Building on her success with soap, Lin Yuer expanded into a new venture that was just as ambitious: milk tea. Her vision was to create a unique tea that blended the warmth and comfort of milk with the rich flavors of tea leaves, infused with subtle spices that would attract a wide range of customers. The process began with sourcing high-quality tea leaves, which she purchased from the neighboring mountains. She built relationships with local tea farmers, ensuring she received fresh, fragrant leaves at a fair price.
The milk tea recipe itself was crafted through trial and error. Lin Yuer experimented with various blends, adding hints of ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom to create a mildly spiced milk tea that would appeal to both common folk and the noble class. She used fresh milk from local dairy farms, adding a creamy depth to each cup. The challenge lay in achieving the perfect balance of tea and milk, which took several attempts. After finding the right proportions, Lin Yuer taught her employees how to replicate the process consistently, maintaining quality with each batch.
To streamline production, she set up a small tea brewing facility near her soap factory, where large pots simmered with tea and spices. Each day, the tea would brew over a gentle heat, filling the facility with a comforting aroma that attracted customers from nearby markets. She also introduced a method to serve cold milk tea for the warmer months, storing batches in clay jars to keep them cool and refreshing.
For presentation, Lin Yuer used clay cups made by local artisans, adding a rustic yet elegant touch to her product. She sold the milk tea from small stalls, each carefully positioned near popular market areas. Her pricing strategy was clever: affordable enough for common folk to indulge yet refined enough that noble customers saw it as a treat. Lin Yuer also introduced large jugs of milk tea for traveling merchants, offering a discount for bulk purchases.
As word of her milk tea spread, Lin Yuer saw her profits grow steadily. Within months, her tea stalls became gathering spots for locals and travelers alike, many of whom were captivated by the unique flavor and comforting warmth of her tea. With each cup sold, Lin Yuer reinvested in her growing tea business, adding more ingredients to diversify the flavors and even experimenting with sweeteners like honey. The milk tea enterprise became a profitable addition to her soap business, expanding her influence and further establishing her as a successful businesswoman in the region.