BOULDER, Colo., U.S. – Maria Uspenski, founder and CEO of The Tea Spot, will bring tea to the forefront during a special session at the Paris Coffee Show, the premier coffee event in France, on Sunday, May 26 at 4:40 p.m. at the Park Floral in Paris. The Paris Coffee Show – which takes place May 25-27 and is open to the public and coffee professionals – is expected to attract more than 5,000 attendees each day of the event.
The Tea Spot works to advance healthier living through the everyday enjoyment of whole leaf tea.
“I’m thrilled to be presenting for the first time at the prestigious Paris Coffee Show,” says Uspenski, who’s also the author of Cancer Hates Tea.
“Specialty tea is an ideal complement to coffee in the 3rd wave. In fact, the 3rd waves of coffee and tea share similar demographics, consumer appreciation, customers who are willing to pay for a premium experience, similar pace and styles of preparation, increased education, and similar connection to source and farmer’s stories. I’m honored to be able to bring to tea into focus with the international coffee community in Paris.”
Uspenski, whose Paris Coffee Show presentation will be delivered in French, will share insights on tea and why offering sub-par tea is an issue and a missed opportunity for many coffeehouses and cafés. She’ll also look at why consumers are demanding premium tea and discuss how little it takes to elevate a coffeehouse tea program and what to look for in a specialty tea partner.
Uspenski says, “For coffee businesses, having a specialty tea program that matches the caliber of the rest of your offerings – one which is in alignment with the ethos of your mission – is not only crucial to remaining competitive and profitable, but also a benchmark of quality and dedication to customer preferences.”
According to Uspenski, the profit margin on tea service is upwards of 90 points, making the margin on tea more attractive than it is with coffee. “The product cost on a single serving of even the priciest tea rarely exceeds 15 cents,” she says, “whereas for coffee it begins at about 50 cents in product cost. In addition, the start-up cost is minimal because it doesn’t require any costly equipment – only a few teapots, French presses or mugs with infusers.”
The Paris Coffee Show, organized by the Collectif Café, will feature numerous “spaces” at the event, including: The Plantation, which pays tribute to the diversity of the terroirs of coffee production, the typologies of botanical varieties and the work of coffee producers and sourcers; The World of Espresso, which will cover everything about the extraction of espresso and the multiple ways to consume it around the world; The Village of Roasters, which will be a hive for young talent devoted to coffee shops, artisan roasters, independent gourmet food stores, etc.; The Coffee Lab, which will feature roasting demonstrations and a contest; a Masterclass area, which will offer presentations and debates on coffee issues such as consumption and innovation; “Plateau TV”, where industry experts will weigh in on various topics; and a Bookstore and a Coffee Cocktail Bar.
Pierre Hermé, a celebrated French pastry chef and chocolatier, will also take part in the Paris Coffee Show.
To learn more about Paris Coffee Show, visit https://collectifcafe.fr/le-paris-coffee-show. To learn more about The Tea Spot, visit https://theteaspot.com.
