Tea at Tregothnan

The only tea grower in England is coming to the Oundle Food Festival on 16th July to talk about how the tea is grown, and you'll have a chance to taste and to buy!

The first Tregothnan tea was sold in 2005 following the six year maturing period required for tea, all the while under the watchful eye of Garden Director and Camellia expert, Jonathon Jones. The production process remains as it has been for millennia, and we endeavour to familiarise the tea drinking public with this process through tea tasting master-classes held at our Tea Bar at Tolverne on the banks of the Fal estuary. From here our customers can actually see the tea growing thanks to the newest tea crop planted recently on the bank directly opposite.

Tregothnan is proud to be a part of the “premiuim-isation” of tea and counts such prestigious establishments as Fortnum & Mason amongst our stockists where our rare Single Estate tea is exclusively sold. Our ethos however is very much inclusive rather than exclusive, and we believe that there is room in the market for a premium brand considering tea is the world’s favourite beverage. Just as you would select wines to match food, we encourage our customers to experiment with tea according to the occasion or time of day.

Tregothnan’s own Tea Barista, Joe Trewellard, can often be overheard talking about the experience of enjoying tea in the “out-of-home market” and coming from a coffee background he’s witnessed many of the same trends emerging in the tea world. Overseeing tea service at The Tea Bar, Joe is keen to get customers involved in the theatre and ritual of taking tea in and out of the home.

The Tregothnan range now includes four black teas (including our exclusive Single Estate), one green tea and a growing list of herbal tisanes. Manuka is the latest, and best-selling, addition to the herbal range and represents another botanical first being the only manuka produced for tea outside its native New Zealand. Herbals now represent 30% of combined sales, a figure greatly increased by the introduction of Manuka in 2009 and this percentage continues to grow. The buzz surrounding this best-selling tisane was helped by an enthusiastic thumbs-up from TV botanist-turned-chef James Wong who raved about the infusion which is often likened to Rooibos or South African Honey Bush.

 Developments in the pipeline include a range of seasonal blended herbal infusions along with the on-going development of the International Tea Centre concept.