“The best part of my day said Mark Bowden of Tea & Trumpets was a cup of fresh brewed loose-leaf tea. As I searched for loose leaf tea in Santa Rosa, where I live, I found that my options were limited.” So this need urged Bowden to put himself to work on a quest that would create a new business and a satisfying career.
“I craved an interactive tea selection experience in choosing tea,” he said. He took a moment to open the tins of tea he had on his table at the Farmer’s Market in Sonoma. “I decided I wanted to create a tea business that had a quality selection, provided excellent customer service, and most of all, was welcoming not intimidating.”
This reporter mentioned to him that the British love brewed tea and it is a major part of their social culture. He agreed. Yet as he said, “I believe that the experience of choosing loose leaf tea should be fun and interactive. You don’t need to be an expert to find a tea that is right for you.”
With over six categories of tea to select from, Bowden has aimed to please even the most finicky of tea drinkers. Still, it is his obvious dedication and passion for tea that wins over a customer.
As his best friend, Bryan Ninegar explained. “I didn’t drink tea, except occasionally like ice tea during summer and some camomile when having a cold. Like most people I drank coffee.” “Yet, when Mark began finding blends of loose leaf tea for me, that all changed. I still drink coffee. But not as much, especially in the middle of the afternoon, he said. You know that time of day when energy is low.”
The two grew up in Santa Rosa and “we are like brothers,” Ninegar said. They have stayed in touch over the years, even when away at college. They often talk about their goals. As Bowden would give various blends for his best friend to taste and take home, Bowden talked about where he saw his tea enterprise going.
He also explained that when someone as passionate about tea as Bowden is, “it got me turned on to tea in a way that I had never experienced before. Sort of like when having only one type of wine or beer and never knew there was much more. When Mark first told me that he wanted to go into the tea business, he said, I was skeptical. But I noticed that Mark had a clear and precise sense of vision about it. His research and knowledge of tea is extensive.”
Bowden’s mom, Jackie Bowden is not surprised at all. But she admitted, “it is amazing that this all really started when he was five, she said. I like English Breakfast and one day when he was little, Mark asked if he could have some.” He liked it.
Then one day, when we were having tea and scones, she said, “I told Mark about the English ritual of having tea with crumpets. At that age, Mark had trouble saying ‘crumpet’, and from then on, whenever he wanted tea, he would say ‘mom, lets have tea and trumpets!’ She was quick to point out that “at such a young age, he was not consuming tea. He would simply have a few sips of tea from time to time when I would have a cup of English Breakfast.”
And, just as he best friend knew, Jackie definitely knew her son would make his way. “He didn’t need much help from us. Starting a business was all Mark’s idea.” Yet she and his father encouraged him to venture. “He always worked hard at whatever he did, she said. So, I always knew he would do well.”
After graduating with a business degree from San Diego State University, Bowden found himself working for a pharmaceutical company. Pay was good. But as he noted, “Something was missing. I wanted to be a part of something that would in some way add to people’s lives.”
Jackie said that another reason why Bowden pursued the tea business was he liked putting together gift packages for clients, especially for holidays and special occasions. A selection of teas included makes for nice gift box or basket.
Tea for Americans is growing. Bowden and others like the Tea Association of the USA point out that In 2014, Americans consumed over 80 billion servings of tea. That averages out to more than 3.60 billion gallons. About 84 percent of all tea consumed was Black Tea. 15 percent was Green Tea. And a small amount was Oolong, White and Dark Tea. The United States is the second largest importer of tea after Russia.
Approximately four in five consumers drink tea, with Millennials being the most likely to have a cup as part of their day. Bowden is in good company according to the Tea Association’s data 87 percent of millennials drink tea.
It seems Bowden’s business venture and setting up at the Farmer’s Market in Sonoma is perfect timing. I say this because PBS has just introduced another BBC series called “Indian Summers.” Television audiences in the United States have become enthralled by British-based dramas and series, like “Downton Abby,” “Sherlock” and now “Indian Summers” all through the “Masterpiece Theater” program venue. Whether intended or not, just about any BBC-based series has a mention of tea. “Would you like a cup of tea?” Throughout the United Kingdom, formerly known as the British Empire some form of a tea time was introduced or honored.
As historian and editor of Britain Express travel log David Ross explained, “Tea, that most quintessential of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores. (When you look through the expanded lens of history). Although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China, he said, it was not until the mid 17th century that the beverage first appeared in England.”
“The use of tea spread slowly from its Asian homeland, reaching Europe by way of Venice around 1560, noted Ross. Although Portuguese trading ships may have made contact with the Chinese as early as 1515.”
And as Ross points out, it was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who first imported tea to Europe, with regular shipments by 1610.” (So according to Ross this is what makes) England a latecomer as he says to the tea trade, in terms of world history.
Tea as a beloved beverage did face some obstacles in the beginning, as Ross said, “King Charles II did his bit to counter the growth of tea, with several acts forbidding its sale in private houses. This measure was designed to counter sedition, but it was so unpopular that it was impossible to enforce. A 1676 act taxed tea and required coffee house operators to apply for a license.”
Ross mentioned that tea posed a major competition for tavern owners who sold ale and gin. There was a point in England’s history with tea that it was something that got “smuggled into the country” by way of ships from The Netherlands and Scandinavia.
Over time, more legislation was enacted to deal with taxation, smuggling and use of additives in tea. Even with these setbacks and obstacles The British still enjoyed and wanted tea.
Eventually, “the East India Company did not capitalize on tea’s popularity until the mid-18th century,” said Ross. It is around this time when tea as a social event becomes a standard custom.
“Afternoon tea is said to have originated with one person, notes Ross. Her name was Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford. In the early 1800’s. She launched the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to bridge the gap between luncheon and dinner, which in fashionable circles might not be served until 8 o’clock at night.”
“This fashionable custom soon evolved into high tea among the working classes, said Ross where this late afternoon repast became the main meal of the day.”
While the history of tea is fascinating to Bowden, he sees the increase of tea drinking as a health advantage. Both The Wall Street Journal and the Washington post note that the increase in popularity of tea in the United States is due to health benefits and the latest health trends.
The Washington Post reported that teas helps prevent cardiovascular disease, burn calories and ward off some types of cancer. In an article from April of 2013, The Washington Post talked to Thomas G. Sherman, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Sherman mentioned that a number of epidemiological studies have been done and those findings point to the health benefits of tea.
That article also mentioned some of the same statistics the Wall Street Journal had gotten from The Tea Association of The USA. Over the past 20 years tea drinking has increased as much as $2.2 billion, annually.
No doubt since Bowden worked for a pharmaceutical company, these facts and figures more than likely shaped his business plan. “Currently, I have about six to nine different teas of his, that Mark custom blended just for me,” said Ninegar. “I try something different each day and seldom do I ever get tired of a blend or tea that Mark recommends. I really do think he is on to something. And, we here in the United States are just beginning to tap into something that is truly a world-wide bit of culture,” he said.
For more information about tea wholesaler Mark Bowden and his Tea and Trumpets, visit the web site.
