Ethical tea company hopes to expand brand

The UK may be a country of tea-drinkers, but according to Mr Tea’s Teas, we have a lot to learn about our favourite hot beverage.

Artisanal tea makers Alex Joseph and Kos Temenes hope to make us all a little more mindful of the tea making process – and of where those tea leaves actually come from. 

The duo, who previously hosted a pop-up cafe in All Saints Court next to St Nick’s Market and currently supply ethically-sourced loose-leaf tea to local coffee shops and individual customers, have launched Kickstarter campaign to grow their business. 

The company hopes to raise at least £5,060 in funding to spread their hand-mixed teas, craft new blends and hire other ethical companies to help create Mr Tea’s Teas packaging and other products. 

Thali Cafe in Easton, a place the buoyant Joseph calls the company’s headquarters, was Mr Tea’s Tea’s very first commercial customer. 

In only two years, the pair have moved from selling tea on Glastonbury High Street to supplying cafes, restaurants and shops across the South West, including the city’s five Thali Cafes and The Olive Shed.

Sat at his favourite table in the St Mark’s Road Thali, Kos dives into the importance of the company’s ethics. Fair trade, eco-friendly and GMO free, Mr Tea’s Teas is uncompromising when it comes to doing the right thing.

“We make sure the people we deal with are doing this because they want to do it, not because they have to do it,” he says, dreadlocks swinging.

“We make sure that, in growing our tea, there’s no slave labour, everyone gets paid a decent wage, there’ no genetically modified plants. All our herbs are not commercially grown – they’re harvested from the wild, which is better for the environment.”

But Alex and Kos don’t want people to buy their tea just because it’s ethical. They hope to bring a more flavourful and higher quality tea to the English breakfast table.

Mr Tea’s Teas hope to encourage Bristolians to try new flavours by blending recognizable elements with more exotic ingredients, particularly as part of their Kickstarter fundraiser. 

“We mix chamomile with caraway, moringa leaf with lemongrass,” says Alex.

For newcomers, Temenes recommends the company’s Roots or lemongrass teas, while Alex recommends the first tea the duo ever created – an Amazonian Chai that remains the company’s most popular blend. Tea-tasting experts might enjoy the Golden XI or the Rooibos Chai.

“In a lot of teas, they just use the scraps of the tea leaves,” explains Alex. “Our teas have whole buds, and you can make at least two whole teapots from one package.”

“And there are more flavours than you get in tea bags,” adds Kos. “Making loose-leaf tea doesn’t actually take much more time than it takes to brew a teabag. All you need is a strainer.”

To find out more and donate to the Kickstarter campaign, visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/mr-teas-teas/help-mr-teas-teas-spread-realtea

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