As you may know if you’ve been follow my blog I’ve recently been to South Africa to visit the farm where my Rooibos grows wild.
Here it is- 
available on the website and at Waitrose.
And here is the film I made about the farm for Guardian Travel
And here is the article I wrote to accompany the film.
Its one of my favourite places in the world and the rooibos really is spectacular.
I have never been a VIP before. I’m just the tea-lady. (Very pushy, but no trolley.) Now I’m a Very Important Producer. That is definitely a step up.
read the full article here
Last week I worked hard. On Thursday I did 10 solid hours in-store tasting at Waitrose. Rushing across town was my only break but it was as exhilarating as it was exhausting.
The people at Waitrose were incredibly kind, helpful and encouraging. The customers were really appreciative that I bothered to be there myself; but not half as appreciative as I was when they took armfuls of my tea off the shelves.
By Friday my feet were sore and I was ready to sit down but never tired of tea. Even after a week of tasting I could still think of no better treat - so I invited the food-writers William Leigh and Simon Mujumdar (one of the celebrated Dos Hermanos) over to my place for … well, yes tea.
Simon and William wrote about it far more eloquently than I could on their blogs:
Dos Hermanos
The Boy Done Food
(forgive me Simon, for stealing the photo).
There is little I enjoy more than taking tea with people but it’s deeply pleasurable to make tea for people who are so fascinated by flavour and brimming over with ideas. William is making Panna Cotta with my jasmine silver tips and we have hatched a plan to pair teas with curries and create deliciously indulgent tea-cocktails.
On Monday 24th I’ll be in the John Lewis Food Hall on Oxford Street from 4pm until about 7pm.
On Thursday 27th I’ll be back at Oxford Street in the morning and from 5-9pm I’ll be at the Canary Wharf branch.
Please come and have a cup of tea with me.
I cannot tell you how exciting it was to go into Waitrose and pick up a beautiful tin of my very own Rare Tea from the shelf.
The last time I cried in the supermarket I was still small enough to sit in the trolley and be pushed around by my mother. This time I took a tin off the shelf and nobody told me to sit down, be quiet and put it back. It was all I could do to stop myself running up and down the aisles shouting with delight.
For those of you that have been looking and asking here is the full listing. If you don’t find Rare Tea in any of these stores please let me know and I’ll get on to them.
Holloway road
East Sheen
Kings Road
John Barnes (Finchley road )
Richmond
Bloomsbury
Putney
Gloucester road
Marylebone
Oxford street
Canary wharf
Belgravia
Wandsworth
Kensington
Fulham
Balham
Barbican
St Katherines Dock
West Ealing
Westfield and Bayswater coming soon.
If you live outside London and want them in your local please ask:
Waitrose CS Freephone: 0800 188 884
Email: customer_service@waitrose.co.uk
A VERY momentous day today.
Rare Tea launches at Waitrose. I’m so proud. I love Waitrose and it has always been the Shangri La of shops for me. I always dreamed of seeing Rare Tea on the shelves and today it really happened. Well, 20 London stores to start with. But it’s a big start.
This really is a massive step. I’m shaky as a baby giraffe with hope and excitement.