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With just under a month until Christmas we thought we would put a few gift ideas together to get you thinking all things tea!  Here at Comins Tea House we have the perfect gifts for tea appreciators, tea lovers right through to tea addicts {Not all of these items are available online so either visit us at the Tea House or call Rob on 01258475389 & we can arrange delivery} For Green Tea Appreciators Japanese Kyusu Teapot | £15   Sencha Superior | 15G £2.50  50G £6.50 For Chinese Tea Enthusiasts  Chinese Gaiwan | £12   British Made Tea Tin &...

Introducing our new gift Vouchers | Perfect Presents for Tea Lovers Can be purchased in the Tea House or call us at the Tea House on 01258 475 389 and we can post! 1. Purchase for £10, £20 or £30 so that your friends or family can choose their own teas, teaware or tea experience 2. Why not treat someone to a tea tasting experience at the Tea House where we will personally guide you through the tea types share more on the origins of each tea and taste different teas together.  £15 per person approx 1 hour 3. Our Afternoon tea...

This post starts with the end of day 3. In my previous post I was in the middle of a very long day processing a tea. That day eventually finished at 2am, but was one of the most interesting and eye opening days I have had working with tea. After the withering earlier in the day the tea then had to be tumbled in a large cylindrical tumbling machine. This speeds up oxidation by bruising the leaf cells. The machine is stopped after about an hour and the leaves are removed and placed on large bamboo trays. They are left...

The fifth day of my time in Taiwan started with a visit to one of the most extraordinary tea estates I have been to. Nestled high in the mountains amongst breathtaking scenery and run by Master Chen and his son, this estate was very much worth the twisty precipitous journey. I was immensely fortunate that our visit coincided with a plucking day. A small swarm of pickers just happened to be close enough to the paths to experience  close up what an art tea picking is. The speed and accuracy with which they moved amongst the bushes was incredible. A...

Today's mini blog post is going to have to be smaller still as I am on a very short break from a day of tea processing. The day began at 8am with a trip to the beautiful tea estate shown in the picture, where I witnessed the tea I was going to process being picked. Sadly I wasn't  allowed to do the plucking as if it is done incorrectly it can not only damage the leaves to be processed but also the plant itself. Tea bushes are very sensitive. Once the tea had been picked and weighed I then travelled...