Nestlé launches pioneering tea machine system Special.T

Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé, the world’s leading food and beverages company today announced the launch of Special.T, a pioneering tea machine system. Through this launch, Nestlé pushes ahead with an innovative solution to provide consumers at home with the highest quality portioned tea beverages. Furthermore, it underlines the company’s inventive role in the beverage machine market which started with Nespresso, today’s market reference in highest quality portioned coffee.

Special.T by Nestlé is based on a proprietary system of single-serving capsules containing top-quality, premium portioned tea and specialised machines. Special.T offers a selection of 25 tea varieties – ranging from green, black, blue, red and white teas to flavoured teas and organic herb teas – which are carefully sourced from selected tea farms in China, Japan, Sri Lanka, India and South Africa. Overall, Special.T’s qualities excel through the combination of tea leaves selected from the top 1% of the world’s tea harvest and a state-of-the-art machine technology. The high quality tea leaves are protected by aluminium capsules, with each dosage measured to precision. The perfect brewing time and temperature for each individual tea variety is calculated by the innovative Special.T machine system, which in turn, releases the full benefits of the tea beverage.

Petraea Heynike, Executive Vice President of Nestlé S.A. responsible for Strategic Business Units, Marketing, Sales and Nespresso, said: “Special.T is another clear demonstration of Nestlé’s strong innovation capacities. After Nespresso and Nescafé Dolce Gusto, Special.T by Nestlé is another major innovation in beverage systems, by which we pioneer the market of portioned tea and thus strengthen our commitment as the world’s largest beverage company. Special.T is a clear sign of the importance attributed to R&D and innovation.”

Special.T by Nestlé will be launched in France in September 2010 and will be exclusively commercialised via the internet, with orders shipped to homes or offices within 48 hours. In a second stage, Nestlé plans the roll-out of Special.T in other European markets. Special.T aluminium capsules guarantee the consistent freshness and intensity of the tea aroma and are infinitely recyclable within national recycling collection points systems.