Blog

At Comins we always work hard to look at the whole picture in the tea world.  Although we source and sell what are called 'orthodox' teas, a recent trip to Kenya has brought up the topic of CTC teas. In this blog post we will examine the history and impact of CTC tea in the Kenyan tea market & how change and opportunity is coming in the shape of Orthodox offerings Firstly : a few explanations. Back to the trip : Lets start with some background on CTC tea : Interested in the tea landscape in Kenya I decided to visit two state of the art...

One element of tea drinking that has appealed to us both from the very beginning is the opportunity it gives you to be silent.  It always feels like a gift.  And luckily living with and surrounded by tea it has become something we have become really comfortable with. There have been many wonderful moments as our Tea Houses have become more established - one is how many lone tea drinkers we attract - people comfortable to sit with their tea and simply enjoy.  For those of you who have visited our Tea Houses you will know they are minimal in design and in less busy...

In this blog post we will examine Purple Tea, a cultivar developed in Kenya that is much more than just a fancy name. Whilst in Kenya recently I  met with the scientists behind this fascinating project, as well as seeing the developed plants growing in the fields and tasting the finished product. Firstly a little background. Tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. From this crop species of the genus Camellia many so called ‘cultivars’ have been created. A cultivar is a ‘cultivated variety’ that is produced by selective breeding. This sounds much more scary than it...

In this first blog of a series on our trip to Kenya I will look at the challenges of sourcing tea in this amazing country and the potential routes we can now take having visited and made lasting connections. Before we start I think it is important to understand the tea industry in Kenya. This is different from any other country we have visited, and unpicking the exact nature of it was key before we even thought about sourcing our first Kenyan tea. Firstly - some history - Tea was not introduced to Kenya until 1903, when GWL Caine planted...

We often talk about serendipity in our lives in tea and this is how our story with Kenyan tea starts.  On a summer day a friendly lady wandered in and enquired about our range of Kenyan teas.  Explaining that we only buy from growers or gardens we have visited or have direct relations with she proceeded to share that her relative owned a tea estate in Kenya and enquired if we would like to be connected.  Those of you who know us and follow our story will know what the answer is always....YES!....its only by saying yes on pretty much a daily basis that Comins is...