It's a Hot Time for Tea

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"The infuser, as we call it, is not just designed to be beautiful," says Tea Forte President, Gene Dunkin. "Not having to look at the nasty tea bag after brewing is something people really like".

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As interesting as the pyramid bag is, it is made of nylon or silk. I took a dim view of not being able to compost it. Also, you have each bag wrapped in a paper envelope, and those individual bags are in a box. Isn't all that packaging at odds with the eco-friendly image of herbal tea?

You may be on to something, and we are, right now, looking at changing the bag's material to something biodegradable. The infuser, as we call it, is not just designed to be beautiful. Unlike the brown, frumpy, paper tea bag, the tallness of our infuser and mesh material is ideal to steep high-end, whole-leaf teas. And it does it in a neat, unmessy, way. Five years ago, that was a major innovation in the quality tea category. Our tea bag still looks good after it comes out of the cup or pot. Not having to look at the nasty tea bag after brewing is something people really like.

Several high-end tea brands exist. But it seems that Tea Forte really put the emphasis on using design to create a quality product. Has that been a deliberate strategy?

Design is important to this brand. The quality of the tea is still king, but the design element transforms it from being tea to being a tea experience. The accessories, the infuser—it's all multisensory. Peter Hewitt's idea was to create a "presence" for tea through design. The design literally gets people to stop and become more engrossed in the experience of brewing tea than if they just had a tea bag and a cup. We also have unique tea flavors and blends, and those get people to come back.

It actually seems a bit fussy to me. Does this appeal to younger people?

It's not a grandmotherly British tea experience. And it's not the ultra-elaborate Asian experience. You call it fussy, but we edited the more elaborate tea experiences of those cultures to create a contemporary experience. We are multigenerational in appeal. Tea is the hot category of consumables. A few years ago, the buzz was around coffee, spirits, and olive oil. Those are still relevant—but tea is hot. You know, aside from water, tea is the most consumed beverage on the planet. In a lot ways, though, it's just getting started in the U.S. Coffee gets you going, but tea is drunk in the afternoon or at night for ritual relaxation.

Does the recession make you nervous?

I was asking myself that at the start of the year. The reality is that our infusers sell for $1 apiece. Mighty Leaf sells for about 40¢. But I'm taking heart. In April, we broke all sales records—it was the best month in our history. It's my opinion that we are an affordable luxury, and I think people are going to continue to spend on those things. They might postpone a new car or vacation. But they aren't cutting the things that make them feel better.

Which do you like better—having to taste the tea, or tasting the chocolate when you were at Godiva?

The tea is certainly healthier. When I was in Belgium for Godiva, people would bring all this amazing stuff to me to try. It was like the Willy Wonka factory. You can get carried away, if you aren't careful.