New Year; New Tea

This year marks several interesting anniversaries. The 60^th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s death, the 75^th anniversary of the birth of NATO, the 80^th anniversary of VE Day, and the 250^th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth to name a few. There is a lot to remember, and there is a lot to look forward to as well.

Welcome to 2025, Tea Lovers.

The start of a new year often feels like turning to a new, blank page. It can be exhilarating to consider the mark you may make, but overly intoxicating to consider too deeply. We explored in 2024 the switch to loose leaf tea and its benefits, and you can find that article here, but this year perhaps we can build on that and start exploring teas that are not commonly available in teabags, but are kings of the tea shelf.

Green Tea

From teabags, you may be familiar with Sencha, perhaps even Gunpowder green tea, but White Monkey is a different experience altogether. This Chinese tea is grown from a white tea cultivar but processed as a green tea. This delicate, light tea has a clean and fresh taste. Definitely worth trying!

Black Tea

The black teas that most people know range from blends such as Breakfast tea, to teas from specific regions such as Assam and Ceylon. However, one that tends to get overlooked is once again from China – Golden Bud. This non-astringent black tea can be drunk without need for milk or sugar. Unlike most teas, this consists of purely the most potent, sweet-flavoured, and coveted part of the tea plant – the bud. As a result, it is a rare tea to experience and certainly not something one sees every day.

Fruit Tea

When it comes to fruit teas, most people are familiar with red berry concoctions and for good reason – our Winchester Fruit Basket is one of our most sought-after fruit teas, after all. When choosing a loose-leaf blend, though, you can go a little more eccentric with your choices, and we think an excellent one to try is Peach Perfect: containing apple, pineapple, and papaya, but with peach at centre stage, this is a wonderful, transporting tea.

Rooibos Tea

Burst free of the constraints of what rooibos tea ‘ought to be’ because this is not red. Processed more like a green tea, this Green Rooibos Peach and Apricot has a lighter taste and is an entirely new way to drink rooibos tea. You will thank yourself for taking a chance on this one!

Whatever new things you try this coming year, you are expanding your experience of the world. And in terms of teas at Char, you are exploring the flavours of different parts of the world and supporting ethical global trade with every bag of tea. Not a bad thing to add to your list of achievements in the new year.