It’s no surprise that tea is a more popular beverage around the world than it is in the U.S. There’s a strong tea-drinking tradition in Asia, the Middle East and some parts of Europe.
But Americans are starting to catch up, with the proliferation of tea concepts, the legions of bubble tea fans and the emergence of tea as a platform for on-trend flavors. Iced specialty teas are now on 4.2% of menus in Technomic’s Ignite menu database, up more than 16% year over year. Certain categories are especially active, such as matcha (increasing almost 25%), green tea (up 13%) and mango as a cold tea flavor (up nearly 12%).
Technomic’s summer global report on tea drinks states that “the category will continue to grow to include a variety of distinct preparations, such as cold blended teas, bubble teas, tea sparklers and many more, analogous to the proliferation of coffee drinks in recent years.”
The report pinpoints a number of international tea trends operators may want to watch as they spread across the world with the potential to land on U.S. menus.
Flavored cheese toppers
Asian coffee café Arigato introduced a Breezy Cream Cheese collection in Thailand, featuring tea and coffee drinks finished with a topping of cream cheese, milk and whipped cream. Chains across Asia and beyond are showcasing flavored sweet dairy whips like tiramisu as tea toppers to add flavor complexity.
Pistachio flavored oatmilk oolong tea
Pistachio may be the flavor of the year when it comes to coffee drinks, with Starbucks, Caribou Coffee and Dunkin’ all offering cold and hot pistachio lattes recently. But Costa Coffee is flavoring tea with pistachio, offering it as part of seasonal specials in China. The beverage features pistachio oatmilk blended with oolong tea and finished with creamy milk jelly and pistachio pieces.
Taro
Bubble tea specialist TP Tea offered a Taro Tea Latte with barley as part of its limited-time range of taro drinks in Thailand. For the beverage, the chain combines taro from Taiwan, green tea, fresh milk and a barley topping. The taro lends a mildly sweet, earthly flavor to the beverage and an eye-catching, light purple color.
Muskmelon
Bubble tea chain Gong Cha introduced a Musk Melon Series for early summer in South Korea, promoting cantaloupe in two milk tea options. Honeydew is also showing up in tea drinks, as well as coffees. Both are nutrient-dense, boasting Vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber, and sweeter and richer than regular melon.
Protein teas
Protein is being added to coffees, shakes and smoothies, so why not tea? Boba tea brand Cupp is serving protein-infused fruit and milk teas in several variations, including Vegan Caramel Protein Milk Tea, Raspberry Lemonade Protein Iced Tea and Hokkaido Protein Milk Tea with a black tea base. Each beverage provides up to 20 grams of protein.
Avocado yogurt tea
Bubble teas blended with yogurt and/or avocados and fruit have become a mainstay on menus in Asia. Now they are expanding to global markets, including The Alley tea chain in France. Here, the beverage is more like a dessert, made with fresh avocado and green tea jelly, then topped with whipped cream and nuts.
Pumpkin spice tea
Tea concepts are capitalizing on the pumpkin spice craze that dominates coffee menus as fall approaches. Ben’s Bubble Tea in South Africa introduced a drink that combines brown sugar boba—a fan favorite—with pumpkin spice milk tea, cream mousse and a dash of cinnamon. Pumpkin spice tea season may be just around the corner.
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