Whether you have one location or dozens, customers expect a glass of iced tea that’s consistent every time they visit your restaurant or convenience store.

Iced tea brand consistency is critical to building customer loyalty and delivering a refreshing beverage. With tea being one of the fastest-growing beverages in America, now is a great time to build a faithful following of tea lovers.

Here are five ways to ensure you’re consistently delivering delicious fresh-brewed iced tea across all of your locations:

1) Use Automated Equipment: This ensures that customers get the same taste with every brew at all of your locations. You should use an advanced tea-brewing system that lets you brew just two gallons at a time (most systems require you to brew three gallons at a time), so you’re offering customers fresher tea and wasting less product. Be sure to follow the same brewing process across all of your locations. This includes using the same water/tea ratio, water temperature and brew time.

2) Use The Same Iced Tea Brand: Stick to one tea brand across all of your locations. Brewing the same iced tea brand is critical to establishing and nurturing brand loyalty. Look for a brand that offers fresh-brewed tea, as opposed to a finished concentrate. Not only does it taste better, but it also costs you less.

3) Provide Proper Training: All of your employees should learn how to use your iced tea maker; make this part of the new hire process. Brewing a delicious glass of iced tea isn’t difficult, but there is an art to the process and you want all of your employees to master that art. This is key to producing consistently delicious results.

4) Regularly Clean Your Urns: If all of your urns aren’t properly cleaned, the flavor of your teas won’t be consistent or fresh. Use iced tea urns that don’t require complete dismantling or the use of bleach to clean. You should only have to remove a portion of the equipment to clean it, making the urn quick and easy for any employee to clean.

5) Offer A Variety Of Flavors At All Locations: Customers want the ability to mix flavors and try new options, so make sure you’re always offering a variety. With the right iced tea brand, it’s easy to satisfy your customers’ cravings for a variety of flavors.

Benefits Of Brewing Consistently Fresh Iced Tea

Iced tea has an average profit rate of 85% for restaurants and convenience stores, so every additional glass you sell gives your bottom line a nice boost. Tea has the “halo effect” in that it’s perceived as a better-for-you beverage, and as a result more customers are choosing tea over other beverage options.

By brewing fresh and delicious iced tea consistently, you’ll be creating the kind of experience that is sure to bring customers back for more.