Business: Adagio Teas
Address: 27 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville
Phone/website: 630-428-2556, www.adagio.com
Manager: Laura Sabato, 62, of Naperville
Years in business: 13 in Naperville
What does your business do? “We sell farm-direct teas. … We have fewer than 50 people in the company,” Sabato said.
What is farm direct? “Teas are sold at auction by the Chinese government to German wholesalers. Many tea companies will buy from German wholesalers. We don’t do that. We work with farmers all over the world. China, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan. A lot of the herbal teas are sourced in this country.”
What’s the company’s history? “We’ve been in business since 1999. Initially, we sourced tea from German wholesalers, but found that the teas weren’t as fresh. Sometimes, they can be sitting there for years and we wouldn’t know. We weren’t satisfied with the quality.”
How many locations do you have? “This and (Westfield) Old Orchard (shopping center in Skokie). I manage both stores.”
How many varieties of tea do you sell? “A couple hundred. … Tea is kind of like wine, where it depends on how good of a year they had. What kind of soil do they have? What time of year they’re harvested. … Tea grows on trees, but they’re kept shorter. Tea trees can grow 20 feet tall, but you can’t really harvest them at that (height). It’s the leaves and sometimes the stems. The bark (is used) in some herbal teas.”
How long have you worked here? “I’ve been here since 2012. I’d worked in retail a while. My last job was at Godiva (Chocolates). I didn’t know that much about tea, but I enjoyed it. … All tea comes from the same plant, but they can taste so different.”
Which tea is most popular? “Earl Gray is up there. A tea we call Jasmine Phoenix Curls outsells the Earl Gray. It’s wonderful. A delicate balance between the jasmine and the green tea.”
Tea or coffee? “Tea is something you do for yourself, time you take out of your day for yourself. Coffee gets you out of bed in the morning. I drink coffee first thing in the morning, tea all day. … In the world, more people drink tea than coffee. Beer is third.”
Is downtown Naperville good for business? “Yes, it is. But parking and traffic have been a source of angst, not only for us but the customers too.”
What’s the secret to a good cup of tea? “Three things. Time, temperature and the type of tea. White teas steep for less time than a black tea. Temperature is very important. Whites and greens, you steep in cooler water, 180 to 195 degrees. Oolong teas are 195. Black teas are generally 212, which is boiling.”
Do you have a favorite tea? “It depends on the time of year and my mood. If I’m drinking iced tea, I prefer flavored teas. If it’s hot (tea), I like the traditional teas. I enjoy the differences, subtle and otherwise.”
When is tea time? “Every hour is tea time. We drink it right when we get in, drink it until we leave.”
Served with crumpets? “We have tea cookies. We don’t have crumpets, (which) kind of look like English muffins.”
More Top Picks Best Wearable Breast Pumps
What do you like best? “I love the product. That’s important. You can’t be successful in selling anything unless you believe in it.”
Do you offer promotions? “We always have ‘buy four, get the fifth free.’ We have an excellent loyalty program You get a point for every dollar (spent). When you get to 100 (points), you get $10 off and that never expires.”
Any negatives? “Unpacking the shipment, all the boxes.”
What’s in the future? “We have a warehouse in London, so we ship in Europe. We do a lot online. … I get to visit there in September. I can’t wait to see it.”
What misconceptions do people have? “There’s no such thing as chamomile tea. It’s an herbal infusion. That’s a common misconception.”
Any memorable stories? “Jim Gaffigan, the comedian, came in here. He was doing a show at North Central College. … Everyone wanted a picture with him. He was polite, quiet.”
How did the virus impact your business? “Fortunately, because there are only two retail stores and a majority of our business is done online, it didn’t affect us adversely. Online sales exploded, up 200%. After we reopened the stores, we had record sales the next full year.”
What about prices? “$9 to $34 (per pack).”
When are you busy? “The holidays. Christmas shopping.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Don’t diversify right away. Find your niche and stick with it instead of going in all directions at once.’
If you know of a business you’d like to see to profiled in Down to Business, contact Steve Metsch at [email protected].
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.