Us


 

 

Owned by David & Kathy Collen, The Essence of Tea grew from our passion for the exquisite teas produced by small-scale farmers and producers of China & Taiwan.  Having lived in China and travelling extensively each year, we've built up contacts that give us access to some of the best teas in the world.

 

Our approach is very hands-on.  We often help with picking the leaves and processing of many of our teas, particularly some of our Puerh and Wuyi rock teas.  We personally travel, meet the farmers and work only with those who meet our standards of ethics and quality.

 

In a world, cluttered with tea companies claiming to offer rare or special teas, we strive to find teas that are really special, some that have been aged for over 50 years, some produced in quantities of mere kilograms, some from 400-800 year old trees, many completely hand-made and all from ethical & environmentally responsible sources.

 

Our Teas

 


 

 

 

The Essence of Tea - Our Teas

 

We make a strong effort to source teas grown without pesticides and fertilisers and hope that our selection reflects this.  Some of them are certified organic in China & Taiwan, while many others are produced in much too small quantities to warrant the costly certification process.  Many of the teas we buy directly from organic farmers and producers, while several others are made available to us through close cooperation with several tea masters throughout Asia.

 

We also specialise in the fascinating and complex world of aged teas.  These teas have naturally transformed over the years, evolving into completely new entity.  Their flavours transform and they often develop powerful and calming energies.