Tea en primeur; in time for Christmas
Rare Tea Company is inviting tea lovers across the world to pre-purchase a special autumn tea harvest direct from one of the most exceptional tea gardens in India.
Why is this news?
We are trying to do something different. To reshape an exploitative industry.
And it’s a rare Christmas good news story where people can actively support a tea farm owned and run by a rare woman teamaker - Nayantara Linnebank. Sourced directly by Henrietta, a rare tea lady - founder of Rare Tea Co.
"Henrietta Lovell, who has known Lakyrsiew almost since the start, has visited the garden. We are honoured by the confidence she has shown in Lakyrsiew through the years, and confident that we will meet - and exceed - her expectations in what is turning out to be a difficult time, but stellar season at Lakyrsiew."
- Boris Linnebank (Nayantara’s son)
By doing this we are hoping to make the world a little bit better.
Big words? Hubris?
Someone has to start somewhere.
Rare Tea Co. may be small, and this is just one harvest. But we have been independent and disruptive since our founding in 2004. Please help amplify our small voice over the might of giant agribusinesses and PLCs.
Why should you bother?
If we think about tea like wine, tea farms will thrive like vineyards. Everything you know about wine - from terroir to craft, is true of tea. And the really good stuff can taste every bit as delicious. This is the really good stuff.
Tea good enough to be served at 3 Michelin star Noma in Copenhagen; 3 star Core by Clare Smyth in London, and 2 star The Modern at MoMa in New York.
If you were given a bottle of "red wine", you might not be impressed. If it were "French red wine" not much more. But when it comes from a vineyard, and you know the name of the maker you value it so much more.
To bring value to tea communities and tea drinkers we have to look beyond the industrial bag.
This harvest is an infinitely more delicious tea that directly benefits the people who grow and craft it - not giant agribusiness and their shareholders.
Why should we care?
Seven companies supply around 90% of the tea sold in Europe and North America. That tea passes between the seven and through many hands and brands before it reaches the consumer. The vast majority of tea communities supplying this tea continue to live in poverty. Life expectancy can be as low as 40’s. This is the status quo that allows consumers a cheap tea bag.
Rare Tea does things differently. We seek out the best and work direct with our farmers - forging connections between tea communities with tea drinkers.
This harvest spotlights why tea isn’t just a bag in a box on a shelf. Tea comes from a farm, not a supermarket and the people who grow and craft it matter. Together we can work with them to change the world, a little bit, for the better.
"This is sustainable tea on every level - environmental, social and economic. A tea that will bring huge pleasure to any tea drinker as well as directly supporting a farm."
- Henrietta Lovell, founder of Rare Tea
What are we offering?
300g, 500g, or a kilo of this special harvest delivered in 100g recyclable pouches.
It’s £365 a kilo - a £ a day to drink some of the world’s most delicious tea - so much less than an ordinary high street coffee.
£109.99 for 300g / £182.99 for 500g / £364.99 for 1kg
Free global delivery in time for Christmas with a storage tin to keep it in and a letter explaining what it is, why it is so special and how best to infuse it - so it will make a wonderful present.
When?
Harvesting now. Available to pre-purchase until 31st October 2021.
