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Chai tea may have been an oddity at Starbucks years ago, but having a lengthy list of leaf-based options has become all the rage among the barista set, thanks in part to consumers having had their fill of grounds.

Among specialty retailers like Starbucks, servings of hot tea rose 18% for the year ended February 2013, compared with a year earlier, according to NPD, while the iced variety showed solid growth of 5% over the same period. With the summer months upon us, many chains are rolling out a slew of cold options to quench customers' thirst.

In supermarkets, ready-to-drink tea has been booming for some time; during the past six years, it has grown 58%, to $3.8 billion in wholesale figures, from $2.4 billion. In the U.S. last year, ready-to-drink tea grew 5%, making it the fourth-fastest growing beverage category, according to Beverage Marketing Corp.; it's behind energy drinks, ready-to-drink coffee and bottled water.

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