Educating Sales Associates on Japanese Tea Varieties

Japan's love affair with tea began over 1,000 years ago when Japanese monks brought it back from China for their religious ceremonies. Since then, tea has become part of Japanese culture, and the tea ceremony is still regularly held in households, tea houses, and temples. It has also led to the creation of tea varieties consumed during specific seasons, teas that have a deeper meaning than a flavor and have to be prepared a certain way.

You can elevate the addition of Japanese teas to your retail offerings by educating your sales associates about what makes a tea unique or important. Not only does this impress your customers, but it also helps your sales staff and increases your sales.

Teaching Your Sales Staff About the Different Aspects of Japanese Tea

Deciding to add Japanese tea to your store is more than buying Japanese tea wholesale and putting it up for sale. You're adding a consumable with a storied history, which bolsters its allure and connects your customer to another culture. Educating your sales staff about the details and history of the tea and teaware brings depth to the products and improves sales as customers discover you're selling more than tea accessories.

Japanese tea ceremony

The Japanese tea ceremony is a traditional way of preparing matcha green tea. The purpose of the ceremony is for a host to honor their guests by making the effort to carefully prepare the tea using special tools and drinking from fine ceramics. Educating your staff on the steps of the ceremony and combining them with the specific teaware enables them to impart this to customers and improve sales.

Different leaf varieties and blends

Japanese tea leaves are dried and prepared in many different formats. Tencha leaves are left to dry flat, while Konacha is a blend of tea leaf fragments leftover from making sencha and Gyokuro. Meanwhile, Genmaicha consists of Bancha tea leaves with roasted brown rice. Your sales staff can help customers make an informed selection when they understand how the different leaves and blends affect the finished cup of tea.

Powdered tea or matcha

Matcha translates into "powdered tea" and is the most common form of powdered tea from Japan. It's also very versatile, having a mild, pleasant flavor that mixes well with other ingredients, such as sugar and flavored syrups.

Presentation

Tea is a deep part of Japanese culture, and using the right teaware for the occasion and season is important. The teaware is more refined and delicate for a tea ceremony or a fine dining occasion, while daily drinking implements are more casual. The seasons also influence the thickness of the cups, with thicker-walled cups used for winter and thin-walled ones for summer. You'll want to factor in these uses as you look at Japanese teaware at wholesale for selling in your store and explain how they're used to your staff.

Adding Authentic Japanese Teas and Teaware to Your Store

Japanese tea varieties are prized for their flavor, freshness, and ability to impart an experience that aligns with the seasons. At Morihata, we know what makes Japanese tea and teaware unique and special. Our tea and teaware are grown and made in Japan to the highest standards, enabling us to offer the best of each to you wholesale. Contact us today to set up a wholesale account and add Japanese tea products to your store.