Tea Production
Feb 8, 2021
What is Speciality Tea?
How often have you looked up on boards at your favourite local tea or coffee shop and seen the words "speciality tea"?
Nov 5, 2020
What is Gunpowder Tea?
Gunpowder Tea is believed to have originated in China in the 7th century where its original name was zhu cha or “pearl tea”. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that it earned its name of Gunpowder Tea.
Aug 19, 2020
What is Oolong Tea?
Oolong teas, or 'blue' teas, as they are sometimes called, are partially or semi-oxidised/fermented teas. Predominant...
Aug 28, 2019
The Power of Peppermint Tea
Perfect peppermint tea; cooling, refreshing and a nice tingling treat to aid digestion and soothe a sore tummy.
However, Peppermint tea has a wealth of benefits beyond this and a few celebrity endorsers, including none other than Victoria Beckham who drinks it all day, every day! She even served it at one of her fashion shows in New York, tweeting ‘Peppermint Tea is the new Champagne’.
May 1, 2019
What is White Tea?
White tea is the most rare type of tea and is named after the tiny white or silver hairs on the tea bud as it develops at the tip of the shoot. Once the new buds have been plucked, they are dried in the fresh air. When brewed, white tea should produce a very pale liquor with a light, sweet flavour.
Oct 18, 2018
Our Tea Sommelier's Selection
As the name suggests, these small batch teas have been carefully selected by our in-house tea sommelier, enabling you to explore the vast world of tea beyond our core range.
Jun 6, 2018
Introducing...Afternoon Tea FUDGE!
For Debonair Tea Co co-founder, Louisa, a trip to Canterbury would never be complete without a stop at Fudge Kitchen. So when Sian Holt, Fudge Kitchen's MD, approached us about a tea-infused fudge collaboration it really was a dream come true!
May 1, 2018
Our Ethical Sourcing Policy
We are often asked - quite rightly - about our ethical sourcing policy and whether or not our tea is "Fairtrade".
Given the vast range of ingredients that go into our products, this is not a question to which we can provide a snappy PR answer, but like most things we do, something to which we are very happy to give a detailed response.
Oct 27, 2017
Chai: An ever-changing brew
As the popularity of chai and chai tea preparations soars around the world, its original nature and development down the ages has seemingly been lost in translation.
And it's no wonder. After all, at it's root, the single word "Chai" (or Cha) is the word for "tea" in many Eurasian languages, stemming from the Persian word "chay", which originated from the Chinese word for tea, "chá"...
Jun 27, 2017
Glenburn FTGFOP1 First Flush Darjeeling 2017 Harvest
It's an exciting week here at Debonair Tea Company HQ – our very first directly sourced tea is finally available to buy!
Darjeeling teas, and particularly the range produced at Glenburn, are absolute favourites of our co-founder and in-house sommelier, Louisa...
Jun 24, 2017
New Season Tea - Coming Soon!
Given that some of the very finest tea producing regions are seasonal so that the tea plant only grows in warmer temperatures, Spring is a very exciting time in tea production. Indeed, the plucking season in India, China, Japan and even Europe – including England’s Tregothnan tea gardens (pictured) – run from March through to November.
Following harvesting and processing, the very first of the new season’s tea leaves begin to make their way across the world from Asia in time for early summer.
Dec 1, 2016
Tea - A Tradition Revisited (Article for Hythe Life Winter Edition)
The British penchant for tea is a national institution, but in a world now dominated by big coffee chains and increasingly complex coffee concoctions our devotion to the humble cuppa is seemingly in decline.
Or is it? There has been unprecedented growth in ‘speciality’ tea over the last decade, but what does ‘speciality’ actually mean? A hundred years ago there was nothing particularly special about loose, whole leaf tea. In many ways we are in fact going back to basics!