Tea

At Fine Tea Merchants, we work with trusted partners in the UK, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Kenya and India to offer a range of tea bag options, including tagged and untagged pyramid and pillow bags. Through these partnerships, we can arrange supply in most retail and catering formats, from packs of 40 to bulk 1100s.

We’re also proud to act as the UK agents for A.Tosh & Sons, India’s largest merchant tea exporter. Tosh operates a fully certified, export-oriented blending and packing facility in Coimbatore, offering exceptional flexibility and quality assurance.

LOOSE LEAF & BOTANICALS

MATCHA

BLENDING & TEABAGS

ORIGIN BULK PACKING & SHIPMENTS

Advisory & Consulting

We offer a full consulting and advisory service to international clients on matters of tea sustainability, product quality, tea marketing and market access.

Will has more than 20 years of experience in tasting, importing, buying and blending as well as serving as a non-exec on sustainability boards.

He trained as a buyer with Tetley in India, Sri Lanka Kenya and Malawi. He has developed blends for consumers in Australasia, India, Continental Europe, South Africa, UK, USA and Canada.

In 2007, he moved to Continental Europe where he spent 9 years looking after tea procurement and sustainability for the Sara Lee-Jacobs Douwe Egberts businesses in Europe and the USA.

In 2016, Will established Fine Tea Merchants Ltd, and amongst others has consulted for IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative and Rwanda Tea Packers Ltd.

Specialisms include:

  • Tea quality consulting

  • Blend development

  • Tea consulting for 5 star hotels

  • Pre and post Merger & Acquisition integration

  • Advice to tea producers on market development

  • Supplier codes for tea and coffee growers

  • Development of sustainable procurement strategies

  • Risk analysis within tea supply chains

  • Provision of tea expertise to NGOs.

Books

“I decided to write a tea book having always been interested in wine atlases and encyclopaedias. The best wine writers- in my view Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson and Michael Broadbent, were able to write with great accessibility and in a distinctly non-snobby and inclusive tone of voice. I loved the way they drew readers into an understanding of the product which also encouraged the discovery of both better quality wines as well as alternative origins.  I think in understanding where quality tea is created in the field and factory, we learn to value and appreciate it when we see it, and hopefully to reward it as consumers. So I hope that in a tiny way, my tea books can help to encourage tea enthusiasts to discover and buy better quality teas and to pay more for them in order to further encourage their cultivation and manufacture.”

- Will Battle

The World Tea Encyclopaedia

by Fine Tea Merchants' Managing Director, Will Battle.

is a critically-acclaimed overview of all aspects of the world of tea. It is widely available both on international websites as well as at a significant discount through Fine Tea Merchants Ltd for trade customers.

Email us for discounted trade copies

The World of Tea

Commissioned by the International Wine & Food Society.

by Fine Tea Merchants' Managing Director, Will Battle.

A concise, expert guide to the world of tea, from its rich history to modern-day cultivation and consumption.

Email us for discounted trade copies

  • ‘Battle’s book is the best general overview of tea since William Ukers’s ‘All About Tea’ which was published in 1935. I can think of no higher praise for this contribution to our understanding of tea.’

    — TILLERMAN REVIEW

  • 'A fascinating, well-written book – warrants a place in any library.'

    — RALPH ADAM – CILIP

  • 'An approachable and accessible foray into the wide and often under-explored world of tea, without the “snobbishness.”'

    — FRESH CUP MAGAZINE

  • 'This is one of those tea books where the author tries to cover every possible tea related topic, and Will Battle actually does an exemplary job with it.'

    — TEA EPICURE

Get in touch

Tel: +44 01522 794 293