In this article, you’ll learn:
- What a commercial iced tea maker is and why venues are adding one
- How to choose and set up your commercial iced tea maker
- How to build and market an iced tea menu that drives sales
Diversification increasingly influences tea sales, alongside taste and flavour. To put this into context, more than 20% of consumers say innovative flavours influence their purchases, including for tea-based products.
Businesses are doing their part to keep up by diversifying their menus. But as any industry expert will tell you, traditional brewing equipment can limit production speed, consistency, and menu flexibility as beverage offerings expand.
Using a commercial iced tea maker for the same purpose, however, promises a different experience. To unpack it all, I spoke to Lauretta Nkwocha, founder of Lauretta’s British Ginger T, a brand of bold, flavourful, naturally caffeine-free herbal infusions she launched in 2014. Read on for her insights.
What is a commercial iced tea maker, and why are venues adding one?
A commercial iced tea maker steeps large volumes of tea, then chills and serves it. Venues add one to meet rising demand for functional, customisable drinks.
A commercial iced tea maker typically lets larger quantities of tea leaves or bags steep in hot or room-temperature water for a set period. It then removes the tea, chills it if brewed hot, and serves it.
That has been the go-to brewing method for years, until modern equipment, like the Baby Hardtank, changed things. It uses recirculation technology, in which a pump continuously cycles water through a bed of tea leaves to speed up extraction.
The result is highly consistent flavour profiles in about 15 minutes. Traditional methods would take hours due to manual or less advanced processes. Automatic electric home brewers can offer comparable brew times, but capacity limits them.
“From my 5 decades of experience as a tea drinker, and the last 12 years of making tea blends for the masses, this low- or no caffeine beverage is a comforting alternative to coffee,” Lauretta admits, “the variety of leaves, roots, fruits, and spices offer a plethora of health benefits.”
Most available systems can produce such wellness-boosting iced tea, but few perfectly suit commercial settings where speed, convenience, efficiency, and cost matter today more than ever. The traditional fresh-brew iced tea maker, concentrate-and-dispenser systems, and combination units all fall short in one way or another.
It’s a factor no one in this space should overlook, especially for a functional beverage whose demand continues to rise. “This surge is due to the increase in the number of people who are prioritising their health and making the shift from over-the-counter medications for simple symptoms and viral illnesses,” Lauretta says.
Operators can offer it in different formats or customise it to match consumer expectations, which further fuels demand. “In America, tea is often enjoyed cold with ice, and this increases the number of people who can enjoy the flavours and the health benefits,” Lauretta adds.
Reports forecast that the iced tea segment will grow by nearly 25% to reach USD 76.25 billion over the next five years. Lauretta cites figures for the US market: “The tea industry in America is projected to reach 1.1–1.2 billion dollars by 2030.”
How do you choose and set up your commercial iced tea maker?
You choose and set up a commercial iced tea maker by weighing output quality, capacity, speed, versatility, footprint, efficiency, and automation against alternatives.
Paper filters produce quality results, but the waste and recurring costs add up. A steel extraction basket, on the other hand, matches that performance without the drawbacks, and it’s what modern equipment uses.
Lauretta points to the Hardtank as a case in point, saying it’s “a fantastic example of a commercial iced drink maker that makes iced teas, iced coffees, and liquor-infused iced drinks.”
Faster brewing times complement this versatility to match varying demand. “It takes about 15 minutes to cold brew 4 litres of tea, and about 35-40 minutes to cold brew 4 litres of coffee,” she adds.
For many operators, these are already reasons enough to invest in such equipment. “If quality, volume, and speed are important to an establishment, then a commercial iced tea maker would be a smart investment,” Lauretta shares, and adds that consistency matters just as much.
“Every customer wants to know that no matter when they order their iced beverage, it will consistently be the same, and of course, we all want high quality.”
Equipment that automates most of the brewing and dispensing makes this possible. It minimises human involvement, which can create inconsistencies and drive up labour costs. The same applies to cleaning, where manual processes can introduce safety risks.
For Lauretta, the compact Baby Hardtank and high-capacity Hardtank 20 reflect that. “A machine that is as simple to use, clean, and assemble as the Hardtank means that time is saved, more customers are served, and they are served a consistently high-quality beverage,” she shares.
Remember to vet a manufacturer’s ability to back up their iced tea maker by checking their warranty, service terms, certifications, throughput specifications, parts availability, and after-sales support.
How do you build and market an iced tea menu that drives sales?
You build and market a winning iced tea menu by matching it to local tastes, balancing year-round staples with seasonal flavours, and using the right sales channels.
With iced tea, some consumer tastes are universal, while others vary by market. So when developing your menu, narrow your selection to what your target market actually drinks and finds convenient.
As Lauretta puts it, hospitality businesses need to “create space in their establishment for multiple, efficient, quality iced beverage makers, and also look at expanding their menus.” For her, this is necessary because “the list of tea ingredients and options is endless, and their benefits, limitless.”
Black, lemon, and peach iced tea still lead the global segment by share. But flavoured varieties are closing the gap, as consumer appetite for innovation grows. Naturally sweetened blends are emerging as a third area worth a place on the menu.
Year-round staples and seasonal flavours call for different approaches. RTD format, for instance, particularly suits seasonal and limited edition varieties. The temporary nature of such offerings creates instant purchase urgency for consumers and gives brands room to experiment with recipes without disrupting their core product lines.
Operators can also serve these beverages fresh. It ultimately depends on which format drives most sales in your market. Younger consumers, for example, tend to favour RTD formats for the convenience they offer.
There are still more merchandising options to explore, such as in-store promotions, as well as other sales channels like takeaways, deliveries, events, and catering. Each, of course, comes with its own costs and logistical demands, so the right mix will depend on your capacity, target audience, and where the strongest demand lies.
For a segment that’s ever-evolving, consumers’ preferences will no doubt continue to shift. “Research is showing that demand for iced teas and coffees is growing,” Lauretta points out the inevitable.
As all these changes happen, so too must the production equipment. A versatile commercial iced tea maker that scales with your business, without sacrificing quality or consistency, is less of a luxury and more of a necessity. Hardtank designed the Baby Hardtank and Hardtank 20 to do precisely that.
Commercial iced tea maker: Key Takeaways
- A commercial iced tea maker uses recirculation technology to deliver consistent flavour in about 15 minutes, whereas traditional methods take hours.
- When investing, weigh output quality, capacity, speed, versatility, footprint, efficiency, and automation against the alternatives.
- A winning iced tea menu matches local tastes, balances year-round staples with seasonal flavours, and uses the right sales channels.
Ready to expand your menu with a commercial iced tea maker? Explore Hardtank’s equipment or speak with the team to get started.
Commercial iced tea maker: FAQ
What is a commercial iced tea maker?
A commercial iced tea maker steeps large quantities of tea, then chills and serves it. Modern units like the Baby Hardtank use recirculation technology, cycling water through tea leaves to deliver consistent flavour in about 15 minutes.
How fast can a commercial iced tea maker brew?
According to Lauretta, the Hardtank cold brews 4 litres of tea in about 15 minutes and 4 litres of coffee in about 35 to 40 minutes. Faster brewing times help match varying demand.
Which iced tea flavours should I put on my menu?
Black, lemon, and peach iced tea still lead the global segment by share. Flavoured varieties are closing the gap, and naturally sweetened blends are emerging as a third option worth featuring.
Want to learn more about Hardtank’s iced tea systems?
- Explore the range: See Hardtank’s iced tea and cold brew equipment.
- Speak to the team: Contact Hardtank here.
