User:Kenkou

Kaori Tea is a retailer offering high quality loose leaf teas, unique tea cups, teapots, and other related merchandises. It was among those that established a new trend in consumable luxury, extending from better coffee and better wines. The business began in the era when consumers were trading up, such as from cheap tea bags to high quality loose leaf teas. See Tea in U.S.A..

Background
Kaori Tea original store was opened in November 2005 in Covington, Kentucky, within the greater Cincinnati area. The name “Kaori” means “aroma” in Japanese. The store owner, “Steve” Kawasaki, a native of Japan, believes that a high level of what people taste is actually due to aroma. He therefore studied different types of tea, pure and blended, that produce different kinds of aroma. He also traveled overseas to visit tea estates and suppliers.

The company now operates solely online. The retail location had since closed.

Merchandise
At the Covington location, Kaori Tea displayed “a simple, elegantly designed aesthetic that reflects tea’s origins in Asia, where tea is the way of life”. Plus, “a backdrop of traditional Japanese melodies” creating a visit to Kaori Tea “as refreshing as a meditation in a Japanese garden”. Most of its tea selections are from Asia, which Kawasaki selected and imported. Shoppers can choose from over 80 kinds of teas under Kaori Tea’s own brand name, including black, oolong, green and white teas in subtle variations. The most expensive tea recorded in Spring 2006 was a 1996 pressed Pu-erh cake from Yunnan. The store also featured sample jars for smelling and brewing presentations for shoppers to learn the ease of enjoying these aromas.

Some of the different teas offered by Kaori Tea : Calming Green, Yabukita, Kabuse, Lapsang Souchong, and Pu Erh.

In addition, Kaori Tea also has tea wares and accessories available. Tea sets include those made from cast iron and ceramic. Infusers, tea mugs, and teapots are also among their selections.

Philosophy
Reacting to the common trend on health benefits from tea, Kawasaki had the following viewpoint through his involvement in Kaori Tea: “They may think of tea for its health, or the effect of the caffeine, but I want to show that tea is more than a functional beverage.” This notion is reflected in the name of the business – Kaori, or aroma, which has no specific function but can simply be defined as “a distinctive quality or atmosphere”.