Rare Tea

Maylis Briand runs Elysse, a small Epicerie in the heart of beautiful Bordeaux in South West France. Maylis works with small companies, like us, who take great pride in what they do so she can deliver the best products available to her customers.

If you look at the top row of shelves on the left you can see Rare Tea tins in the middle.

Knowing that in exquisite little shops around the world you can find my tea is one of the best feelings in the world.
Yes, yes I know what your thinking. Everyone here at Rare Tea HQ tells me I’m a mad obsessive and its true. I have the shallow heart of a grocer but it is full to bursting.

This is the lovely Sophie Rushton-Smith, PhD. She ran the 2010 Asics British 10K London run on Sunday 11 July (one of the hottest days of the year) raising money for the Alzheimers’ Society.

Instead of simply asking for sponsorship money, Sophie hosted an afternoon tea event for her friends, neighbours and parents from the local school, with home-made cakes, scones and Rare Teas.

We were incredibly proud that Sophie ran with Rare Tea’s logo.

This morning I got this lovely message from Kate Mayglothling of Wigmore High School.

I remember when I started Rare Tea back in 2004 it was so hard to get people to look beyond the the cheap supermarket teabag. It’s amazing how things have changed and how concerned the new generations are with the provenance and ethical implications of their consumer choices. It makes me feel incredibly hopeful.

Of course you might think I was being altruistic giving school children some of my tea but really I was just trying to get them hooked on the good stuff early. It was all just a shallow marketing plan!

Dear Henrietta
Thank you for all your help, articles and the wonderful tea! My workshop with the pupils was the talk of the school.
We looked at several of your videos from YouTube via your website and we looked at Fair Trade and focused on several products from Africa but primarily your tea. We all sampled your Malawi and Oolong teas together with some xxx teas and some xxx bags. You will not be surprised to know the pupils’ favourite was your Lost Malawi! A few discerning tea drinkers loved your Oolong.

It was so useful to be able to watch you at the tea plantation and then taste the tea. We succeeded in challenging stereotypes and making the link between our shopping trolleys and the farmers at the other end. It was so successful so thank you very much indeed!

Its not just Blighty that enjoys a good cuppa. We are extremely proud to be working with the superlative Supreme Roastworks in Oslo.

They’re a company who source, import and roast their own coffee, supplying restaurants, cafés and bars across the city. It’s a company after my own heart run by two lovely gentlemen, Magnus and Joar.

Yes, they’re specialty is coffee rather than tea, but they decided that if Norway is going to get the best coffee, it has to get the best tea too.
So they supply my tea.