How to Start a Tea House Business

Tea is gaining in popularity and rapidly becoming more popular than coffee. Teas come in an abundance of varieties, offering a multitude of flavors. Unlike standard black tea of the past, today's teas are infused with herbs and flower combinations and are chock full of antioxidants. With the health and wellness movement, consumers are turning to teas that claim to do everything from boosting energy levels and aiding in sleep to lowering blood pressure and helping with digestive issues. If you are looking for a business to open, a tea house may very well be the way to go.

Instructions

1. Learn everything that you can about the tea house business. Fill out subscriptions to industry periodicals and attend tea trade shows, tea fairs and so on.

2. Study all the various kinds of teas and learn all that you can about each individual type of tea. Research the health benefits that each tea claims to have and learn about how teas can be incorporated into a healthy lifestyle.

3. Choose a professional consulting company to provide business advice and help brainstorm ideas to develop a successful tea house. Develop a well-constructed business plan and include all aspects of the tea house business, including marketing strategies, start-up costs and initial investments, turn-around time for profits, necessary classes to acquire in-depth tea knowledge, and so on.

4. Together with your consulting company, design a concept for your tea house. Decide on an upscale tea café, an eclectic artsy tea house, a Victorian tea house, and so on.

5. Decide on what foods you will offer at your tea house, if any. Choose between a full-service tea house that offers light lunches, a café style tea house with limited bakery items and pastries, and a quick-service tea house that serves only beverages.

6. Decide on the location for your tea house. Pay attention to the demographics of the area and be sure that your location is in a tea drinking community. Consider locations such as bed and breakfasts, spas, hotels or malls.

7. Visit town officials and obtain all necessary permits and licenses. Depending upon your tea house concept, obtain any necessary food handling and food preparation licenses.

8. Meet with financial institutions that specialize in small business loans. Present them with your business plan and obtain financial assistance, if necessary.

9. Research suppliers for bulk teas, tea paraphernalia and brewing equipment. Place product orders and ask for a delivery date that arrives four weeks prior to your scheduled opening.

10. Place an ad in the local paper and online job boards to hire your employees. Place a help wanted sign in the window of the tea house. Hire more staff than you think you will need to get the tea house up and running, it is better to be overstaffed than understaffed during those first crucial weeks.

11. Advertise your new tea house in local newspapers, community stores and businesses, schools, libraries and churches. Place flyers in mailboxes and hand out discount coupons.

12. Subject your employees to training courses. Instruct them on how to use all equipment and proper brewing techniques. Stress the importance of following brewing directions exactly and providing beverages that consistently taste the same to customers.

13. Decorate the tea house according to your planned design. Add any tables and chairs, and paint and decorate accordingly. Have all final touches completed one week prior to opening, if possible.

14. Have a grand opening celebration. Place a "grand opening" sign outside of the tea house. Offer small beverage samples and send customers away with coupons for discounted beverages at their next visit.

References

• stylecareer.com
• tea-business-guide.com