Tea & coffee focus: Tea time

The Old Coach House in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, is all about mixing the new with the old - and so is the pub's tea offering.

Dating back to 1793, the building has always been in the centre of activity in the town, and now as a popular local pub, visitors will find open fires, traditional decor and a contemporary à la carte menu.

Licensee Neil Stanton has increased the perception of the pub being an amalgam of old world and new still further with the introduction of the Tetley Special tea collection.

He says that the product, a range of speciality flavoured teas, is a way of providing more for his customers than staid conventional tea, and shifting their perception of the drink to something more akin to the sexy image associated with coffee.

"We used to present our customers with a wide variety of coffee, yet when it came to tea there was just one decision - yes or no," he says. In order to encourage his customers to move away from the traditional cuppa, Neil offers the new blends on an 'if you don't like it, we'll replace it' basis. Because of this, his guests are more willing to experiment with the new selections.

"It seems that customers are prepared to try something different when they are away from the home," Neil explains. "Because of this, and the fact that we will replace it, we have seen interest extremely high in the new blends." Branding has also proved important in persuading customers to branch out, according to the licensee.

Tetley's new range has been designed for display on the back-bar and Neil believes such a policy has worked in his case. "Customers like to see a brand they recognise," he says. "It gives reassurance to their purchase and helps me to sell more tea."

Selling more is, after all, the name of the game.