The most recent tea related innovation was the idea of putting leaves into a small bag. This was a century ago. And regardless of however you make your tea, bagged or loose leaf, it can take time to make a proper cup of tea.
For those that live busy, stressful lives, making a cup of morning tea can be a hassle. Well, tea drinkers can now rejoice. A startup called Pique based out of San Francisco has created tea crystals which dissolved in water in a matter of seconds. No more brewing process required.
What this also means is that you never have to worry again either about steeping the tea for too much time or too little time. Pique has successfully managed to make tea crystals for every type of tea; herbal, green and black.
Simon Cheng founded Pique after he studied Chinese history at Harvard University. He spent years in China and Asia where tea is highly available. Throughout his travels he drank tea effortlessly as he most often had it brewed for him.
He was further impressed by all of health benefits of tea, such as it’s high antioxidant content. Research has also shown that it may reduce the risk of bone loss and heart disease. He explains that the goal of the company is to help people get the amount of tea
that they need in order to experience the benefits.
So far the idea of tea crystals has been successful, especially so in the natural foods market. Pique received funding from First Round, Khsola and Blueberry adventures in undisclosed amounts. It also was one of seven companies made it to Chobani’s incubator, who aim to help startups offer people better food.
Pique has experienced a great deal of growth since their release two years ago. The concept seemed simple enough for people to want to go out and try it. The product is now in 1,500 stores such as Whole Foods, Sprouts and Wegmans, and can even be ordered on Amazon.
Pique teas are a little more expensive than other teas, priced $0.70 a serving if you buy a box of 14 packets, however the quality matches up to other high-class tea brands, and is still much cheaper than a coffee Starbucks.
Tea experts even see Pique’s tea to be better than regular stepped leave tea, wining three gold medals at the Global Tea Championships which was based on factors such a potency, convenience and taste.
The founders of Pique hope that tea crystals will be the future of tea and will be the primary way that tea will be consumed.