Food & Drink Awards 2019

Page 56 www.lux-review.com LUXlife 2019 Food & Drink Awards Do you know your Tetley from your Twinings? Can you tell your Lipton from your Lyons? Is it Clipper that floats your boat? If it is, then the London Tea Exchange is the place for you. Curating over 825 types from around the world, often premium and rare, we caught up with these tea tycoons to find out more. London Tea Exchange: Leading Purveyor of Artisan Teas & Coffees – UK & LUX Innovation Award in Artisanal Beverage Curation 2019 Founded on the need for continuous improvement, whilst satisfying a passion for achieving excellence, the London Tea Exchange offers something a little different to the discerning tea connoisseur. Having spent over twenty years collecting teas from around forty different countries, it can be of no surprise that they offer their customers one of the largest collections of premium and rare teas. When you step through the doors of the firms’ flagship shop in Brick Lane, 320 types of teas and 50 types of coffees await, all responsibly sourced using fair trade conditions. The London Tea Exchange provides a service to its customers like no other. For them, the handling of tea is not a business, but an artform. Spurred on by studies advertising the health benefits of tea, consumers have turned towards the product as a more original, more natural and more affordable luxury. This image has been encouraged by the cultural con- nection of tea with all things civilised, delicate and elegant. The charming atmosphere of the London store is the perfect location to sample these delicacies. With a knowledgeable staff on hand to guide you through the process of picking the perfect tea to suit your desires – and maybe suggest a slice of cake to match – there really is no better place to broaden your palate and explore the depths that only the finest tea makers can offer. A sign of the clear success of the London store is that that clients are able to distinguish the superior quality of London Tea Exchange tea when compared to their commercial counterparts. Knowing that this devotion to high-grade tea in intrinsic to the running of everything they do has fed the demand for their soothing products and services to be made available more widely. Increasingly, the trend for tea has shifted from more traditional tastes to something more striking. Premium teas, infusions and exotic blends have shot up 83 % in the past two years, taking the market by storm, and this increase doesn’t look to be slowing down. This trend is excellent news for the London Tea Exchange, specialising in providing superb premium teas to tantalise any taste bud. This supply of top-drawer tea starts with the raw product, and the London Tea Exchange keeps longstanding relationships with individual tea estates, allowing trust and cooperation to build up between the two parties. By keeping these ties at a personal level, only the finest teas are selected from each individual estate and tested by experi- enced tea tasters to ensure that they match London Tea Exchange standards. It also allows the London Tea Exchange to assess every aspect of the tea production process. This involvement means that first-class inter- national quality practices can be maintained. Committed to high standards in all areas, the London Tea Exchange only buy from plantations that demonstrate incredible care for tea and the workforce that harvests it. By achieving the best possible results for their staff, they are sure that their tea is distinctly better for their customers. With the approach of quality over quantity drawing people to the business, a change in approach means that the London Tea Exchange are now exploring ways to increase the availability of high-quality products and services to all their clients. Many of their teas will be some of the rarest varieties in the world, and customers can take comfort that London Tea Exchange are always seeking exclusive products on their behalf. The main clients who use the London Tea Exchange are those wanting high-quality branded products for their offices and board rooms. Existing clients include a wide range of corporate offices, luxury restaurants and top-rate hotels. These products are made of various collections including Tea Books Assorted Tea Bag Collection Tea Chests containing tea bags made from organic cotton hand stitched tea bags or loose leaf tea and the brand new Matcha Tea drink named UJI, which is the first of its kind. Matcha Tea is made from organic Matcha, sourced in Uji. Many of the London Tea Exchange’s clients are international and continually request for stores to be opened in major gateway cities around the world. This request has now been granted, and the London Tea Exchange is