Blog

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...

This Wednesday saw the latest in our #teamasterclass series at our Bath Tea House.  This masterclass focussed on the varied and exciting category of Oolong tea and a great group of tea enthusiasts joined Rob as we talked and tasted our way through 19 Oolong teas - some of which we stock at Comins and some from our sample collection gathered on our travels.  Below are some photos from the event and what follows are some notes for those of you interested to learn more!  Of course at Comins we believe there is no better way to learn that by...

Welcome back to our blog!  This is the first of a series of blogs based on topics that we are covering at our Tea House Masterclasses. Tonight we welcomed lots of lovely people to our Bath Tea House to discuss and taste green tea.  This blog covers some of the detail behind our discussions and looks to answer some commonly asked questions. If you fancy coming along to any of our upcoming events at the Tea House then stay up to date on our Facebook Page and Events Page         GREEN TEA OVERVIEW Like white, oolong, and black teas,...

We are very lucky that we are asked a great number of specific questions in our teahouses. One of the most common topics is caffeine. This blog will look to answer these questions and a few more. Firstly, all true teas (teas made from the Camellia Sinensis plant) contain caffeine. Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant that is soluble in water and extracted when brewed. Teas in general have around a third of the caffeine of a similar serving of coffee, although as we will see there are many factors which effect this. Simply put, it is not possible to...