Our daily cuppa is so deeply rooted in our culture and everyday routine making it easy to take for granted, but the history of tea is a long and complex one spanning many cultures, continents and millennia.

Originating in China, the birth of tea can be traced as far back as 2737 BC, to ‘The Father of Tea’ - Shen Nong. Developing trade routes saw tea spread across the globe, finally arriving in England in the 17th century. Records estimate tea was first sold in London around 1658 but was initially considered a great luxury afforded primarily to nobility and royalty due to high prices & taxes.

The dependency on Chinese grown tea shifted when the Opium Wars of the 1840’s interrupted the trade from China and led to the establishment of British-grown tea gardens in India & Sri Lanka. Supply was controlled and dependable and the price of tea fell making it available to all levels of society. It was on its way to becoming Britain’s everyday drink we couldn’t be without today.

The 19th century saw Britain experience the Industrial revolution and with it emerged the British tradition of High Tea. A satiating spread of calorific foods accompanied by a pot of strong tea were served to replenish calories lost during long manual labour shifts. By the 1860s the more refined concept of Afternoon Tea became fashionable due to the gradual deferment of dinner to evening and the introduction of luncheon at midday. The desire for refreshment between these well spaced meals led to the development and gradually the ceremony we know as Afternoon Tea.

Tea parlours and Tea rooms abounded between WWI and WWII until the influence of American fast food joints & coffee bars from the fifties saw their decline. But by the 1980s, the fashion for tea reawakened with the opening of tea parlours, rooms and hotel teas once again.

To this day tea remains the nation’s favourite drink in the UK, enjoyed everywhere and by everyone in homes, work places, from café’s to the finest establishments. The tradition of tea and tea drinking continues to evolve as a new generation discovers new ways to enjoy tea blends and enjoy the therapeutic health benefits of a good old cup of Rosy Lee.

The way in which tea leaves are processed once they have been plucked gives different teas their unique characteristics and flavour profiles.

The basic tea process consists of:

Plucking.

Withering (allowing the leaves to dry a little to reduce water).

Rolling/cutting (this is to break down cells of the leaf to develop flavour).

Oxidation/fermentation (to develop the taste and aroms compounds, give briskness and change in colour from green to brown).

The differences between tea types is largely driven by the oxidation and fermentation stage of this process. Oxidation happens when enzymes in the tea react with oxygen. You can see this process in action when you cut an apple and it begins to turn brown. The longer the oxidation process on the tea leaves, the darker the leaves become and the darker the liquor. Fermentation takes place when bacteria is activated by the presence of warmth and water. This happens when little to no oxygen is present and results in a darker tea. Some examples are kombucha and pu-erh.

Black tea

The manufacturing process of black tea is as follows: the leaves are plucked, then withered to dry the leaf out, rolling (if orthodox so the leaf remains whole) or cutting (if CTC tea- small leaves), then oxidised. They are then dried to then be sorted and graded.

Green Tea

Green tea is processed in a similar way to black tea however the oxidation process is prevented by applying heat to the leaves. This gives green tea its light green colour, close to the original fresh green of the camellia sinensis plant. The leaves are then rolled, dried and sorted.

White Tea

The process of tea picking for white tea is a lot more intricate. Named after the little white hairs which cover each new bud and give the tea a dried silver-white appearance, each bud has to be picked carefully to avoid bruising. The leaves are slowly dried/baked to remove the water and then sorted. White tea in turn has a sweet, light flavour.

Herbal Infusions

Any blends which don’t contain any tea leaves from the camellia sinensis plant are referred to as tisanes or herbal infusions.

Whole Leaf Teas

Making tea great again. We think teas should be given the TLC they deserve - from cultivation to cup. Tea estates carefully pick and process the leaves to ensure that you get all the aromas and flavours to look for in your cuppa. So, whilst the majority of tea consumed In the UK is the CTC type (small cut leaves which fit neatly into cramped teabags), our aim is to celebrate and bring back whole leaf teas in the most accessible way possible.

The distinct flavour profiles of different teas are unique to the location they are grown in. Tea always enjoys a climate that is warm and humid with a lot of rainfall. But the flavour of individual teas are impacted by so many other external factors such as unique micro climate, the acidity of the soil, how the estate is protected by the surrounding terrain, etc.

Each factor gives the tea its own recognisable and individual characteristics. This means that your Ceylon from Uva region will taste entirely different to the maltier Assam. This is why we always list the regions and tea estates (the exact farm where the tea leaves have come from). The details matter and we don’t apologise for being tea purists!

After all, it’s really not as simple as ‘black tea’ or ‘green tea’!