Will Tea Be Hot in 2017?

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Simotion, Simotion

No one knows exactly what the coming year will hold, but food experts have their suspicions — and a group of them are predicting that 2017 may be a big year for tea.

Green tea, for example, may be particularly hot. It has just landed on a list, based on a national survey of 1,700 dietitians conducted by food and health PR firm Pollock Communications and Today’s Dietitian magazine, of the top 10 superfood trends set to take off in 2017. Green tea’s rise reflects a trend toward more “mindful eating” and the consumption of foods with “health-promoting qualities,” Today’s Dietitian Mara Honicker said in a release about the survey.

Look for major growth, too, in the consumption of matcha, the finely ground green tea powder that was an essential ingredient in Japanese tea ceremonies as far back as the 12th century and that has gained popularity in America in recent years.

Big beverage companies are expected to launch new tea products to capitalize on the trend as well. Nestea, for instance, is planning to polish up its brand identity and bring two new lines of tea to market in the coming year, industry news site BeverageDaily notes, including a line of “real brew” tea that will include a lightly sweetened USDA certified organic green tea.

“There’s a lot of innovation in the tea category,” Louise Pollock, president of Pollock Communications, told BeverageDaily, adding that millennials, in particular, are embracing tea of all types and flavors — green, black and beyond — and are set to drive growth in 2017 and 2018.

And tea’s ascent will likely not falter in the near future. A recent report by Persistence Market Research suggests that the global tea market will climb from an estimated $14.45 billion by the end of 2016 to $21.33 billion in 2024, with black tea set to perform especially well.

Cream and sugar, anyone?

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