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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...