The Art of Tea Blending: Why we do it...and why blending isn't a dirty word!

If you've ever worked in tea, you'll know that blending isn't just throwing a few ingredients together and hoping for the best.  When we started out, tea blending was actually the last thing we learnt.  Only after understanding the nuances of taste and terroir were we trusted to create something balanced and brilliant.  It takes years of training!

Yet to some, blending gets a bit of bad rap, a blended tea is somehow inferior.  Single origin teas often steal the limelight because of their purity and provenance.  And to some extent this probably also plays out in the world of whiskey too.

Why blend tea?

Balance: Different teas have different qualities and by combining these qualities you can develop a more rounded cup.  For example, adding an Assam to a Ceylon tea will increase its body (or the weight if tea in your mouth) whilst retaining the flavour.

Consistency:  tea is an agriultural product and the growing and processing conditions mean it can change from day to day.  Yet your cup of tea always tastes the same.  How DO they do that?  Blending of course!!!

Creativity:  Blending unlocks new flavours and combinations that just work brilliantly.  Lemongrass and Ginger is a simple example.  And our Rooibos and Cocoa Chai is even more complex!

Rooibos and Cocoa Chai

There's a whole lot of things going on in this blend.  The rooibos (or redbush) for slightly smokey vanilla notes, the cocoa shells for hints of chocolatey richness and of course the classic chai spices for zingy warmth.    It works and we definitely think the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.