Our Story
Hi I’m Dan, and I'm on a mission to share with you lovely people — the people of Britain — the wonders of Chinese tea culture. I'm not just talking about tea houses and ornate tea rituals, but a different way of enjoying caffeine on a daily basis.
In the UK, we tend to think about caffeine in two ways: fuelling up (the morning coffee, the 3pm lull) or catching up over a quick brew by the kettle. The experience is short, and interspersed throughout the day.
In China, it's different. You'll see people wandering the streets with a flask of green liquid, filled to the brim with steeped leaves — a companion flask where the tea gently steeps for hours and can be refilled again and again with fresh hot water. Or there’s the traditional tea ceremony, where the flavour deepens with every steep, mirroring the conversation unfolding between those sharing it. It's this deeper connection — one that unfolds slowly, over time — that caught my attention.
This business was born from my love of Chinese tea culture and a wish to foster a deeper connection to family in China. On my return, I found myself swapping my morning coffee for a tea flask — and years later, the habit has stuck, a quiet connection to my eastern family. Sometimes I just enjoy looking at the leaves; there's something beautiful in that. It's my pleasure to share a little of this experience with the UK. So join me on this journey in spreading the wonders and delights of chinese tea to the British people.
Why Loose Leaf
There's no shade to tea bags, I enjoy a good brew as much as the next person. But it's a different experience. Tea bags are usually only good for one steep before they turn bitter, whereas loose leaf can be brewed over a much longer duration. I'll often use the same leaves, re-steeped throughout the entire day.
There's an entire world of loose leaf tea out there that, in some ways, mirrors coffee culture in the UK, where specific beans come from particular farms, regions, and seasons. The same is true of tea, and it's genuinely exciting discovering how, where, and when each batch of leaves was picked.
Beyond that, tea has been valued for its nutritional qualities for thousands of years. In my experience, the ground-up leaf found in most tea bags is a different product entirely, the same drink in name, but not quite the same thing. I invite you to give it a go and join me on this tea journey!