Aug 25, 2008

Tea is for Toronto



A change is as good as a holiday, right? How about a complete career change, erm say brewing ice teas, smoothies and then handing them out on the streets of Toronto? Yes friends, I have made a temporary career change, into the world of loose tea.

As many of you may know, I am visiting my friend Kim in Montreal. Only 3 weeks before I arrived, Kim started a new job at www.davidstea.com. Although she is doing several roles she is basically setting up a chain of tea shops, tapping into the seemingly untapped North American tea market.

You see, North Americans love coffee. Not that I would call it coffee, more like coffee flavoured tea. They love it weak, weak as dishwater. The coffee is so bad here that it would make an Italian spit it out, force a Frenchman to stop making love and an Englishman get head spins.

The market seems ready for a tea revolution. In Australia we have trendy tea chains like T2, with chains in every shopping mall. Its a simple branding formula that has taken hold. Its worked for us and I think www.davidstea.com will become a permanent fixture on North American high streets.

But as with everything in North America, it has to come big, sugary and ready to go. So in the interests of public awerness, Davids Tea went to Toronto to make tea smoothies and ice teas to give out to unsuspecting Torontans. And they loved it! We made cool cocktails with Lime Bangs, Vanilla Oolongs, Cream of Earl Greys and Citrus Berry Splashes teas. 95% of people we offered tea to drank it and wanted to know more (and they seemed to become more friendly after a free coupon was handed over.)

I never really thought too much about it before, but tea is one of the most important economic and social products of our time. Tea helped to define modern day trade routes, created economic power-houses, offered an excuse for the opium wars and kept Britannia in power for hundreds of years, which in effect created the world as we know it today. Tea made us.

The most interesting aspect of Davids Tea is that they will also offer tea enlightment to customers through history, recipies and products to enhance the tea experience.

David is a young guy with a vision that really rubbed off on me. He is an true entrepreneur, he sees no limits and carries an optimism that is rare in this world. I respect his can-do attitude to life and has made me realise that if you can dream it you can do it.

And he makes you love tea.

The most remarkable experience I had from the world of Davids Tea was what it feels like to be David. Everyone thought I was him and before I could say I wasn't, I was being congratulated, supported and welcomed to the market by passers-by that will become future customers. It was an amazing feeling, and I feel really excited for him and his pursuits.

And whilst I sweated in front of boiling water, with tea-stained hands that were continually scalded and stank of 6 different types of tea, I felt a sense of accomplishment that I hadn't felt in a long time. I wasn't getting paid but I was supporting a dream, which is more than payment could ever provide (seriously though David, if you are reading this I would love some bottles of Veuve Clinquot).

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