Don’t get Richard Sheffield started about lapsang souchong. “It’s wonderful,” he says. “It smells and tastes like a burning campfire.” No wonder: lapsang souchong tea is smoked over a wood fire.
If the word “tea” brings to mind stale bags of Lipton, you haven’t been steeped in the latest intel. The tea biz is booming worldwide — and Las Vegas is brewing itself a role in this blossoming market. Not only do we host the World Tea Expo, but local entrepreneurs are starting to tap into an emerging market of “tea foodies.”
“Tea foodies are just like regular foodies. They’re people who enjoy cooking with and exploring tea,” says Sheffield, co-owner of Sheffield Spice & Tea Co. (9875 S. Eastern Ave., 877-4237). “But the wider public is also starting to discover the health benefits of tea, too.” When he and his wife Cheryl opened in May, they expected a sales mix of 75 percent spices and 25 percent teas. Surprised by the demand for tea, they’ve since expanded their tea selection to comprise nearly half their inventory.
Carolyn Johnson of Indie Tea concurs. She’s a boutique blender who sells her varieties at more than 30 stores across the U.S., including seven in Southern Nevada. “We started as a little baby company in 2009, and we’ve quadrupled in sales each year,” she says. The secret: positioning tea as a “whole lifestyle brand,” which means using it for more than just sipping; indeed, Indie Tea works tea into everything, including hot cocoa blends, spice rubs and even body lotion. Oh, and you can drink it, too.