23/01/2025

How does your packaging align with your eco-friendly mission beyond being plastic-free?

Many tea companies use PLA, a type of bioplastic, in their tea bags, which seals with glue. Kiran, our founder, brought the first machine to the UK that folds and stitches tea bags, making our tea bags completely home compostable. They are made with unbleached paper and organic string. To keep the taste fresh, each of our tea bags is packaged in a paper envelope, printed with plant-based inks. Our boxes are printed on FSC-certified card.

We also offer 250-tea bag cases and 1kg loose leaf tea bags. Many of our customers love this option as it reduces packaging waste.

What is the lifecycle of a typical Hampstead Tea product, from farm to table?

Cultivation: Our teas are grown biodynamically at Makaibari Tea Gardens in Darjeeling. Biodynamic farming goes beyond organic methods, improving soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystem balance. Kiran, our founder, supported Makaibari in becoming the world’s first organic and biodynamic tea gardens 30 years ago, and we’ve worked in close partnership ever since.

Harvesting and Processing: The tea leaves are handpicked on the farm and then processed using traditional methods to enhance their flavour. Makaibari ensures fair wages and runs community projects, such as a free nursery. Caring for farmers is at the heart of their operations.

Tea Production: Mass-produced tea is often made using a technique called CTC, which emphasises bitterness rather than rich taste. Our tea is crafted using the traditional tea-making process: withering, rolling, oxidising, and fixing. This process brings out the best possible flavour. We use the largest leaf size that fits into a tea bag to ensure optimal taste.

Shipped and Packed: The tea is sent directly to the UK, where we package it into tea bags and boxes before delivering it to our customers. There are no middlemen or brokers in our supply chain – we buy directly from the farmers.

 

How do you maintain consistent quality across different batches of tea?

Consistency is achieved through rigorous quality control at every stage of production. Our team works closely with tea growers to uphold the highest standards during cultivation and harvest. Every batch of tea undergoes multiple rounds of testing for taste, aroma, and appearance to meet our strict quality criteria.

Dave, our in-house tea taster, tests every batch. With over 30 years of experience in the tea industry, his taste buds are exceptionally well-trained.

What feedback do you most frequently hear from your customers, and how do you incorporate it?

Customers frequently tell us they’ve switched from other brands and are delighted to have discovered ours. They love the taste of our teas and appreciate our strong ethics. Our online shop has an average rating of 4.8/5, reflecting the satisfaction of our loyal customers.