Top 10 Teas Every Café Should Stock in 2025

While it can currently be a competitive time to run a café, there are ways to stand out from the crowd. One great way is your tea selection, as the global tea industry is booming.

Below are ten essential teas that every café should consider having on hand in 2025, along with tips on how to present and use them.

1. English Breakfast

This rich, malty black tea remains a staple. It is familiar, comforting, and therefore popular. Whether served plain, with milk, or honey, English Breakfast provides dependable sales. While there is a growing market for more unique choices, you shouldn’t forget the basics.

2. Earl Grey

Earl Grey is one of the most popular black teas, thanks to the citrusy aroma of the infused bergamot. It’s versatile; excellent hot, iced, or as a base in tea-infused cocktails and mocktails. It also offers an entry point into more delicate flavoured teas.

3. Assam

Assam teas are prized for their bold, earthy taste with a slight caramel sweetness. These teas work well in milk-based drinks. Stocking a good Assam on its own, or including it in black tea blends, ensures you can meet demands for stronger teas or richer milk teas.

4. Green Tea

Green tea trends continue to climb thanks to its light, fresh flavour and smooth taste. It’s a popular alternative for customers seeking a more delicate beverage option. Green teas also serve as bases for matcha blends, which we’ll talk about next.

5. Matcha

Matcha’s popularity shows no sign of slowing down. Its vibrant colour, smooth energy boost, and visual appeal make it a must-have. Offering matcha lattes, matcha cappuccinos, or matcha iced drinks gives your café relevancy among those seeking trends, and those who want an ‘Instagram-worthy’ treat.

6. Oolong

Oolong sits somewhere between green and black. Its aromatic notes (floral, honeyed, slightly toasty) make it ideal for a slow mid-afternoon break while you people watch. Including one oolong allows you to bridge the gap between your lighter and darker teas, and to appeal to more discerning tea drinkers.

7. Rooibos

Caffeine-free options are essential, whether for evening drinkers or customers avoiding stimulants. Rooibos (from South Africa) is naturally sweet, smooth, and soaks up flavouring so you can get creative with vanilla, berry, or spiced options. Given the shift toward healthier, flavourful caffeine-free alternatives, rooibos is a strong inclusion.

8. Chamomile

Every café should offer at least one classic herbal tea, and chamomile with its floral notes is a timeless choice. It’s calming, gentle, and allows customers to enjoy tea into the late afternoon and evening without the worry of caffeine keeping them up. You can also blend it with supporting botanicals such as lavender to create ‘unwind’ blends.

9. Turmeric / Ginger / Spiced Herbal Blend

Wellness and functional blends are increasingly central to tea menus. A spiced herbal blend including turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, or adaptogens gives you a signature wellness tea. This appeals to the health-conscious customer and those looking for more natural ingredients to include in their day-to-day.

10. Floral / Botanical Blend

Botanical infusions offer visual beauty, delicate aromas, and enjoyable flavours. A hibiscus, rose, or elderflower botanical blend can be served hot or iced and helps your menu feel modern and creative. It also pairs well with fruits or light mixer tonics, so this is a versatile way to include a floral twist to your tea menu.

Tips for Building Your Menu

• Balance Classics With Innovation: Your tea list should support everyday classics (English Breakfast, Assam) while also making room for trends and wellness options. Too many niche teas can confuse customers; too few and you miss opportunity.
• Group Your Menu: Consider categorising teas as ‘Everyday’, ‘Premium’, or ‘Wellness’. This helps customers navigate the menu.
• Offer Tastings: Provide an opportunity for customers to sample three smaller cups of contrasting teas (e.g. one black, one green, one botanical). This lets people explore the menu without risking a full cup they don’t like.
• Embrace Aesthetics: Serve teas in glassware or with floating petals, use tea bags or sachets with visible colours, or offer blooming teas that unfurl in hot water. These visual touches create memorable experiences and are more likely to encourage people to share photos and tag your café on social media.
• Don’t Forget Iced and Cold Brew Choices: Many of the teas we’ve mentioned here can be adapted for cold brew or iced beverages. This helps you meet seasonal demand and expand variety.
• Tell Stories & Sourcing: Where your teas come from, how they are grown, and any ethical certifications should be part of the narrative. Consumers increasingly expect transparency.
• Update Seasonally: Rotate one or two teas with seasons, for example add a citrus botanical in summer or a warming spiced blend in winter. Seasonal novelty keeps regulars interested.
• Train Your Team: Your staff should know the flavour notes, steeping times, and best serving suggestions for each tea. This will help them guide new customers to try new items.

Why These Teas Should Feature on Your Menu

We’ve highlighted these ten teas because they reflect current consumer trends:

• Increased demand for wellness and functional drinks.
• A move to favouring sustainable and transparent sourcing.
• A love of aesthetic presentation.
• Enjoyment of trying hybrid flavour experimentation.

In late 2025 and moving into 2026, it’s clear that tea popularity is not going to slow down, so make sure your café is ready to deliver and wow both regular and new customers. At Teavision, we have a huge range of tea options to spice up any menu. We offer our best prices to wholesale bulk customers, so if you’re a café owner why not sign up for an account today.

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