What is the real cost of a cup of tea

For this post I will rely on my good friends at Harney & Sons. An excellent tea retailer for nearly 4 decades. This family-run business was started by the patriarch John Harney (check out their website…there are a lot of Harney’s listed). They have two retail locations. I have only been to the one in SoHo, and it is a gem of a place with a wide variety of excellent teas, friendly and helpful staff, and treats to enjoy while chatting with friends at one of several tables. Anyway, let’s take their Japanese Matsuda’s Sencha. It is an excellent tea that retails for $45 for a 4 ounce loose leaf tin, which seems like a lot of money to lay out for tea. In fact, this is one of their more expensive teas. But wait, Harney helpfully does the math for us right on their website, showing that even this top-end tea costs just $1.28 per cup. Take note those of you drinking barista-made tea for $4 per cup…the good stuff is easy to find and typically much less expensive. (https://www.harney.com).