After our few days in Clanwilliam learning about the cultivation of rooibos, Arend Redelinghuys of Rooibos Ltd drove Pearl Dexter and myself right across the southern tip of the country to the Cape Mountains that stretch across the border between the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape province. 

We travelled for 2 days along from Paarl to Oudtshoorn, pausing at times to enjoy the scenery, taste the local wines, learn how Klipdrift brandy is made, and to watch the ostriches that are farmed in this area trotting about in the fields – they’re such odd-looking creatures and seem to love company for as soon as we walked up to the fence of their enclosure, they all headed straight over towards us, their necks straining upwards, straight as periscopes to allow them to scan the horizon.  

On the third day we reached the farm near Joubertina where Johann Kritzinger processes honeybush.  Johann is a fruit farmer, growing peaches, nectarines, apples, plums and pears – some of which reach us here in the UK – but he has also been very closely involved in developing the production of honeybush.

Like rooibos, the honeybush plant is a member of the ‘fynbos’ or ‘fine bush’ family.  It looks very like the broom bushes we grow in our gardens and has beautiful bright yellow flowers.  Also like rooibos, it is very choosy about where it will grow - it’s happy here on the dry, rocky slopes of the Cape Mountains but refuses to set down its roots anywhere else.  It’s much more difficult to cultivate and harvest on a commercial basis than rooibos and needs a lot more care in terms of weeding, watering and protecting from other plants. 

Here are some of the workers on the fruit farm enjoying their lunch break in a shady spot outside the honeybush factory.

Whereas rooibos bushes give a good harvest for several years before they need to be replaced with new plants, the honeybush plants tends to die back soon after the first harvest. The farmers are experimenting with 4 or 5 different varietals carefully selected from 24 or more possibles in order to establish a successful industry here.  At the moment honeybush is still a rare herbal infusion and will remain so until the farmers work out how to cultivate it more easily and successfully.  On the right is a photo of Johann’s experimental plantings with three different varietals.

Because the plant is so hard to cultivate on a formal basis, most of the processed honeybush that reaches us consumers is made from the stems and leaves of wild plants that grow amongst the heathers, proteas and other fynbos  up on the hillsides.  Local people gather what they can but if they cut off the branches more often than every two years, the plants die so they have to be very selective and very controlled.  We drove up into the steep wildness of the mountain slopes and learnt to recognise the honeybush from amongst so many similar plants.

When the local workers have gathered bundles of wild honeybush, the crop is delivered to Johann’s factory where it goes through similar processing to rooibos.  The stems and leaves are milled to break them down and the mass of small particles is then put into long tanks filled with very hot water.  This steaming, fermentation part of the process lasts for 24 hours and as we walked through the factory, the air was rich with a wonderfully sweet, malty aroma that reminded us of fresh-baked fruit cakes and Assam tea.  

Next, the wet mush travels along a conveyor belt to the dryer and from there it goes into a series of sifters and secondary cutters that break down any pieces of stem and bark that are too rough and tough.  What Johann ends up with is bagfuls of different sized particles – all of them rusty red and sweetly aromatic.

As well as finding out about the actual processing of honeybush, we also asked about honeybush’s health benefits.  I knew that indigenous groups had drunk honeybush for hundreds of years as a tonic brew but I didn’t know why and we learned that it’s caffeine-free, full of anti-oxidants and that, like rooibos, it seems to have a calming, anti-spasmodic effect.  It’s also thought to be very effective against breathing problems, coughs and respiratory infections.  When we tasted it in the factory, we really liked its gentle smooth taste.  It’s light, sweet and very refreshing.

From the factory, we walked down to the newly planted baby bushes that Johann is nurturing.  We also stopped to look at a new gym that is being built with Fairtrade money that has been paid back to the farm.  As well as the gym itself, there is to be a rugby and football field, netball facilities, a playroom, a crèche and refreshments.  Great to see the money being used so well.

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I am just back from a learning trip that, for a change, taught me about an important herbal infusion rather than about tea.  My 10 day trip took me up into the Cederberg Mountains in South Africa to find out more about rooibos, the red bush herbal that is becoming so popular in the US and Europe. 

I was invited by Arend Redelinghuys of Rooibos Ltd, the most important of the rooibos processing companies.  My travelling companion was my American friend Pearl Dexter (on the right with me and the company’s Technical Manager Johan Brand) who publishes Tea A Magazine - the magazine will carry her story of our visit.  We were treated like stars and learnt so much about South Africa, about its culture and agriculture, and about its people and its way of life.  Arend drove us hundreds of kilometres to show us not just the rooibos farms but the area where honeybush, another South African herb that is just beginning to be popular, is gathered from wild bushes that grow high up on craggy mountain slopes in the Eastern Cape Province.

We started our rooibos adventure in Clanwilliam, a small historic town that lies about 140 miles north east of Cape Town.  On the horizon runs the impressive ridge of mountains that are named after the endangered Cedar trees that are only found high up on the most remote upper slopes.   The sandstone rock is iron red, fossils of very ancient primitive fish have been found amongst the shale and fascinating bushmen rock paintings show boats and animals that might be horses or bison.

Clanwilliam is one of South Africa’s oldest ten towns and is at the very heart of rooibos cultivation and processing.  The Rooibos Ltd factory lies close to the centre of town where the main street is home to just a few shops, a very pretty church, an old hotel which is now a restaurant and Nancy’s Tea Room where we enjoyed delicious salad lunches and drank rooibos  cappuccinos – a first for me. 

We spent 2 nights at the most comfortable Bed & Breakfast I think I’ve ever stayed at.  Ndedema Lodge on Park Street is a gracious Victorian home with bedrooms off both sides of the open front porch and a colourful garden at the back with a shady patio and a pool where Koi swim.  The beds were four posters and breakfast was a wonderful feast of mango, papaya and passion fruit from the garden and several cups of good tea (I couldn’t quite adjust to the local habit of rooibos for breakfast and stuck instead to my referred black tea!)

On the first day, we headed out into the fields around Clanwilliam to see the rooibos being harvested.  The bush is a ‘legume’ plant rather like broom (see below), has long needle like leaves, pretty yellow flowers and produces very hard, gritty seeds in a small pod.  (On the right is a photo of Pearl and I learning more from Johan).  The botanical name for the plant is Aspalathus linearis and its common name, rooibos or rooibosch, is Afrikaans for red bush.  The brew is often called ‘red tea’ or ‘redbush tea’ but as the plant is not a camellia sinensis, it should be referred to as rooibos infusion or simply ‘rooibos’.

When the bush is ready for harvest from January through to April, the workers sweep through one field at a time using narrow, sharp scythes to slice off the upper section of the branches.  We tried it and it was hard work – I totally failed to make a clean cut through the tough woody stems, but had to keep tugging at the handfuls of branches I had taken hold of until eventually I managed to hack them off! (A triumphant photo is at the top of the page).  But the practiced men and women we stood watching sliced off bunches as if cutting through butter.

After harvesting, the bundles of branches, stems and leaves are weighed - so that each worker gets paid the correct amount - and are then loaded onto a trailer and taken to the factory for processing.  Inside the huge processing shed the stems are put through a chopping machine that reduces them to a rough mixture of quite large woody pieces of twig and pulped leaves and bark.  This mass is then spread out in a vast open yard to the side of the factory, sprayed with water, rotorvated and left in the scorching sun to oxidise to a rich rusty red colour.  Then it goes to the drying yard for about 8 hours and is finally hoovered up by vacuum brushing machines and taken into the factory again for sorting.

Everyone in South Africa drinks rooibos – it’s their national brew and is drunk as a tea-like liquor, as concentrated espressos, milky cappuccinos, frothy lattes and refreshing, iced thirst-quenchers.  And Rooibos Ltd have just published a beautiful rooibos cook book with sumptuous recipes from 14 of the country’s top chefs (title = A Touch of Rooibos).  There are delicious ideas for soups (Butternut Squash, Chilled Tomato), meat and fish dishes (Pan-fried Chicken Breasts with Noodles,  Seared Tuna with Wilted Greens and Mushrooms), puds (Chocolate Chip, Apple and Rooibos Soufflé, Baklava with Rooibos Syrup), and cocktails (Rooibos Martini, Ruby Grapefruit and Rooibos Daiquiri) – all deliciously and subtly flavoured  with rooibos.  

For more information, go to www.rooibosltd.co.za

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With snow and ice covering all of Britain this week, I’m not travelling anywhere so, instead, I thought this was the ideal time to catch up with tea shops and tea rooms around the country and find out how they fared during the festive Christmas period in terms of sales and customer choices. I asked a few of my tea friends if sales in December 2009 were up or down on the previous year and in every case, it was really good news.  

Raschid at Ismail in Tunbridge Wells in Kent (here’s the Ismail team in the photo on the right) said business was “significantly better”. We promoted Winter Fireside in store as our Christmas tea and it sold well as a beverage but also sold well at the retail counter for home and presents - it’s a mixture of black tea with cinnamon bark, apple, almonds and vanilla - satisfying and warming!” 

Marianna, owner of Orange Pekoe in Barnes (pictured above), told me that “2009 was a much better year than 2008.  Retail sales were even better and people were buying a lot of tea gifts and tea caddies for Christmas which was lovely to see. 2009 Afternoon Tea sales were definitely higher than 2008 with most weekends being fully booked for Afternoon Tea”. 

Anne at Attic Teas in Bristol (pictured right) was ecstatic and emailed that, “Our tea sales were utterly incredible this year, both through our shop and our internet site”. 

And at Postcard Teas, Tim (in the photo below) told me the shop “had a better Christmas this year than 2008 – it’s the time of year when tea connoisseurs treat themselves to something special so we sold many Jin Damo Pu-Erh cakes, and lots of our specialist teas made by named master makers from Japan, Taiwan, and China”.

Jennifer at Canton Tea Company told me that her sales “grew by 400% last year. We have seen a steady rise in sales in line with the growth of the premium tea market and by endorsement of places such as Petersham Nurseries, now serving and selling Canton Teas”. 

And Sonja at Char Chars in Dorchester (the photo on the right shows Sonja behind the counter at the store) wrote news that “2009 sales were better for us, up 44% and Christmas alone saw a 20% increase in sales.  We received many Christmas cards from customers, for the first time this year - which indicates they’re pleased with what we are doing.  Comments in the cards were things like ‘don’t stop what you’re doing’,  ‘thank you for making a difference to Dorchester”!  Such great news all around the country!

I wondered what the best selling lines were and it seems that people are buying lots of tea makers and pots as well as guality loose leaf teas.  Attic Teas found that “We couldn’t keep our tea makers on the shelf and everyone went wild for the new pouches of our 6 favourite teas (one for each tea category- silver needle, dragonwell, iron goddess of mercy, tippy yunnan, jasmine phoenix pearl, pu-erh tuo cha). Surprisingly, the favourite was the pu-erh cakes, closely followed by the green tea!”  The photo at the bottom of the page shows one if Attic Tea’s tea selection presentation boxes that sit on the tables for customers to see and enjoy. 

Ed Eisler of Jing Tea told me that his business was up 80% on 2008 and that Jing’s best sellers have been Jasmine Pearls (everyone seems to love the shape, the aroma, the wonderfully exotic character of these), Jing Assam Breakfast, Earl Grey, Dragon Well and Silver Needle.”  And Jing have also been selling a lot of one cup teapots and tea-ieres.

Ismail’s biggest seller was Tippy Assam, closely followed by “a Kenya Blend Tea which 10 weeks before being on sale at Ismail was still a leaf on the bush, seriously fresh, sourced direct by a friend who was MD of Overseas Tea Merchants!”  Other best sellers at Ismail were White Needles, Gunpowder Pearls, Phoenix Oolong, Jasmine Pearls and record numbers of glass teapots and caddies.

Tim d’Offay of Postcard Teas reported that “In this year’s show named after my recently published book ‘A Perfect Cup of Tea’, the bestsellers were the Yixing potter He Jian’s slab built Zisha pots, Mr Sasaki’s hand cast tetsubin kettles, hand made tea ware by Keiko Hasegawa and, as ever, Kaikado’s caddies (pictured right). With loose leaf tea sales, we sold lots of traditional black teas like Jungpana Second Flush Darjeeling as well as our house blends to people who were buying them as stocking fillers”

December saw the launch of Char Char’s “own tea blend - Hardy’s Tea – named for novelist Thomas Hardy who lived in Dorset.  It went down a storm, selling our entire First Edition stock (100 tins) within a few weeks!”   As at Ismail, their spicy winter tea also did very well and Sonja told me “the Christmas Spice Tea was the best selling Xmas tea.  It’s a china black tea with orange peel, cinnamon and vanilla.  And our best selling item remains our single estate Assam which we offer as our House breakfast tea.”  This photo shows the upstairs room at Char Chars

At Orange Pekoe, “The best selling tea lines are always the classics – Earl Grey, English breakfast, afternoon tea, lapsang, peppermint, chamomile. Although more and more consumers experiment and buy alternative blends and the rarer teas without a doubt.  Customers were also buying our tea equipage – teacups, teapots, strainers etc.”

And Canton Tea Company told me that “The Guild of Fine Food Taste Awards helped focus attention on our 3 star-winning Jasmine Pearls which have been a big success.  We are becoming known for our Puerh, and the Pouchong is still a strong seller.  Sales of Piao i tea infusers (see the photos right and below) continue to do well.  Loose, whole leaf tea is so easy once people get their head around brewing it! Small, quality Yixing teapots are popular among people who have been to China and appreciate the traditional gongfu style of tea preparation.”

What’s the secret behind all this success and how do these speciality tea dealers view the coming year.  At Char Chars, Sonja says” Our feeling is that there is definitely interest in good quality tea out there, it’s just capturing it and maintaining it!  We hosted a Christmas afternoon tea party for 18 which was a first for us too - it almost turned into a private tea tasting party as they showed so much interest in what we’re offering.”

In Barnes, Marianna thinks that giving plenty of information helps increase sales and said that with a new, more detailed menu this year, “we’ll see even more of the rarer teas selling.”  And because of excellent customer care, Canton Tea Company have seen a similar growth in business.  Jennifer told me that “personal customer care is key. We’ve had many thank yous for prompt service, answers to enquiries and surprise in free tasters. Many delighted to have happened on us, bringing huge percentage of repeat business.”       

Char Chars too said “we’ve noticed that people are starting to ask for teas by their region as opposed to by their category, eg an Assam or Ceylon or China green as opposed to just breakfast or afternoon tea.  This is quite a shift from when we first opened in Dorchester and reflects the growing level of knowledge in the market.

So, despite the recession and despite bad weather just before Christmas, tea sales are on the rise and we’re all very optimistic about the next 12 months.   Great news for tea and for tea shops, tea rooms and tea lounges around Britain.

www.attictea.co.uk

www.postcardteas.com

www.ismailcoffee.com

www.jingtea.com

www.char-chars.co.uk

www.orangepekoeteas.com

www.cantonteaco.com

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 Last time, I wrote about three new tea companies in Bristol but didn’t have enough room to include a fourth called TART - named for the savoury and sweet tarts that are the speciality of the house.  Great name - short, memorable and to the point!  I had known for some time that this would open some time this year - ever since Jenny Bashforth (in the photo with me at the shop’s counter and below right) came to my tea masterclass and talked about her idea of opening a tea room and deli on Bristol’s Gloucester Road.

In fact, the shop has now been open for 13 months and Jenny and her daughter Ellen have created a beautiful space that is attracting an interestingly mixed clientele.  The Gloucester Road is a colourful part of town with its restaurants, music shops, pubs, craft jewellers, coffee bars and food stores – a traditional sort of mix on a traditional sort of British high street. 

Tart stands out as smart, contemporary, tempting and interesting and draws customers in for cups of tea, great food, and a selection of high quality foods and food gifts – hand-made chocolates, olive oils, fruit preserves, chutneys, stylish sugars, fresh free-range eggs, smart cook wares and kitchen equipment all beautifully displayed on an old-fashioned dresser.  Many of the food products are locally produced and as far as possible, Jenny’s chef also uses locally-produced ingredients for all the dishes he prepares.

At the front, tables and chairs offer plenty of seating in the busy main body of the shop; up a few steps towards the back of the store is the ‘snug’ – a calmer area that is perfect for a quiet chat; and at the back of the store is a private dining room where special events and exhibitions are held and where individual tea parties celebrate graduation, birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions.  Here the décor is gentle and discreet – more like a room at home with soft subdued lighting, an old-fashioned fireplace and elegant furniture.

The tarts are a favourite at lunch time to eat in or to take away and the choice varies from day to day – choose for example from savoury specials such as goats cheese with rocket and pine nuts, leek ham and smoked cheddar or Andalusian onion tart, or indulge in traditional sweet treats such as Bakewell, custard or chocolate tarts.  Yummy!

Tart is at 16 The Promenade, Gloucester Road, Bristol

For more information, go to www.lovelytart.com

South from Bristol, the historic Dorchester has its very own tearoom now in the shape of Char-Chars which is brilliantly placed on the main pedestrian street where everyone shops and strolls.  I met husband and wife owners Sonja and Phil when they came to our tea masterclass at Tregothnan Tea Estate in September this year and was so pleased to have to opportunity of visiting to see their pretty tearoom for myself.  That’s them with me at Char-Chars at the tiop of the page!

This is a little dynamo of a place – full of ideas and activities and knowledge and connections.  The menu offers a really good selection of teas and there’ plenty going on to attract new customers who are ready for adventure and want to discover new teas. The counter is livley and full of enticing products and foods - see above left.

Starting in October and running through to last week, Sonja and Phil hosted ‘Around the World in 8 Tea Days’ – a series of Sunday tasting events at which teas from India, Japan China, Africa and the UK and various herbal and fruit infusions were served.  The 7^th session saw the launch of Char Char’s own new blend (a secret mix of China, Indian and African teas).

Char-Chars also features Tregothnan tea from the now famous Cornish tea garden and recently held an event that offered guests a chance to enjoy warm home-baked scones with Tregothnan’s rare Kea Plum Jam and Cornish clotted cream  - a nice change from more traditional strawberry preserve.

The layout of the store on two floors (the first floor room is shown on the right) allows Sonja and Phil to display the work of local artists and two special exhibitions have recently added colour and interest to the tearoom.  Bill Toop, Dorchester based watercolourist whose subjects include Cornwall and other West Country counties, exhibited some of his work; and the work of Fine Artist Julie McCabe were on show when I visited.  Julie works in many different media, always exploring the possibilities of new materials and she has sculpted human figures and cups, saucers and spoons using large speciality tea leaves and glue (see below).  The effect is astonishing and unlike anything I have ever seen tea used for before.

Char Chars is much more than a tea room – it is a warm, welcoming space that inspires and excites, inviting new comers to join in the adventure, travel the tea road, discover something new.  There is an energy and a passion here that is infectious, fun and irresistible.

Char-Chars is at 50a South Street, Dorchester, Dorset.  DT1 1DQ.

For more information, go to www.char-chars.co.uk

A little further east on the south coast in Poole, Paul and Tracey Irons have turned a once derelict shop into the cosy Courtyard Gardens and Tea Rooms where locals and tourists alike can enjoy a great cup of tea in the peace and quiet of this traditional tea room.

What was a few years ago an abandoned building with an overgrown yard tangled with weeds and buddleia bushes, is now a little haven hidden away behind the facades of busy tourist shops in the oldest part of the town.  Most of the tearoom building dates back to the 16^th century and some of the walls go back to the 18^th century.

Guests can choose the rustic décor of the tearoom, the fresh open air of the little courtyard or the intimacy of the little dining room across the yard.  The little courtyard is a treasure trove of favourite plants – honeysuckle, clematis, jasmine, potted palms, figs, olives and oleander and in spring, daffodils, crocus and snowdrops.

In this interesting historic setting, customers can tuck into wholesome savouries such as baked potatoes with various toppings, pasta dishes and cottage pies, or feast on delicious traditional fruit cakes, Dorset Apple Cake, chocolate and orange cake, a slice of Victoria sponge, or a cream tea with scones and clotted cream.  Traditional British treats in a historic traditional setting!  Look out for the little old doorway at number 48a on the High Street in Poole Old Town.

  Courtyard Gardens and Tea Room are at 48a High Street, Poole, Dorset, England. BH15 1BT 

Find out more at www.thecourtyardgardens.co.uk

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 I had to travel to Bristol a week ago and so took the opportunity of visiting some of the new tea stores and tea rooms that are attracting a good deal of attention there.  Bristol is a vibrant, lively town with a colourful mix of all different ages and types of people – perhaps a bit like a smaller version of London and, just as in the metropolis, tea is making an impact in the city.  There are too many new companies to write about in one blog so next time I’ll write about more in Bristol and about two other new businesses further south in Dorchester and Poole.

Up in the Redland neighbourhood of Bristol, I came across the delightful ‘Attic’ Tea -  their name cleverly stands for ALL THE TEA IN CHINA since all the teas on their menu come from the birthplace of tea.   The owners Anne Sheekey and her partner Richard Vaughan-Davies (with me on the left) have created a wonderful little tea room that’s bright, colourful, modern and fun and is regularly packed with young children.  It seems to have become a trend in this part of town for parents and children to stop by after school for a big cup of tea (or hot choc or coffee) and a scrumptious muffin or cup cake.  When I arrived at about 3.45pm, every table was occupied by mums with young children under 10 - all having the most marvellous time.  The shop’s most loyal and regular customer - who comes almost every day and over the past year has worked his way through the entire tea list - is  9 year old Ethan (that’s him at the top of the page and here he is on the right with his mum).  He’s tried all the green teas - the Long Jing, the Sencha, the Gunpowder and the Mao Feng  - but he told me his favourite is the Jasmine Phoenix Pearls and he had a big cup of it in front of him while we chatted.

All the teas (they include Yin Zhen and Pai Mu Tan,  Tie Kuan Yin, Yunnan, Keemun, Lapsang - which Ethan really doesn’t like at all - loose Puerh and little Tuo Cha as well as all the greens and a variety of flavoured blends) are brewed in a very clever and fun-to-use tea maker  - like the one Ethan’s jasmine tea is in (and in the photo on the left).  It allows the tea to brew in its large chamber and when that’s placed on top of the matching cup, a clever mechanism releases the liquor and allows it to pour down into the cup.  Customers time their tea with colourful sand-filled egg timers to make sure the brew is perfect every time and I noticed that Ethan kept a very thoughtful eye on both his and his mum’s timers while talking to me.  The future of tea is certainly bright with such selective, aware young tea drinkers as Ethan and the other children here at Attic.  And how could they not want to come here every day - the shop manages beautifully to combine real style with its Oriental influences and a sense of easy enjoyment, good manners and fun.

Anne is half Chinese and buys her teas through a Chinese friend in Shanghai.  The packaging designs are Richard’s responsibility and

 he has recently come up with a very innovative tobacco-pouch concept for the loose teas (see right).  They each hold 50 grams of tea and they’re soft, resealable, fit easily into your bag or packet - and look gorgeous.  Inside each are five make-your-own tea bags so that you can enjoy your favourite tea wherever you happen to be.  A great idea!

Find out more at www.attictea.co.uk    

Attic Tea House is at 115 Coldharbour Road, Redland, Bristol BS6 7SD 

Down on Bristol’s Whiteladies Road, I visited Papaji’s House of Teas - opened just 7 weeks ago.  Owner Andy Dodd came to one of my tea classes earlier this year and has now opened this unusual twist on the traditional tea room.  In a former life, Andy spent 14 years as a cocktail bartender but has switched his energy and passion to tea and has created a tea venue that specialises in tea cocktails and tea-based dishes that are served right through the day from breakfast to dinner in the evening.

To publicise the new venue, Andy has been hosting tea tasting events  and also offers customers the opportunity of holding a tea cocktail and canape event at home, coordinated by himself and his team.  Cocktails include amazing gin martinis blended with Earl Grey, a Sri Lankan Iced Tea with Bacardi, Bombay Gin and Triple Sec, and Mumbai Chai Rum punch!

With its eclectic fusion of Indian, cocktail and relaxed tearoom comfort, the style of Papajis really suits Bristol’s young clientele. The classy music from the 40s and 50s, the unfussy furniture, the Indian silk cushions and the traditional tea-time treats (such as yummy cakes and chocolate flavoured scones served with clotted cream and fruit jams and jellys) add up to a great experience - it’s an easy-going, friendly, comfortable, something-for-everyone sort of a place.

  The classy music from the 40s and 50s, the unfussy furniture, the Indian silk cushions and the traditional tea-time treats (such as yummy cakes and chocolate flavoured scones served with clotted cream and fruit jams and jellys) add up to a great experience - it’s an easy-going, friendly, comfortable, something-for-everyone sort of a place.

And the tea list is very impressive too.  Earlier this year, Andy went off to Darjeeling to lean more about tea production and spent several weeks at Glenburn Estate.  The bond formed between the two businesses is continuing and a donation from the profits of sales of Papaji’s teas are going to Glenburn to help fund the Glenburn Welfare Trust that sponsors three primary schools, one secondary school, a  hospital and several medical centres on the tea estates.

Find out more at http://www.papajis.co.uk/  

Papaji’s House of Teas is at 109 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2PB

While at Papaji’s, I also met Kate Gover (in the photo below) who has set up a tea company called Lahloo Tea, named after one of the old clipper ships on which her great-great grandfather sailed.  Kate had no idea of her ancestor’s history until recently and when she traced the story back, she discovered that he had settled in London after his clipper days and had worked there for a tea company.

   With a background in catering and food service, when Kate discovered tea she decided that she wanted to explore the ‘journey through the senses that tea offers’.  So, 18 months ago she established her on-line business selling excellent black,  green, white, oolong, flavoured teas and herbals and she stresses the benefits of the different categories.  Restore and revive, invigorate and uplift, relax and unwind are just some of the options offered in her webpage tea list.  She’s already also managed to get her teas into Harvey Nichols and Liberty’s Tea Room in London and her web sales are going well.

Her packaging is neat, easy to reseal and colourful and her tins are really innovative and very attractive with their map of the clipper route that the Lahloo used to sail to bring teas from China back to the London docks.

Find out more at www.lahlootea.co.uk 

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How wonderfully relaxing Sundays can be!  It’s the one day of the week when there’s time to chat and enjoy bowls or cups of tea with special friends!  This Sunday I was treated to Chinese-style ‘afternoon tea’ by Bin Shao, my Chinese friend who sells the fabulous Mao Jian tea that I wrote about last time.  He took me to Royal China on London’s Queensway and, as well as trying another of his very special early spring teas, I also had the chance to ask him more about the teas and where they’re produced.   Here’s Bin with a bowl of his tea (see below).

While ordering our pot of Taiwanese oolong tea, Bin asked the waitress to also take some of his Pre-Qing Ming Mao Jian and brew that as well.  This tea was harvested even earlier this spring than the two samples he had given me last time we met.  Picked in the village of Yu Wun in Guizhou province around the 23^rd March this year and made using only the tiniest buds, this is even finer and sweeter in character than the teas I tasted last time.  Each pale green-silver dried bud measures between 3mm (0.2 of an inch) and 6-7 mm (0.4 of an inch) – they really are tiny (see below) and the women who harvest them must have infinite patience and a real dedication to filling their baskets with the very best of the early crop. 

Only 20 kilos or so of this ‘first flush’ tea are made each year and sell for very high prices – about £300 per kilo (the later Gu Yu spring tea costs about £50 per kilo).  It takes 500g of the little fresh green buds to makes 120-130 grams of Mao Jian so the pluckers hunt among the bushes for some 80 kilos of new buds.   Regular customers from outside the area who love the tea contact Bin’s father, Pei Feng Shao, at the start of the season to find out when the new tea will be ready and then they come specially to the tea farm to buy what they want for their own consumption.  Many of these people have told Pei Feng Shao that they prefer his teas to Long Jing – probably China’s most prized green tea. 

With the cool weather and the slow growth of the bushes in the late March and early April, these spring  teas are of course the best.  When the weather gets warmer and wetter, the tea makers manufacture what they call their ‘summer tea’ which is not good enough to sell outside the village and costs only £20 per kilo.  Whereas the spring flush gives a beautiful amber green liquor, the summer teas yield a deeper, red-amber colour and don’t have the subtle, gentle sweetness of the earlier teas.

I asked Bin why the high quality spring teas from Ghuizhou rarely find their way onto the world market and he explained that the province is a very remote and undeveloped area – hard to reach, very mountainous and with poor systems of communication.  So, we’re really lucky that Bin and his father have brought some of the teas to the west and that they have given me the opportunity of introducing them to some of London’s avid tea drinkers.

As we sipped and talked about the tea, Bin ordered a very generous selection of Chinese treats to try.  A much more savoury meal than British afternoon tea with all its scones, jams, pastries, etc, this traditional Chinese ‘brunch-tea’ is more nutritional and definitely less fattening!  In Guizhou province, it is not such a popular or traditional Sunday event, but further south in Guangdong and Hong Kong, families often go out together to enjoy an appetizing spread of bite-size sweet and savoury dim sum.  We carefully manipulated our chopsticks around squid cakes, chicken claws, prawn and chive dumplings and pork and beef changfeng (in the picture below) wrapped in soft, creamy rice-flour pasta. 

Bin decided we really should try some of the sweet dishes as well, so we ordered some Nai Huang Bao – sweet egg yolk buns that are pure white steamed sponge on the outside and rich yellow sweetened egg custard in the middle – one bite into a soft, delicious, warm bun and it looks just like a boiled egg! (see the photo below).  I loved them! 

Then - another treat!  Bin said it was time for a proper dessert and, after much deliberation of the menu (which included sesame seed jelly, chilled mango pudding and sweet lotus paste buns), we chose a bowl of ’sago milk with yam’ which turned out to be a deliciously sweet coconut milk with pieces of yam and small balls of tapioca floating in it.  It was light, satisfying and a little like drinking bubble tea from a spoon (see below). 

This slow, relaxed meal was a real feast - and so different from English Sunday tea!    To add to the pleasure, we had our teapot of Bin’s tea filled up 5 or 6 times and the flavour was still excellent – no bitterness, no harshness, just a gentle, smooth, subtle and sweet high quality green tea flavour that went so well with my Sunday dim sum!

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The name is perfect, for when the baby leaves are very carefully harvested, they are covered with an abundance of tiny silvery-white hairs.  Once the tea has been processed and packed, some of the soft, downy hairs fall from the leaves and tips and are visible as a pale, very light, golden powder that gives a light dusting to the inside of the packet or tin - almost like a sort of magical fairy dust!  When you touch it with your finger tips, it almost disappears except for a lingering sweet, floral aroma. 

In China, the earliest harvest of very small baby leaves and buds takes place before the Spring festival of Qing Ming on 4^th or 5^th April and the teas are known as Pre-Qing Ming or Ming Qian teas.  The second plucking takes place before the rains start to fall and are called Before the Rain teas or Yu Qian teas.  Teas picked a little later in mid-spring are known as Gu Yu or Spring teas and, although still of excellent quality, the freshness and intense sweetness of the very early teas gradually reduces as the warmer weather and spring rain makes the bushes flush more quickly.  The earlier the tea, the better the quality and flavour and the higher the price.  And there is an additional attraction - the earlier teas are also said to be richer in polyphenols and theanine.

When the Spring plucking season in the Yunwu mountains is over, no more tea is harvested because the quality is simply not good enough so, during the rest of the year, the farmers turn their attention to their livestock and the production of crops such as rice, wheat and vegetables.

Guizhou province (another image below), which lies to the north east of Yunnan and the south east of Sichuan, is an excellent location for the production of tea - mountainous, misty and warm but not too sunny.  The winters are mild and dry, summers are temperate and humid with cloudy skies and plenty of rainfall.  It has rivers, lakes and waterfalls, palaces and caves, nature reserves and forests and it is very firmly on my list of places to visit - soon!

My two teas that I was given by Bin are samples of Guizhou’s Pre-Qing Ming tea and a Gu Yu Spring tea and the inside of both foil packs are dusted with the fine furry down.  Siblings produced only a week or two apart, they are very similar in character and appearance.  As I open the packets, the air is filled with the wonderful sweet fragrance so typical of great spring-picked green teas.  The leaves of the ‘First Flush’ tea (shown above right) are olive green flecked with pale silver-green the colour of the underside of willow leaves.  Gently rolled, they display neat twists with tiny curling tips and appear like some mysterious alphabet with loops and hooks, serpents’ tails and swans’ necks.  The leaves of the later Gu Yu (left) are slightly larger and very slightly less delicate and fragile in appearance but still show lots of tiny downy buds and pointy tips.

These teas both brew best at 70° C for 3 minutes.  The Qing Ming liquor (above left) is clear, very pale greeny-gold with an intensely sweet aroma and wonderful, crisp, delicate taste with hints of nutty sweetness.  The liquor of the Gu Yu (on the right) is also very pale, clear light amber-green and the flavour is very smooth, sweet and light with gentle hints of asparagus.  I could drink these teas all day - they are refreshing, uplifting, cleansing and absolutely delicious.

The arrival of these teas into London is through a young friend, Bin Shao who has been studying and has just graduated here in London.  Back home in China, his father, an engineer, travels regularly on business to Guizhou and started buying quantities of these great teas about five years ago.  So Bin decided to try and find customers here in the UK and we are hoping that they will be available soon in London at Tea Smith in Spitalfields Market and Postcard Teas in Dering Street.

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The road up from Bangalore takes you through a controlled tiger reserve but sadly, those stripy cats were keeping themselves well hidden.  It was almost dark as we drove slowly through thick forest but we did manage to spot elephants and bison amongst the trees and later in the week, we saw mongoose, wild peacocks, shy black monkeys, cheeky smaller grey monkeys who pulled faces at us and climbed onto the bonnet of the car, herds of beautiful white spotted ‘bambi’ deer and larger sambars with their spreading antler crowns.

Because of the virgin forest, there is no pollution around the tea plantation and Thiashola is a certified organic plantation.  Everywhere you look, the emerald green of the tea mingles with the purple-blue of the blue salvia that grows along the edges of the roads and amongst the tea bushes.  This is just one of the blue flowers that are said to give the Nilgiri Blue Mountains their name.  The most important species is the rare Kurinji flower which blossoms only once every twelve years, but locals also talk of the bluish mists that shroud the mountain peaks, and of the strobilanthes plant which has bluish-purple leaves and pale purple flowers.

The majority of the tea plants at Thiashola, as in Nilgiri generally, are assamicas which have thrived at these altitudes of 7000 feet since the 1850s when Nilgiri was developed as a tea region by the British.  But the plantation also has a special clump of treasured sinensis bushes (the photo below shows one of them) which are said to have been planted from seeds brought here by Chinese prisoners in the late 1850s and 60s during the Opium Wars between Britain and China.    

(When I got home I thought I would see what I could find out about this and so went to the library at SOAS - The School for Oriental and African Studies - in London and found a reference to something Kaku J Tanna wrote on this subject in his 1970s book ‘Plantations in the Nilgiris’: “Chinese prisoners were brought from China in 1859 and 1869 and jailed at the Nilgiris in two camps, one at Naduvattam, and one in the Thiashola Reserve Forest.  There is a local legend that the Chinese prisoners gave instructions to the planters in the cultivation of tea and its manufacture.”)  The photo below shows the place in the forest that is said to be where the prison stood.

My companion at Thiashola was Tim d’Offay of Postcard Teas in London and he suggested that we should pick a small quantity of leaves from the 150 year old Chinese bushes and a similar quantity from the assamica bushes and try making some green tea from both varieties to see how they compare.  So we gathered a small bagful of tiny Chinese buds and leaves and carried them carefully back to the estate bungalow where we were staying.  On the way we also plucked some larger assamica leaves and buds from the bushes that surround the house. 

First we laid the two lots of leaves out in the clear bright sunlight to develop their natural sweetness and to allow them to wither just a little; next we invaded the bungalow kitchen (much to the amusement and interest of the bungalow staff who are not used to visitors making tea in their workspace) where we pan-fried the leaves to de-enzyme them and stop oxidation.  And then we sat on the porch of the bungalow rolling the leaves and buds by hand before drying them in the microwave - a somewhat eccentric and unconventional drying method but bungalow kitchens rarely have an oven so it was a question of using whatever equipment we had access to.

When we tasted both batches of tea, it was remarkable how good the sinensis tea was and although not a perfect example of Chinese-style green tea, it did clearly demonstrate how the two varietals suit the production of different types of tea.   It was fun and enlightening and pointed out how valuable the old Chinese bushes are.

During our week at Thiashola, we walked the estate roads and paths, scrambling up and down rough and rocky terrain to enjoy the amazing views and crimson sunsets, the gentle white clouds floating below us in the valleys, and the unspoiled forest that surrounds the tea garden.  We watched the pluckers at work, filling their baskets and loading sacks of leaf onto the lorries that pick up twice a day from the mustering points and we visited the vermiculture sheds (see left) where 17 troughs containing 1000 kilos of wriggling worms recycle organic waste matter to produce compost for the bushes. 

Of course, we also toured the factory where Thiashola’s quality orthodox teas are produced and spent time in the tasting room with the factory managers to learn more about the different types and grades of Thiashola tea made during the year.  Although Nilgiri is closer to the equator than north India’s tea regions and so doesn’t experience such extremes of weather, temperatures and the amount of rainfall do fluctuate and of course the tea reacts to the local conditions. 

Whenever temperatures cool down, the plant grows more slowly and develops more flavour and we absolutely gasped with amazement and admiration at the quality and character of the special seasonal tea that is made in small quantities each year in the cold season at Thiashola.  The fruity flavour and incredible quality made this Thiashola mid-winter tea truly spectacular!  Tim and I both declared that it was one of the finest teas we had tasted all year!

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Marc Demarquette’s chocolate shop at 285 Fulham Road, London, (see a shot of the exterior below) is a jewel-box of a store - open the door and you are instantly captivated by the selection of hand-crafted chocolate gems that are displayed in the chilled, marble counter.  There are little hand-painted half spheres of Malagasy milk chocolate filled with caramel made from British cream and real British fruit - Kentish Pear, Devon Strawberry, Scottish Raspberry, Yorkshire Rhubarb and - the most surprisingly wonderful - Cornish sea salt!  And there are tropical fruits too - Indian mango, Ghanaian pineapple, Thai lime, Papua New Guinea passion fruit and Antillean coconut.

Then there are the little rectangles of flavoured ganache chocolates made with exotic flavours that Marc has discovered on his explorations around the world - Brazilian pink pepper, Tunisian roses and cinnamon, Caribbean spices, Seville oranges, Arabian coffee and green jasmine tea from China.  Even more interesting (and this is really why I had gone to meet Marc) is the range of superb chocolates made with tea and other ingredients grown at Tregothnan Tea Estate in Cornwall. 

When Tregothnan’s Jonathon Jones and Marc met, they discovered that they shared a real passion for quality and unusual natural flavours and decided to work together on a special Tregothnan chocolate collection using some of the rare plants that thrive at Tregothnan.  Tregothnan has long been famous for its collection of unusual plants (which of course today includes the tea plant, Camellia sinensis) and Marc’s mission is to capture the essence of some of those rare plants and marry the exquisite flavours to his very impressive chocolates.

So the Demarquette range of superb chocolates now includes Tregothnan Earl Grey Tea Chocolates that capture the subtle flavour of the Citrus Bergamia and black tea grown at the estate; Tregothnan Kea Plum Chocolates that are filled with the unique flavour and sweet perfume of the Kea Plums that grow in a sea creek at Tregothnan; Tregothnan Heather Honey Chocolates made with honey produced from the flowers of Cornish wild heather; and Manuka Caramel Cream Chocolate that is infused with the essence of Tregothnan-grown Manuka - a New Zealand plant that is said to offer many health benefits.

I have to admit to not being a great chocolate lover and often find truffles and similar confections too cloying and rich.  But when Marc and I sat down for a tasting at his shop, I was overwhelmed and so impressed   (the photo at the top shows Marc, Kim Sauer - who runs Marc’s PR company - and me before we started on our journey into some of the most exciting flavours in the world). These Demarquette chocolates are little bites of heaven!  They melt into the mouth with the most wonderfully subtle layers of flavour that are bewitching and tantalising, captivating and utterly unique. 

Marc makes everything by hand and absolutely refuses to even entertain the idea of machinery.  Just as the best teas are hand-crafted by skilled artisans to capture the essential character of the leaf, so these very fine chocolates are created with a true passion for natural flavours.  When he decided that chocolate was his true love, Marc travelled first to Paris where he trained with world chocolate masters at Maison Lenotre, then spent time with other world-recognised masters in order to add to his own understanding and skills.  Have a look at his website  http://www.demarquette.com/  to discover more about him and about his truffles and pralines, nougats, and chocolate coated fruits, fruity caramel creams and bars of single origin chocolate from Madagascar, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ghana, Ecuador, Trinidad and The Dominican Republic.

From chocolates to cakes and the Cake Committee.   

My introduction to this group of amateur home bakers came one day while I was at Tim d’Offay’s tea tasting room, Postcard Teas, in central London.  Tim works with one or two very talented ceramicists who have their studios in the very interesting ‘Iliffe Yard’ in Southwark, London - very close to where I live.  Iliffe Yard and several other yards nearby (only three remain today) were built in the 1890s as live-work spaces for artists and crafts people and today, they still house the workshops and studios of artists, ceramicists, film makers, architects, potters and furniture designers. 

I was invited to a Sunday afternoon cake ‘fest’ a couple of weeks ago and I went along not really knowing what to expect or what it was all about.  When I got there and started chatting to people, I found that amongst the community of artists who work in the yard are several people who adore baking cakes. 

But they don’t necessarily want to actually eat the cakes that they bake (awareness of calorie-count, lack of appetite for so much sugar and all the other dietary concerns that face us these days) and so gradually the idea evolved to continue baking but to sell the cakes to raise funds for charity. 

So Cake Committee events are fast becoming a regular feature of Iliffe Yard life, slices of cake are served with mugs of tea - for a small fee  (customers choose their cakes in the photos on the left and right)-  and the cake makers have a new challenge to produce spectacular cakes and gateaux to wow the guests and raise more funds!  It’s such a clever idea and everyone benefits.  Waistlines remain controlled, treats in small quantities (or large!) are enjoyed by cake lovers, a chatty fun afternoon is had by all (see the photo of satisfied customers on the right) and the chosen charities receive the profits. 

I had a splendid time, said I would join the Committee at the next event in October to help organise and contribute a cake or two and I’ve also agreed to give a couple of short ‘tea masterclasses’ during the afternoon’s proceedings with Tim d’Offay.  Postcard Teas will provide the teas and we’ll plan to give guests an insight into different teas and offer tasters of a couple that will go well with the rich deliciousness of the cakes!

To keep up to date with Cake Committee activities, go to http://thecakecommittee.blogspot.com/

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How I love London in summer!  The hesitant sun this year has kept temperatures at reasonable levels and it has been fun exploring less well known parts of the city to visit all the new tearooms that I keep discovering.  Since writing my little guide book to London tea places just over 2 years ago, another 20 or so tea rooms, tea lounges and tea stores have opened their doors and are all doing well.  In the last 10 days, I have visited two - The Chelsea Teapot on The Kings Road (left) and High Tea of Highgate in north London (right - with owner Georgina behind the counter) - and I loved them both!

The Kings Road in Chelsea has, for as long as I can remember, been a focus for fashion and design, nostalgia, antiques and stylish eccentricity.  The kink in the otherwise straight road about a mile from Sloane Square is known as World’s End and it’s a perfect setting for The Chelsea Teapot, recently opened by Melissa Montezani. 

This is cup cake heaven and irresistible!  Its charm is in the lovely pastel ice-cream colours, the array of fairy cakes - in lots of different flavours - displayed on the counter in the window, its touch of whimsy in the mix and match furniture and sugar bowls that look like yet more cup cakes, beautiful porcelain antique tea cups in the prettiest of designs (as in the photo on the left), smile-provoking pictures on the wall and the fun sign on the door to the kitchen that says “Cooks at Play” (the word ‘work’ has been scored through and replaced!). 

Because of the curve in the road here, the pavement is wide enough for a few tables outside so customers can take tea (and cup cakes!) in the fresh air, and there’s even a tiny garden at the back where a pot of geraniums and a pretty hanging basket add splashes of colour to the white brick wall.

Before she ventured into our world of tea and all the fun things that go with it, Italian-born Melissa was a banker and then moved into property and when this brilliantly located building became vacant and her company was asked to find new clients, she had the idea of turning it into a coffee or tea shop. 

Tea won over coffee (thank goodness), and the current fashion for seductively pretty cup cakes with pastel icing and sparkly sprinkled toppings created the theme.  Chelsea is yummy mummy territory and Melissa is already busy with gatherings of parents and their offspring who love the fairy-tale prettiness of the shop.  There will even be classes in the little room downstairs in how to make the perfect cup cake!

In September, Melissa plans to split Sundays into brunches of smoked salmon with scrambled egg in the lazy late morning followed by ‘proper’ afternoon teas, and I’m sure the antique cake stands laden with all the traditional goodies, including of course cup cakes, will entice crowds of dedicated customers.

High Tea of Highgate is equally wonderful!  A village on the edge of London rather than a part of it, Highgate is indeed high - an altitude of 430 feet at one point - and so the name of this 16 month old tearoom is very apt.  Georgina Worthington switched from fashion designing for Paul Smith to her other love - baking!  She starts her day early and bakes all the delicious scones (really deliciously irresistible), lemon drizzles, lavender cakes, flapjacks, Bara Brith (her Grandmother was Welsh so this is an essential) and chocolate orange cakes herself, ready for the steady stream of customers who can’t resist them once the shop opens at 11am. 

Because of Georgina’s connections with the fashion world, High Tea is filled with lovely products designed or made by various friends - children’s clothes in nostalgic fabrics printed with little toy aeroplanes and sailing boats, tea-themed aprons, tea cosies and cushions, paintings, cards, two- and three-tier antique cake stands  - all eye-catching, fun and so pretty (see these next 2 photos). And there are jelly moulds, old-fashioned sweeties, hand-made cards, whimsical hats and cosy blankets.  The walls are decorated with black and white line drawings of tearoom tables and chairs, the chandeliers are fantasies of glass cups and saucers, baking tins and glass decorations (see the photo below), and floating up above your head is an array of more, very charming little hats. 

The linked themes of fashion, design and tea run through the shop, with hat-designing classes in the evening, the tea-related work of different artists decking the walls and all sort of other interesting things on sale. 

For years, Georgina’s family has had a connection with the potteries in Stoke-on-Trent (several members of her family worked there) and so she sells pieces from various English potters, including Burleigh Ware cow milk jugs which are hugely popular.  She also sells charming little Japanese Beehouse teapots which come in an array of shapes and sizes in pretty pastel colours (these are also used to brew tea for customers). 

With mini Union Flags decorating the window, the shop gently murmurs “British!”  High Tea of Highgate is all about the best of British style, design, tea-time, traditions, friendliness and humour.  It’s an absolutely delightful, happy, fun place to be and the smiley people who work here add to that.  Here’s a photo of Georgina with Andrew, part-time yoga teacher and Paul Smith designer, and Francesca, new graduate and part time High Tea assistant  - a job she says she loves! 

As at The Chelea Teapot, there is a sweet little garden behind the shop where the sense of relaxed, uncomplicated enjoyment continues.  How could you possibly end your visit without having chatted to the people at the next table, without having made friends with Georgina and her team and without having had a thoroughly wonderful time.  

It’s so interesting how Melissa and Georgina - from very different backgrounds and cultures - have never met, never discused their love of tea and tea-time, and yet have created shops which have so much in common.  Both shops have a deep sense of tradition and yet, with a wonderful lightness of touch, have cleverly added layers of fun, fantasy, whimsy and joy which leave you glowing, happy and glad to be alive!

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