Last of two parts
Elizabeth Segran continues her article in Fast Company regarding a new concept in making tea.
“It worked like this: Pique tea was brewed in very large amounts until all the water evaporated, leaving a tea paste. This paste was dehydrated, and when someone wanted to drink it, it would be rehydrated with more tea. This created a beverage that was highly concentrated, which allowed the drinker to receive the maximum possible benefits from the tea.
“(Pique founder Simon) Cheng was inspired by this approach, but found that the heating of the tea leaves actually damaged them. So he developed a proprietary cold-brewing process that involves applying some pressure and very low heat to create crystals. The customer can then open a packet, pour it into hot or cold water, and immediately consume it.
“There are some obvious benefits to this method. For one thing, it saves time. But this approach ensures that all the nutrients in the tea stay intact, and you get six times the antioxidants that you would from a regular tea bag. The process screens for heavy metals and pesticides, to ensure that the tea is pure. And the fact that the tea is contained within an airtight packet means that mold and bacteria don’t grow, something that is actually very common in loose leaf tea and bags.
‘“Our goal is to help people in the modern world be able to get the amount of tea that they need to achieve the benefits from it,” Cheng said. “‘We want it to be as safe and potent as it can be.’
“So far, the concept has been a hit, particularly in the natural foods industry. Cheng and his cofounder (and wife), Amanda Wee, secured a seed round of funding from First Round, Khosla, and Blueberry Ventures, though it did not disclose the amount. Pique was among the seven companies that made it into Chobani’s incubator, whose goal is to help startups trying to bring better food to more people.
“Over the last two years, Pique has grown exponentially. Although this approach to making tea was different from what tea-drinkers are used to, the concept seemed straightforward enough that supermarket buyers were eager to give it a try. Wee, the brand’s chief growth officer, has managed to get the product into 1,500 retail stores around the country, including Whole Foods, Wegman’s, and Sprouts, as well as on to Amazon and the brand’s own website.
“One box of Pique teas, which includes 14 packets, costs around $10, which comes down toabout $0.70 a serving. This is more expensive than many basic teas, but it’s on par with many other premium tea brands and is certainly cheaper than, say, a Starbucks coffee.
“But tea experts have judged Pique’s tea to be objectively as good, or better, than teas that are steeped in leaves. It won three gold medals at the Global Tea Championships, which included criteria such as taste, convenience, and potency.
“Cheng and Wee dream that, one day, tea crystals will become the main way that consumers drink tea. ‘There really hasn’t been much innovation in the world of tea since the tea bag was invented 100 years ago,’ Wee said. ‘But for people who drink tea every day, we think this new approach could really improve their experience with the drink,”’ Segran wrote.
Elizabeth Segran, Ph.D., is a staff writer at Fast Company. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.