Tea in Tuscany

Hello Tea People. I've been lurking here for a while and your information and perspectives have been so helpful. I am a new tea merchant, in business for 6 months in a small east coast town. The business struggles but I am dedicated to making it work. I have been approached by the owner of a fine Italian restaurant in town to pair with her to present an afternoon of "Tea In Tuscany" in the fall. We don't want to do a Victorian tea; instead would like to bring a kind of Mediterranean style to the event. But I'm the descendant of Welsh coal miners--what do I know about Tuscan style? If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them, with the hope that they will make interesting reading for the rest of the group.

Thanks in advance for your help. I enjoy reading this group and am so grateful for all I have learned from your posts.

Reply to
AssamOnMainStreet
Loading thread data ...

Reply to
toci

Who are you? An introduction would be nice, especially since you are asking for our help.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Petro

Mike Petro wrote:

Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking... I don't post anywhere, so please forgive me if I am handling this clumsily. I'm also a little skittish about privacy issues. I am a former mortgage compliance specialist who, at mid-life, made the decision to try to do something more pleasant for a living, so sunk all my savings in a little storefront in Western Maryland selling loose tea by the ounce and tea accessories. It was a decision based on my enthusiasm for tea, in general, and a deep affection for my beautiful hometown, and maybe not rooted in much practicality. My shop is fragrant and stylish and it has been a joy putting it together. It is lovely to go to work there--that's a new feeling and it would be nice to grow old with the business, and I want to make that happen, tho' niggling doubt arises. I think I read in the archives of this list a discussion which observed that tea shops like mine don't usually make it because tea and tea accessories is not usually enough to sustain a business. Maybe should have read that discussion before I opened! I would say that daily I do a lot of Tea 101 for curious potential customers. I don't have a presence on the internet yet; I'm working on my webpage. I have been open six months and am having some difficulty being discovered altho' I have advertised as much as my budget will allow. The town itself is recovering from years of economic depression and is finally coming into its own as a tourist/art destination. However, I may have opened in advance of the available consumers. I've taken advantage of some other promotional opportunities and the Tea in Tuscany idea is another that has promise, I think, for being a fun event and getting my name out there. I hope that works as a more adequate introduction, and I would happily talk more about me, me, me, but I don't want to be a bore. Please be assured, however, that I do appreciate the interest and perspectives of the group very much.

Reply to
AssamOnMainStreet

I'm sorry to say this, but I think this is a bad idea. Tuscany's a lovely area, and it has a deep food culture, but Italy as a whole is pretty much a tea desert as far as I've seen. There are some Italians working to change this, but they have a long way to go.

How about "Tea in Xishuangbanna"? "Tea in Wuyi"? "Tea in Darjeeling"? "Tea in Kagoshima"?

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

Nice bio but whats your name? Thats sort of what I was driving at. In any event, welcome, you have chosen a hard road to follow if you need to make a living....

Mike

Reply to
Mike Petro

Where in Western Maryland? I'm going to be in Maryland in a bit more than a week.

dmh

Assam>

Reply to
David M. Harris

I'm 100% Italian, Sicilian/Calabrese (what a mix;) and can honestly say that I have to agree thatthis is a bit of an odd idea and most likely met with little interest unless it is handled as a ligh-hearted and non-serious type of deal. There is no such thing as "Tuscan Tea" beyond some tourist trap type thing.

I don;t usually hand out free business/marketing advice but I will make a couple comments here:

My best suggestion is to not try to make it serious since it has no tradition or real background. Instead sticking to some light-hearted Italian music lightly playing with some unique teas (more on this later) and some real traditional Italian cookies (not bastardized American Biscotti) and possibly space/area permitting something like afternoon Bocce games.

As far as teas go, my advice would be to get creative. Use teas that have flavor ties to Italy or match well with Italian culture and ingredients. For instance I have a great blackberry sage tea that would be a good fit. Maybe even custome blends with unique ingredients, lavender, sunflower, rosemary, tarragon, sage, etc.

As far as cookies go, real Italian cookies are generally not very sweet and make very good pairings with tea. Cannolli, and gellato are also nice items.

My best advice would be to not take it too seriously and have fun with it. Any real Italian will call shenanigans if you try too hard and by offering some truly one of a kind teas you mayboost some sales and create a niche for yourself.

Just my two lira.

- Dominic

Reply to
Dominic T.

snipped-for-privacy@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com6/19/0

6 12: snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net

It does for me. Welcome aboard. Michael

>
Reply to
Michael Plant

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.