Tea In The Media
Tea entrepreneurs delight when major media recognizes artisan teas in a meaningful way. But those events have been few and far between. Of course, there are hundreds of wonderful tea moments in fiction. And each of these casts a glow in the heart of a committed tea lover. It’s not just that we’re happy for the businesses that experience a bump in sales. It makes us feel connected to tea lovers in a much greater circle. It reaffirms our choice. And after experiencing personal isolation on a global scale, moments like this matter even more. This week, we can calk up a new event on home entertainment centers. Oprah Daily on The View not only points viewers to a popular tea brand but arranges for a discount and reminds us that tea makes a great Mother’s Day gift. (Not too late!).
Some Tea and Media Moments
It seemed huge when Sunset Magazine (January 2009) did a major feature on the ten most popular tearooms as part of their travel section. There was a time when Dr. Tea did a spot on “The View .” And Oprah chose Indian Chai as one of her favorite things. So tea people feel a bit giddy when the cameras find an interesting tea to feature. Steven Colbert’s Tea Tuesdays, where he makes us chuckle at some of our tea descriptions.
Each of these media moments can be appreciated as tea education that reaches out to many people who may not think as much about tea in their daily lives as we do.
Tea Takes the Stage on Oprah Daily on The View
Oprah Daily Creative Director, Adam Glasser includes a range of tea blends and steepware from The Tea Spot with, “I start my day, every morning having tea . . . I like to think of it as healthy.” And then, he goes on to talk about how tea to make tea part of daily life using good quality teaware that, “. . . doesn’t leak”. In one two-minute infomercial, he makes being a tea drinker more relevant to daily life. Explaining a couple of Tea Spot’s popular steepware options he actually gives a mini-lesson in how to brew a good cup of tea. He makes the tea and the process feel like anyone can do this rather than making it seem complicated.
Lifting the lid on a teapot Glasser points to the infuser, “. . . you just put the leaves in there. One. Two. Three. Easy Peasy.”
Some of the main motivations for choosing tea as the beverage-of-choice are discussed by featuring a few of The Tea Spot’s most popular health blends. From the tumeric blends and fitness teas to The Tea Spot’s, Meditative Mind, the health emphasis on good tea is clear. And this has a ripple effect throughout TeaLand.
The Tea Spot’s founder, Maria Uspenski, said
“All of us at The Tea Spot are most honored to have the opportunity to introduce our products to The View’s vast audience. This is a giant step in spreading awareness of our mission to promote wellness through tea. When popular media recommends experiences like tea, it not only benefits our individual business but all other tea businesses as well.”
The original promotion (50% discount) was originally scheduled for the day of the episode’s airing, the show and Maria Uspenski decided to expand the offer, keeping it open through Mother’s Day – until Monday, April 18th. So there’s still time to purchase your belated Mother’s Day gift or a personal spring tonic.
At the same time this exposure should be positive it’s also clear how limited this list of instances is. People are walking by coffee and bubble tea shops all the time, and then a 30 second plug on a commercially oriented lifestyle segment on daytime tv seems noteworthy, along with mention of blankets, pasta sauce, and English muffins. Colbert’s description of better plain teas includes a bit more depth, but it’s also presented as something exceptional, not necessarily relevant or accessible. Oprah trying to sell a version of tea and herb chai was tea’s big media moment, so far.
It almost seems like a variation of the Matthew principle, that in order to become more popular tea needs to already be popular enough to mention and support. (For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. — Matthew 25:29, RSV.)