Blog
Oolong worth a special mention : 'GABA'
Extract from our book : Tales of the Tea Trade One Oolong tea worth a special mention due to its unusual processing is GABA tea. This relatively new type of tea was first produced in 1987 in Japan by Dr Tsushida Tojiro while researching food preservation. GABA stands for gamma-aminobutyric acid, an amino acid that occurs naturally in the human body (as well as the tea plant) and is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter found in the nervous system. The tea involves a unique processing method instead of the traditional ‘kill- green’ stage, which increases the levels of GABA in the tea...
Exploring Flavour 3 : How to taste tea
One of the many rewarding experiences of drinking tea is the savouring of the flavours in each sip. The true appreciation of the depths of flavour in a tea and how it begins, how it develops and then how it lingers afterwards is a never ending learning experience..In this series of blogs we will look at flavour in three ways. In our first blog we examined how we experience flavour when we drink [how we detect and process flavour in different teas]. In our second we explored why different teas have certain flavour [examining how the chemical makeup of the leaf and the processing it goes...
Exploring Flavour 2 : Why different teas have the flavours they do
One of the many rewarding experiences of drinking tea is the savouring of the flavours in each sip. The true appreciation of the depths of flavour in a tea and how it begins, how it develops and then how it lingers afterwards is a never ending learning experience..In this series of blogs we will look at flavour in three ways. In our last blog we examined how we experience flavour when we drink, today we will look at why different teas have certain flavour. Finally in two weeks we we investigate the best way to taste tea. Our last post looked at how...
Exploring Flavour : 1. How we Experience Flavour
One of the many rewarding experiences of drinking tea is the savouring of the flavours in each sip. The true appreciation of the depths of flavour in a tea and how it begins, how it develops and then how it lingers afterwards is a never ending learning experience. In this series of blogs we will look at flavour in three ways. First we will examine how we experience flavour when we drink, then we will look at why different teas have certain flavour. Finally we we investigate the best way to taste tea. Lets start from the beginning by simply...
Tea & Dumplings : Perfect pairings [& a recipe!] from our Saturday Instagram Live 6.3.21
It all started here at the 'Hot Stimulating' cafe in Darjeeling where we learnt to make Momos while drinking bowls of Steaming Darjeeling. It continued in Japan where those folding skills saw us transfer our skills to Gyoza - it was the crispy fried base that sealed the deal for us - and to this day we serve these tasty snacks alongside our fine teas at the Tea House. It is really important to us to serve food that compliments the teas and so, following this weeks Instagram live - head over to IG LIVE to watch - we are...
Buy Fine Tea
At Comins we aim to make it simple for you to find and enjoy fine single estate teas. Rob & Michelle have been travelling the world since 2007 meeting and building relationships with dedicated growers to bring you a range of loose leaf teas that offer an excellent balance of quality and value. We also offer a hand-picked selection of teaware including our our exclusive British made range of tea bowls, tins & spoons designed by us & handmade by quality British craftspeople.
Shop onlineSingle Estate Teas

We aim to make it simple for you to find and enjoy fine single estate teas. Our range of loose leaf teas offer you an excellent balance of quality and value.
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Teaware

Choose from our selection of British, Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese teaware to compliment your tea choice.
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Tea Gift Sets

Our beautiful tea gift sets include everything you need, and are perfect for that special present or just as a treat for yourself.