Private label tea bags can be good, if they are chosen with a little prior homework about where the brand sources its tea from. In the following article I have spoken about the concept of private label tea bags and whether they are good or not. Read on to know.
Private label tea bags are a very secretive aspect of the tea industry. The concept of private label tea bags isn’t new though, and has helped many specialty tea businesses market themselves and compete in the tea market. Before talking about whether private label tea bags are good or not, let’s understand the concept behind private label tea bags.
What are Private Label Tea Bags?
Small size tea businesses procure tea from the wholesalers but aren’t able to market themselves as brands because branding involves skilled workforce and huge costs. To help such tea companies launch themselves as brands, specialized blending and packaging companies offer their services. For instance, Jaytea in India.
These blending and packaging companies leverage their extensive experience to package the tea and give it a unique identity for the tea retailers. This is how private label tea bags are created.
Are they Good?
When it comes to buying private label tea, it can be tricky. This is because there are multiple specialty private label tea companies out there, and their quality of tea will, by all means, not be uniform. Finding the best among them can be a daunting task for a buyer.
Its important to understand here, the key to finding the best quality tea is by looking for the place from which the tea has been sourced, the harvest type, the leaf type and the blend. While this may be a difficult task for a daily tea buyer, a good way to judge the quality of tea is by buying a sample tea bag or a small box of the tea. If the tea is on display at the store, you can run your eyes through it for gauging the quality, but buying a sample can be the best way to judge the quality.
Once you’ve brought the sample size, check the tea for aroma because low grade teas have little or no aroma. Next, check the leaf blend. A good blend of tea will have a mix of both whole leaves and granules. Although information about the kind of harvest isn’t generally printed on packs, try asking the seller. Remember the first harvest is always the best which is plucked between early March and late April. Lastly, brew a cup of the tea and taste it for flavor. If you’re a regular tea drinker, you’ll know if the taste is good. But, by all means, the taste shouldn’t be too bitter, which happens in case of most low grade teas and those containing tea dust to add volume.
So, good luck with private label tea shopping!
Which private label tea brands in India have you tried? How do you suggest, tea buyers should check for the quality of the tea? Share your thoughts and opinions with me in the comments below.
