New concept of tea

The interior of TWG Tea boutique and salon in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. / Courtesy of TWG Tea

TWG Tea president has high hopes for Korea

By Yun Suh-young

A first-time visitor to Seoul may look at the ubiquitous Starbucks, Caffe Bene and Coffee Bean shops and ask when the Coffee God threw up on the city. Taha Bouqdib, head of the Singaporean luxury tea company TWG Tea, believes the Korean beverage culture can use some diversity.

TWG Tea recently opened its first Korean store in the upscale neighborhood of Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, and Bouqdib believes the increasing demand for high-end tea and wellness-related products will enable quick growth for the company here.

TWG Tea currently operates 29 “boutiques,” or shops where it sells tea and other products around the world, although not all of the spaces have dining areas. The company sells 800 different kinds of tea sourced from different parts of the world and packaged under unique names such as “White House Tea” and “Singapore Breakfast Tea.”

Bouqdib, who spent the last two decades in the beverages business, says he is actively involved in the purchase process. He has long seen Korea as a potential growth market.

Taha Bouqdib, president and co-founder of TWG Tea.

“The statistics from our London store shows that Koreans are always among the top three along with Chinese and Japanese. Even in Singapore, our headquarters, it’s the same. Korean customers understand the fine products very well and have incredible appreciation for it,” he said.

The first TWG Tea shop in Seoul seems to be generating buzz among food lovers and trend-sensitive young people, judging by the reactions on social media services like Facebook. TWG Tea is considering several spots for its second shop in Seoul, a process Bouqdib described as careful.

“Our style is not to be at every corner of the street because we don’t want to be the ‘Starbucks of tea.’ TWG Tea was created to be the right destination for people who want to enjoy their time and feel like they’re out of this world. This means we choose the best area to open our stores,” he said.

“Koreans by experience, they love luxury, but they’re very detailed as well. If they buy 100 grams of tea the first day, come back the second time and order the same tea and find that it’s not the same quality, Koreans will never come back.”

To be considered as “luxury” in tea requires a dedication to quality, knowledge and attentiveness to consumer tastes and sophisticated branding strategies, Bouqdib said.

Tea with delicacies sold at the Cheongdam-dong branch of TWG Tea in southern Seoul.

“To become luxury, it requires a mix of details. Packaging has to be nice, people must believe in the way we receive them, how we sell them the tea, how we help them. We’re very picky with location, staff, knowledge, quality of food and tea. We pay attention to the incredible details to meet perfection,” he said.

“Today, the customers (don’t just) want a cup of tea, they want something more. They want to sit there and feel like everything is for them. This is luxury. Consumers today worldwide are looking for this. We’re not just selling tea. We’re selling lifestyle. We’re selling emotion to customers,” he said.

The White House Tea is probably the company’s most famous product. It’s a blend of peach, pomegranate and white petals — a tea that was specially created by Bouqdib for U.S. President Obama.

What is unique about TWG Tea’s boutiques and “salons,” or shops with dining areas, is that they have tea masters who pair tea for customers according to their taste. It also has a tea book resembling a dictionary which explains all 800 teas sold there.

These tea masters are trained in Singapore for one to three months. They are called back to Singapore every nine months to update their knowledge. All tea bags are handmade with 100 percent cotton, to not disturb the taste.

Other than Seoul, the brand is launching more new boutiques in China this year.

“We’re opening two stores in China this year and we’re targeting to open three more this year in Hong Kong. Next year will be North China year. We’ll be opening in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Taiwan,” he said.

The shop is located at Cheongdam-dong 82-1, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. For more information, call 02) 547-1837.