04 —
Proposed Workstreams & Deliverables
The following provides a more detailed view of the anticipated body of work. It is proposed for discussion and can be refined with Shizuku before the final scope is agreed.
Phase 01 — Tea Programme Architecture & Foundations
October – early November 2026
| Workstream | Scope of Work | Key Output |
|---|---|---|
| Tea Programme Mapping | Map the complete tea offering — including the four Elemental Teas, Simbi's Selection, premium teas, Breakfast Tea and tea used within cocktails — as one programme. Define the intended role and application of each across direct service, bar and retail, and assess the whole across flavour and aroma, sensory character, guest experience, provenance, price and cost parameters, continuity and potential cross-use. Retail will be explicitly mapped at this stage: which teas are intended for retail at opening, which may have a future retail role, and how this affects sourcing, quality, format, continuity, volume and cost. This includes clarifying the relationship between Breakfast Tea, the Elemental Teas, premium teas and other potential retail products. Identify gaps, unnecessary overlaps and opportunities to simplify the programme without compromising quality or intent. |
Tea Programme Map & Retail Tea Requirements |
| Tea Roles & Sourcing Briefs | Define what each tea position needs to achieve and translate the agreed architecture into practical sourcing or development briefs. The team will consider proposed positions such as premium Oolong and Pu-erh within the full programme before setting sourcing criteria. For cocktail applications, Shizuku's proposed tea types will provide the starting point. At the same time, the mapping determines appropriate quality, character and sourcing requirements, including where an existing programme tea or another tea expression may better fulfil the intended purpose. |
Tea Sourcing & Development Briefs |
| Elemental Tea Translation | Translate Heat, Water, Air and Light into practical criteria for tea selection, considering flavour and aroma, sensory character, material and craftsmanship, brewing expression, service suitability and relevant price parameters. Establish how the four teas remain individually distinctive while working together as a coherent set. |
Elemental Tea Selection Criteria |
| Tea Buying Standard | Establish the standards by which tea enters Shizuku, whether served directly, retailed or used as an ingredient. The standard will address provenance and traceability, growing environment, tea material, harvest and craftsmanship, producer relationships, sensory quality, cultural integrity, consistency, continuity, intended application, operational suitability and relevant sourcing red lines. Different applications may require different grades, costs or practical characteristics, but tea decisions across Shizuku will follow one underlying standard appropriate to purpose. |
Shizuku Tea Buying Standard |
| Commercial & Operational Parameters | Establish the information required to make informed tea decisions, including intended menu positioning, allowable tea cost, serving formats, anticipated volumes, stock considerations and relevant retail assumptions. Shizuku will supply or approve the underlying commercial targets; Rui will apply them to tea development and sourcing. |
Agreed Sourcing Parameters |
| Foundation Working Sessions | Hold approximately 1–3 focused working sessions with Shizuku to resolve programme architecture, tea roles, relationships between service, bar and retail, commercial and operational requirements, and outstanding decisions required before main sourcing begins. | Agreed Programme Direction |
| Retail Scope | Retail is included where it directly informs tea development, sourcing, continuity and the architecture of the wider programme. Retail pricing, packaging, merchandising, positioning and broader retail strategy remain with Shizuku unless separately agreed. | |
| Phase 01 Completion | The programme architecture is agreed; tea positions and relevant service/bar/retail relationships are sufficiently defined; the Elemental selection criteria and Tea Buying Standard are established; sourcing briefs are ready; and the commercial and operational parameters required for sourcing have been supplied or agreed. |
Phase 02 — Tea Development, Sourcing & Selection
November 2026 – April 2027
| Workstream | Scope of Work | Key Output |
|---|---|---|
| Elemental Tea Sourcing | Source, taste and assess candidates for Heat, Water, Air and Light against the criteria established in Phase 01. Selection will consider both the strength of each tea and how the four work together as a complete sensory offering. |
Four Opening Elemental Teas |
| Simbi's Selection — Peppermint | Define the required character and source an exceptional peppermint appropriate to Simbi's Selection, while considering whether the same material can appropriately fulfil other applications within Shizuku. | Simbi's Selection Peppermint |
| Premium Tea Selection | Clarify the role of the proposed premium Oolong and Pu-erh positions within the programme, then identify, source and assess suitable teas against the agreed briefs. Assessment will consider not simply tea category or prestige, but whether each selection adds a meaningful sensory, cultural and experiential dimension not already fulfilled elsewhere. |
Premium Tea Selection |
| Shizuku Breakfast Tea Development | Develop Shizuku Breakfast Tea from the agreed Phase 01 brief. This may include defining the desired drinking character and preparation requirements; identifying and sourcing appropriate teas or components; developing and assessing compositions where required; comparative tasting and refinement; and evaluating the final direction against quality, flavour, cost, consistency and continuity. This work covers tea development. Shizuku retains retail positioning, pricing, packaging, and merchandising. |
Shizuku Breakfast Tea Specification |
| Specialist Tea Assessment & Selection | Conduct comparative tasting and specialist assessment of candidate teas and relevant batches, including further sourcing rounds where reasonably required to meet the agreed brief. Rui will guide Shizuku through final tasting and selection, explain key differences, and make specialist recommendations aligned with the programme architecture and Tea Buying Standard. |
Approved Opening Tea Selection |
| Cross-Programme Sourcing | Identify opportunities to simplify sourcing through shared producers, teas, or materials across different applications, where possible without compromising their intended purpose. Recommend cross-use only where the tea genuinely performs well in each application; do not use it to lower the quality standard. |
Consolidated Sourcing Requirements |
| Provenance & Continuity | Document the essential information behind the selected served teas, including origin, producer or maker, tea material, harvest, craftsmanship and relevant sourcing context. Establish a continuity-led approach in which core teas remain relatively consistent and are revisited only when harvest, quality, availability, or producer circumstances provide a meaningful reason for change, rather than according to an arbitrary seasonal calendar. |
Opening Tea Provenance Records · Tea Continuity Framework |
| Cocktail Tea Selection & Sourcing | Tea used within cocktails will ideally follow the Tea Buying Standard established for the wider programme. The proposed matcha, jasmine tea, peppermint, hojicha and ginger tea will be considered during Phase 01, including opportunities for appropriate cross-use with teas already being sourced. Where the mapping identifies dedicated producer research, sampling, assessment or development beyond the core programme, the additional requirement will be agreed with Shizuku before proceeding and scoped separately where appropriate. Shizuku and its bar lead retain final cocktail formulation and bar direction. |
|
| Phase 02 Completion | The agreed core opening teas have been selected or developed; Breakfast Tea has an agreed tea specification; relevant provenance has been documented; and continuity requirements are established. |
Phase 03 — Tea Service & Operational Development
April – May 2027
| Workstream | Scope of Work | Key Output |
|---|---|---|
| Tea Service Direction | Define the tea-specific guest journey from selection and guidance through brewing, presentation, re-brewing and water service. Establish how tea knowledge can remain available to interested guests without making education compulsory or disrupting Shizuku's relaxed character. |
Tea Service Direction |
| Brewing Development | Test and develop brewing standards for relevant directly served teas, including leaf-to-water ratio, water temperature and volume, vessel, successive infusion times, appropriate re-brews, preparation method and sensory quality benchmarks. | Individual Brewing Standards |
| Portion, Yield & Tea Cost | Establish serving portions and expected yield and calculate dry tea cost per service against commercial parameters supplied and approved by Shizuku. Rui will provide the tea-specific calculations required to inform service decisions; overall menu pricing, gross-margin targets and financial modelling remain with Shizuku. |
Portion, Yield & Tea Cost Guide |
| Teaware, Water & Equipment | Assess tea-specific requirements against Shizuku's existing ceramics and service concept and recommend appropriate brewing vessels, water and filtration, weighing, storage and other specialist equipment required to prepare and maintain the teas well. | Tea Equipment & Water Recommendations |
| Phase 03 Completion | Relevant directly served teas have tested brewing standards, portions and yields; the tea-specific service approach is defined; and the water, teaware and equipment requirements needed for implementation are established. |
Phase 04 — Tea Knowledge, Manual & Team Training
May – June 2027
| Workstream | Scope of Work | Key Output |
|---|---|---|
| Core Tea Knowledge | Develop the essential knowledge behind each relevant served tea, including place, producer or maker, growing environment, tea material, harvest, craftsmanship, sensory character, elemental relationship where relevant and appropriate cultural context. | Core Tea Knowledge Resource |
| Guest Tea Language | Translate specialist tea knowledge into clear, culturally accurate and accessible language appropriate to different levels of guest interest. | Guest Tea Language Guide |
| Brewing & Service Manual | Develop a practical written reference for the served tea programme, with a dedicated specification for each relevant tea covering leaf weight, water volume and temperature, vessel, successive infusion times, expected sensory expression, practical service guidance, quality benchmarks and concise provenance/story. The manual will provide an operational reference for consistent service and a foundation for future staff training. |
Shizuku Tea Brewing & Service Manual |
| Opening Team Training | Deliver structured training that integrates comparative tasting and sensory recognition, essential tea knowledge, provenance and cultural context, brewing, service, quality recognition, and guest communication. | Opening Team Training |
| Train the Trainer | Train the GM or designated tea lead to maintain the programme's core knowledge, brewing standards and sensory benchmarks and to use the manual when bringing future team members into the programme. | Tea Trainer Handover |
| Phase 04 Completion | The agreed opening-team training has been delivered; the designated internal trainer has completed handover; and the Brewing & Service Manual is ready for final validation through on-site implementation. |
Phase 05 — On-site Development & Pre-Opening Calibration
May – July 2027
| Workstream | Scope of Work | Key Output |
|---|---|---|
| On-site Tea Calibration | Test brewing against Shizuku's final water, vessels, equipment and working environment. Refine ratios, temperatures, infusion times, portions, re-brewing, and quality benchmarks as needed. | On-site Brewing Calibration |
| Service Testing | Test the programme under realistic service conditions, considering brewing consistency, timing, presentation, equipment use, staff movement, re-brewing and guest communication. | Tea Service Test & Findings |
| Team Implementation | Work directly with the relevant team to reinforce brewing and sensory standards, resolve practical questions that arise through use, and support the transition from training into day-to-day implementation. | Operational Tea Implementation |
| Service Refinement | Refine tea-specific brewing, service, equipment use and communication based on what is learned through implementation. | Final Tea Service Adjustments |
| Manual & Programme Finalisation | Incorporate relevant findings from on-site work into the final Brewing & Service Manual and opening standards. Further calibration approaching opening can be undertaken remotely where appropriate. Any additional international visit would be agreed separately. |
Final Manual & Opening-Ready Tea Programme |
| Phase 05 Completion | The programme has been tested within the venue; agreed tea-specific adjustments have been incorporated; the team has worked with the practice programme; and final manual and opening standards have been issued. |
05 —
The Tea Programme at Opening
By opening, Shizuku will have:
A defined architecture for tea across the wider Shizuku offering
A practical translation of Heat, Water, Air and Light into tea
A Tea Buying Standard governing how tea enters the programme
Four selected Elemental Teas
An exceptional peppermint for Simbi's Selection
Selected premium teas fulfilling clearly defined roles
A developed Shizuku Breakfast Tea specification
Clarity around direct service, retail and tea used within the bar
Appropriate cross-use and consolidated sourcing requirements
Essential provenance documentation and a continuity framework
Tested brewing, portion, yield and quality standards
Tea-specific water, teaware and equipment recommendations
A defined tea-service approach
An internal tea knowledge resource and guest language
A written Brewing & Service Manual
An opening team trained in the programme
An internal trainer able to carry the standards forward; and
A tea programme tested and calibrated within the venue
Together, these provide Shizuku not only with an opening tea selection, but with the knowledge, standards, relationships and internal capability to carry the programme forward.