Sourcing & Sustainability

Sourcing

Our teas are sourced from all over the world, primarily from China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, and Taiwan.

Ethical Statement

We buy and source our teas from our specially selected partners. All our teas come from sources which ensure fair treatment of their staff through strict observance of human rights to a safe and sociable working environment. Although our teas are not certified Fair Trade we only work with partners which adhere to our own ethical expectations.

Organic

It's important to us to provide the best quality tea available and sometimes an organic version is not always available. We do have some teas which are available as organic and these are identified with organic in their name. We are registered, audited and certified by the Soil Association in the UK.

1% for the Planet

Packaging

The cardboard packaging which we use for our tubes is FSC approved and is easily recycled. 

The inner wrap used to keep the tea fresh is made from a compostable material called Natureflex. It may look like plastic cello wrap but it can be placed into your food waste bin and composted. It can also be home composted in your compost heap.

Our bulk loose tea is now mostly packed into our new compostable bags. We say mostly since there is still a bit of a transition and some of the teas are just too bulky to fit into these bags. The compostable bags are made of kraft paper and have a Natureflex lining. Most bulk tea available on the market is packed into bags with a plastic lining which are not compostable or biodegradeable. So we're very proud to offer this compostable alternative. Look out for 'plastic free' when ordering.

If you do not have access to a compost heap or a food waste collection then please still get in touch. Depending on your order we are able to decant your tea into a paper bag for delivery and upon receipt you'll be able to put into your own container. We can then place the packaging in with our waste ensuring it's composted.

We reuse our boxes whenever possible when sending out orders so if your package arrives in a box that looks used then it probably has been. Reusing is the best form of recycling.

I've written a blog post about our stance on plastic and tea so please click here to read more.

Tea Pyramid Bags

Our pyramid bags are made using a bio-degradable corn starch. Although bio-degradable these are not suitable for garden composting but can be composted in a commercial composting facility. Putting the tea bags into your collected food waste will ensure that this is achieved.