The simple truth is that many Victorian Tea Rooms, serving high tea and finger sandwiches, are struggling to survive, while most of the successful new entrants are taking a hip, urban approach to tea. It's also true that averages don't always apply at the local level.

I’ve received dozens of emails and requests for comment in the wake of Teavana’s announcement late last month that they are planning a $100 million IPO to fund an additional 350 stores in the coming years. I’m hearing two basic questions: What does this mean for the tea industry, and how can a small tea business compete? This article attempts to answer those questions.

This past week I had the privilege of spending some time informally with a handful of industry insiders, CEOs, owners, and managers of some of the more prominent tea wholesalers, retailers, educators and trade organizations. Here are a few of the more interesting topics that were discussed and some of the insights shared:

I started 2010 with a series of 10 predictions about how the tea industry would change in the coming year. Before throwing darts at 2011, allow me to take a few minutes to check my batting average on 2010.

I wrote my first post for TeaRetailer on November 30, 2009. Over the year the site has received 22,000 visits and logged over 52,000 posts read. The discussions and feedback have been incredibly valuable to me personally, and to our development as a company. Today I have a question for you: What have you always wondered about tea or Adagio but never had the opportunity to ask?

I've run across a few interesting developments and facts concerning the world of retail tea shops lately and so wanted to share: TeaGschwendner opens in 30 Rock, Harney & Sons heads to SoHo, Teavana prints money and Teaopia expands west...

2010 is an interesting year. We seem on the verge of so many changes socially, politically, economically and environmentally. Will the recession of the last couple years result in a REAL change in the mentality of the US consumer? Will the economy recover quickly or will retailers continue to suffer? Will the explosion of information on the health of tea and recent marketing efforts by giants like Lipton and Snapple drive a boom in sales for everyone or just them? Here is what I expect for the tea business in 2010:

For decades, tea was the stale, boring step-child of coffee. My how far we’ve come! Read more for growth statistics and trends.

There are a host of reasons why I don't believe any of today's leading tea companies has a real chance at becoming The Starbucks of Tea, but the main reason is that Starbucks has always had the option of claiming the title themselves. For years, Starbucks has been watching and waiting for the moment that tea offered a significant enough opportunity for profits to warrant the investment.