From our first homemade blends to a proudly independent tea company based in Cornwall, our story has always been about good flavours, thoughtful choices and a proper cuppa.
Hello, we’re Martyn and Martina, the two people behind Westcountry Tea Co.
Our story began long before we became a tea company. We’d always enjoyed a good cuppa, but often found ourselves disappointed by teas that promised wonderful flavours and didn’t quite deliver.
So we started making our own.
We experimented with different ingredients, creating tea blends and infusions with the flavours we felt were missing. Friends and family soon became our willing taste testers, and thankfully, they seemed to enjoy our creations just as much as we did.
In 2010, we decided to take the plunge and introduce our teas to the Cornish market.
What began here in Cornwall soon travelled further afield, finding its way onto the shelves of farm shops, delicatessens and independent retailers across the country.
And here we are, all these years later, still enjoying what we do.
Although Westcountry Tea Co began with just the two of us, we’re fortunate to have some wonderful local ladies who help us keep everything running.
They’re an important part of our little business, and we’re very grateful for the care and attention they bring to what we do.
We might not be a big tea company, but there’s a lovely team of people behind every box, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
In 2018, we made a decision we’re still incredibly proud of. We became one of Britain’s first 100% plastic-free tea companies.
It wasn’t simply a case of changing our tea bags. We wanted to look at every part of our packaging and see what we could do differently.
Our tea bags are made from plant-based corn starch rather than conventional plastic, and the clear film protecting them is made from cellulose derived from fast-growing eucalyptus trees.
We also changed our cardboard tea boxes to use vegetable-based inks, and even the tape we use to seal our parcels is made from paper with potato-starch adhesive.
Some might say that’s rather a lot of thought to put into a box of tea.
But we think the little things matter.
After all, enjoying a lovely cuppa shouldn’t mean leaving unnecessary plastic behind.
If you’re wondering what to do with your tea bags and packaging once you’ve enjoyed your brew, we’ve put together a handy Cup to Compost disposal guide to help.
We’ve always had a soft spot for independent shops.
There’s something special about a good farm shop, delicatessen or local retailer. The people behind them know their products, care about their customers and often have wonderful stories of their own.
They’re exactly the sort of businesses we love working with.
That’s why we’ve chosen to supply independent retailers rather than the big supermarkets. It’s something we’ve believed in from the beginning, and we have no plans to change.
Although our teas now travel across the UK and around the world, we’re still proudly independent, with our roots firmly in Cornwall.
We’ve always taken great pride in the quality of our blends, so receiving awards for our teas has been particularly special.
And while winning an award is wonderful, sometimes it’s the comments from the judges that really make us smile.
One judge described a blend as:
“Probably the best camomile tea I have tasted in a long time.”
Another announced:
“This is one of the best herbal teas I’ve ever had. Perfect!”
When you started out simply wanting to make a better cup of tea, hearing something like that is rather lovely.
Of course, we’re not ones to rest on our laurels. We’re always thinking about flavours, experimenting with ingredients and seeing what might make another interesting blend.
If you’d like to discover what we’ve been creating, you can explore our range of teas and infusions, including some of the blends that have picked up awards along the way.
One of the nicest parts of running Westcountry Tea Co is getting to know the people who enjoy our teas.
When someone orders from us, we like to make their parcel a little more personal.
That’s why every order we send out includes a handwritten thank-you from us, along with a complimentary sample of a different tea.
It might be something you’ve never thought of trying, or perhaps a blend you wouldn’t normally choose.
You never know, it might become your next favourite!
It’s our little way of saying thank you for supporting us, and of sharing another tea we’re rather fond of.
We know there are plenty of places to buy tea, so it means a great deal when someone chooses ours.
A lot has changed since we first started blending teas, but the things that matter to us haven’t.
We still believe in proper flavours, thoughtful packaging, supporting independent businesses and taking the time to do the little things properly.
And we still get a great deal of pleasure from knowing that somewhere, someone is sitting down with a cup of tea we’ve created.
Whether you’ve been drinking our teas for years or have only just discovered us, thank you for being part of our story.
Martyn and Martina
Westcountry Tea Co
Made in Cornwall since 2010
If you would like to know what we are up to and where we will be, please follow us on facebook: www.facebook.com/westcountryteaco/
