With +95% gross margins, it's important to monitor the iced tea program in your establishment. After taking the time to source the best possible tea, and purchasing state-of-the-art iced tea brewing equipment is your restaurant or cafe's iced tea sales beginning to slip after a peak?
What went wrong?
Way too often operators spend the time setting up a specialty tea program but then do not put the same emphasis on the daily maintenance required for its success. To have continued success with your iced tea program, employees need to have the right tools, training, and understanding of specialty iced tea. This includes the proper way to brew, hold and serve the specialty tea your guests deserve. Without this training, you could be missing the top line revenue of the most profitable item on your menu!
Iced Tea has +95% gross margins.
Brewing
When using a commercial-grade iced tea machine, it is important that a single paper filter is used (when using an open brew tea program). Multiple paper filters lead to over-extracted and bitter-tasting tea due to the length of time it takes for the water to empty from the brew basket. It is also important that new tea is never brewed over old tea. This creates mediocre tea with a very short shelf life that leaves the customer wanting a different beverage.
Additionally, the entire brew must finish (both the hot brewing extraction and the dilution) before pulling a single glass of tea. Pulling a glass too early creates an unbalanced brew. The first glass is too strong and the rest of the brew is too weak.
Storing
The dry tea leaves should be stored in a dry place that is easy for staff to access when preparing iced tea. However, the bags of tea should never be opened prior to brewing. Tea leaves are naturally hygroscopic (tending to absorb moisture from the air) and can impart the absorbed moisture and aromas into the finished brew.
Now that we have perfectly prepared fresh brewed iced tea, we need to ensure that the brewed tea is stored in the right location for the right period of time. According to the Health Department, tea is safe for human consumption when stored at room temperature, for no more than 8 hours. This is similar to making sure that a protein is cooked and served at the right temperature, or in other words, the “food-safe zone.”
To break this down into simple operational practice, each shift should prepare a fresh batch of iced tea. However, unlike proteins, refrigeration damages the quality of tea. This is due to a chemical reaction that occurs between the calcium and magnesium in the water (needed for tea extraction) and the polyphenols (health benefits and mouthfeel of tea) to form cold water insoluble salts. The good news is, that on average, two servings of freshly brewed tea pays for the entire brew. Don’t throw away potential profits by saving a few pennies worth of iced tea.
One of the biggest mistakes made is storing the brewed tea in pitchers full of ice. This further dilutes the tea and creates a lifeless tea taste and body. The solution to this problem is to store tea in iced tea dispenser(s) or pitcher(s) without ice. When pouring a glass of fresh brewed iced tea, fill your glass full of ice and then fill the glass with room temperature brewed tea. When refilling a guest’s glass offer to refresh the ice as well. This ensures that each serving the guest receives tastes the same.
Cleaning
The last step in a successful tea program is the end-of-day cleaning. Unlike other beverages or kitchen equipment, tea equipment needs to have a cleanser and a sanitizer. The cleanser should be designed to remove tea oils that build up in the dispenser and faucet; while the sanitizer ensures that any yeast, molds, and/or bacteria are removed. According to the Health Department, the brewer and dispenser(s) should be cleaned and sanitized at least once a day. When cleaning the brewer, one should clean the brew basket and the area above. When cleaning the dispenser, one should clean the inside dispenser walls and remove the upper faucet assembly, where the most build-up takes place.
The brewer and dispensers should be cleaned and sanitized at least once a day, according to the Health Department.
Recap
Quite often tea is the first and last impression your customer has of your restaurant. It is important when launching your tea program to not only source the highest quality fresh-brewed iced tea, but to ensure that your employees have the right training and tools.
This includes:
· Proper Brewing Techniques
· Where and How to Hold Dry and Brewed Tea
· How to Serve the Tea to the Guest
· Proper Cleaning and Sanitizing Procedures
Thirsty for more?
The #teaexperts at Hula Consulting can help with sourcing teas, flavorings, and ingredients for your #tea line or #teacompany. Email to Scott@HulaConsulting.com or call 561.600.7025 to discuss how we can help your #teabusiness.