down different ways to achieve what she is trying to capture. Together we hit the blending room and start hammering it out. We do several tests, pushing it in increments until we get what we want. Once we settle on what we like, we start testing the blend with friends, family, and adjust along the way as needed, ending with customer tests,” says Black.
“When we get the tea just right, we sit as a group and throw out names. This usually turns into a long night of laughing and too much fun. Name settled on, we give the details to my sister who does our label art while I make the new label. Finally we put it all together and launch it at market by giving away the first gallon in free cups of tea!” says Black.
Sip-T packs tea in reusable bags that serve as an infuser. The bags are made from cotton grown and sewn in the U.S. Labels are of hemp paper, ink is soy based and packaging is plant-based compostable cellophane. The company is a
Sustainable Connections business participating in the
Toward Zero Waste Campaign.
“Everything except the staple is biodegradable, compostable and tree-free,” says Black.
“When we first went into business, I had no idea how much of my time would be dedicated to packaging. It’s our image, it’s the feel in the hands of our customers at stake, and it’s the inherent usability of our product,” she explains. “It’s definitely more time-consuming to package this way, because there are many more steps involved, but we believe that tree-free and compostability are incredibly important,” says Black.
Are sustainability and attributes such as Fair Trade, Ethical Tea Partnership and Rainforest and USDA organic certifications important considerations in your choices of suppliers? Do these distinctions matter to the public?
“We made the decision when we started that all of our ingredients would be certified organic, and all of our leaves certified organic and fair-trade. This was for our own ethical reasons, and our desire to stand out as cutting edge rather than pass on old standbys,” says Black.
“This does seem to matter to the public in that they understand we are paying attention to our industry, and as a result this increases trust among our wholesale clients. People are willing to pay more for the difference in our costs knowing that it is a high quality product, but the profit margin remains the same,” she says.
Online sales are the main source of revenue for the firm, founded in 2009.
“Our
website has been up since day one, and this has allowed us to maintain reoccurring customers, and receive orders all over the states,” says Black.
“
Facebook has been a huge tool for us, and a great way for us to receive feedback from those who use our products. Apart from gaining us new customers though friend referral, facebook has also allowed us to maintain that customer producer connection that people crave,” she says.
“Our most loyal customers are those we have met, and had the pleasure of shaking hands with at the farmers market. That face-to-face interaction and the ability to discuss the passion involved in making tea is what people desire in this economy. They want to support their neighbors, feel connected to their community, and this is something that mass produced tea cannot provide,” says Black.
“We are a team, a mother and daughter who love each other, our community, art, and we like to share what we do with others. We don't sell our products, we share them, and in truth we share a bit of ourselves with every person we are lucky enough to meet and get to talk to,” says Black.
“We come to market with a sense of gratitude to be with these people. We are so appreciative of our customers and the events that have allowed us to be where we are,” she says. “In truth I guess the biggest thing we do, is share that with everyone we meet.”
“We don't sell our products, we share them, and in truth we share a bit of ourselves with every person we are lucky enough to meet and get to talk to. We come to market with a sense of gratitude to be with these people,” Kamea Black, Sip-T Tea Co., Bellingham, Wash.
January/February Focus: MobiliTEA Taking your tea on the road is a great way to educate new customers and to build brand awareness. But the thought of packing up your product for an off-site event can be tough to swallow. In this article experienced shop owners show that with a little strategic planning, you can master mobile retailing and boost your on-site business.... More.
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Loyal customers at the Saturday Farmers Market in scenic Bellingham, Wash. and those at the Fairhaven Village Green on Wednesdays inspire daughter and mother Kamea and Cheyenne Black to blend artisan teas that please. |
