Meet The Farmers
Yu Pu fought against all odds to reclaim her life after a devastating divorce, and has changed the lives of many other incredible women along the way. Her Broken Silver tea is the most delicious Pu'erh that we have ever tried, and her passion and talent for the local wild tea trees is evident in this brew.
Our Genmaicha is grown by an incredible family of revolutionaries, the Kinezuka family. Against the distrust and stigma that came from being the first organic tea farm in the village, they have broken all the rules to create this marvellous, mouthwatering green tea mixed with rice. Frankly, this is one of the best teas you'll ever try.
In the small town of Naharkatia, on the upper bank of the Brahmaputra river valley in Assam, is a small farm. There, nestled between the wilderness of Arunachal Pradesh and the mountains of Burma, live two tea farmers: Mr. and Mrs. Borah. They produce the wonderful Prithivi black tea for the world's first Welsh cake tea, along with our sticky masala chai, and vegan sticky masala chai blends.
Phyu Thwe grew up in Mogok, Myanmar, before moving to London in 2004 to study and build a career in accounting. Inspired to create lasting opportunities for her home village, she invested her savings to establish Mogok Tea, bringing the region’s distinctive white, green and black teas to the world while creating meaningful livelihoods for local people.
AMBA Estate, nestled in Sri Lanka’s Uva Highlands, is a community-focused tea estate known for its handcrafted teas, organic farming practices and commitment to sustainable livelihoods. Neethanjana Senadheera grew up in the local valley and helps transform traditional tea production by developing local workers into skilled tea crafters.
Buddhika Dissanayake is based in Warnagala at the forested foothills of Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka. He transforms wild-grown leaves and locally sourced harvests into distinctive handmade teas, championing forest-friendly production, supporting local farmers, and helping create more sustainable livelihoods while showcasing a fascinating, lesser-known side of Ceylon tea.
Our spice farmers all live on teeny-tiny plots of land in Indonesia, Zanzibar, India, and Lebanon. They are the reason our Sticky Chai, Vegan Sticky Chai, and Welsh Cake teas taste so fresh and fragrant. Absolute legends, all of them.
I travelled to Peru’s Sacred Valley expecting to stay with Mila, a Kichwa healer, for only a few days. Instead, I stayed for weeks. By the end of my trip, she'd taught me about sacred herbs, and called me hijita. I love her.
Dr. Frikkie Strauss comes from generations of iconic wild rooibos farmers (really, there's whole Wikipedia pages on them!) and without a doubt, he curates the best rooibos in the world. His story is absolutely incredible and we are so excited to share his story with you.
Akihiro 'Akky' Kita is the head farmer at our Matcha farm. He discovered his love for this delicious powdered tea when working as a farmhand in Wazuka, Japan - and the second he left college, he decided to devote his life to mastering the intricate art of tea farming.
Edna is the incredible farmer behind our lemon verbena. When she first started working on the crop, there were so many obstacles that she had to overcome - but over time, she learnt to tackle its fragile nature to create the best lemon verbena we've ever tasted.
Mr. Limbani Chitseko was one of the founding farmers for the Msuwadzi Small Holder Tea Growers Association, where he shared his belief that diversifying crops was the best way to create a healthy environment. Now, he cultivates spearmint which is resilient, fresh, and sweet.
Whilst in the west of Taiwan, I decided to hitchhike my way to Li Shan. However, I didn't quite make it - instead, a woman picked me up and took me to her family's tea shop just away from the mountain range, and when I told them that I was on a hunt for the best Taiwanese tea, they brought out their personal favourite: this absolutely perfect Cui Feng.
Whilst travelling the north of Taiwan, I made a friend called Jiu, a young engineer with a passion for tea. Near his hometown, he introduced me to his tea dealer, Miss Qia. Two hours later, sixteen types of tea tasted, and with a caffeine high unlike no other, I stumbled out of the tea shop, new favourite white tea under my arm.
I travelled all the way to Georgia to meet Aleko/ Alex of Renegade Tea Estate, where small tea bushes are still regaining their strength after being abandoned for the last 30 years. What followed was the most confusing tea tasting session of my life - after all, what is green oolong??