“This watch is exactly two days slow.”

Do you like tea? I love tea. I think I’ve always loved tea. My father was born in Ireland and I partially blame it on that. You become accustomed to things. Or, it might be that as soon as we were old enough, we drank it out of our bottles; quite diluted with milk, but tea none the less. My nephew, who is four, requests, nay, requires at least 2 cups of hot tea a day. Coffee is grand, and plays a fantastic mental trick on me, letting me think the caffeine helps me wake up in the morning (the truth is caffeine doesn’t really do much for me, sure, too much makes my hands shake but you can give me an IV of it and put me to bed, and I’ll sleep) but tea gives me comfort. But, not any old tea, I prefer the English or Irish Breakfast Tea. While I was in London, we went back to the hotel everyday for tea service at 3 and it was my favorite part of the day! So tea…do you have tea at your restaurant/bakery/shop? It might be worth looking into. According to QSR Magazine  not only is tea the world’s second most popular drink, water coming in first, but tea sales are growing like they haven’t seen in many years. With people looking for healthier alternatives in their diets carbonated beverages and juices are losing step while tea, hot and cold, and all its natural glory is shining through. The Tea Association estimated that tea imports (almost all tea sold in the US is imported) increased more than 10% over 2010 and restaurants are seeing a 3-5% increase in sales over the past few years. It might be a hot little number to think about…everyone does like a croissant and cappuccino, but you can’t deny tea and scones.

Tea parties are fabulous fun are fabulous fun at any age, a good way to re-acclimatize your customers with peti fours and come cucumber sandwiches made on your house white. Tea and cake, beautiful tea cups and pots, high tea, there are great opportunities to educate and have fun with your customers. Brands, choices and quality are plentiful, so secure some samples and have a tea party of your own! Tea is most delicious with some sweets…I’d recommend some Irish Soda Bread (22091), scones (22091, yes the same) and some delicate almond florentines made with Florenta (02122). Read more of the QSR article here for more numbers, more about iced tea and some info on the flavored herbal teas. 

As for the title of the quote at the beginning of the bit, it’s from a fantastic movie…who can guess?! I’ll send a sample of the Irish Soda Bread and Scone mix to the first correct guess! Don’t cheat! Reply here to the blog. I'll give you a hint in the form of a riddle. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"