The Origin of Tea
China
Four blends drawn from the country that gave tea to the world — Fujian's white teas, the oolongs of Wuyi, the wild old forests of Yunnan.
Provenance
Tea originates in China — the evidence points to Yunnan province, where wild Camellia sinensis trees thousands of years old still grow. Virtually every category of tea the world drinks traces back to Chinese cultivation and innovation: white tea from Fujian, oolong from Wuyi Mountain and Anxi, green tea from Zhejiang, the fermented pu-erh of Yunnan. The base teas in this collection are sourced from small family producers in Fujian and Guangdong. The chrysanthemum is dried whole in Zhejiang. Osmanthus comes from Guilin, where the flower is woven into the landscape and the food. Goji berry is sourced from Ningxia, China's primary growing region. These are ingredients that have not travelled far from where they have always been.
Imperial Garden
The White Tea Ceremony
In the gardens of the Fujian imperial estates, white tea was reserved for the emperor's cup — so prized that pickers wore gloves to avoid contaminating the buds with human oils. White tea, barely processed, barely touched. Here it carries chrysanthemum's cooling floral sweetness, osmanthus's apricot-honey warmth, and rose petals for the heart. A cup of extraordinary delicacy.
Botanicals
White Tea · Chrysanthemum · Osmanthus · Rose Petals
Brewer's Note
Cool water is essential — 167°F maximum. White tea's most delicate aromatic compounds are destroyed by heat. This cup rewards patience and quiet attention.
Silk Road
The Ancient Trade
For two thousand years, the Silk Road carried Chinese tea westward — packed into bricks, loaded onto camels, travelling through Central Asia into Persia and beyond. The spices that came east in return are here: cardamom and cinnamon, warming the mineral depth of oolong and the tart sweetness of goji berry. A blend that tastes of ancient commerce and the meeting of civilisations.
Botanicals
Oolong Tea · Goji Berry · Cardamom · Cinnamon · Orange Peel
Brewer's Note
Just below boiling for the oolong — it preserves the florals while extracting depth. The goji berry softens and sweetens in the cup.
Jade Temple
The Cooling Restorative
In Chinese tea culture, chrysanthemum tea is taken to cool the body in summer heat and clear the mind when it runs too fast. Here it meets green tea's gentle caffeine, goji berry for warmth and sweetness, and a breath of lemon verbena. A restorative cup for overstimulated afternoons — cooling, clarifying, and quietly grounding.
Botanicals
Green Tea · Chrysanthemum · Goji Berry · Lemon Verbena
Brewer's Note
Lower temperature protects the green tea and the chrysanthemum's delicate florals. Bright, cooling, and naturally sweet from the goji.
Yunnan Dusk
The Old Forest Tea
Yunnan is where tea began — and where wild tea trees still grow thousands of years old, their roots deeper than recorded history. Black tea from this ancient province has an earthy, mineral depth unlike any other. We honour it simply: black tea, ginger's warmth, cinnamon's sweetness, and osmanthus's apricot perfume. The cup at the end of a long day, in the place where it all started.
Botanicals
Black Tea · Ginger · Cinnamon · Osmanthus
Brewer's Note
Full boil for the black tea base. Add osmanthus in the final 90 seconds of steeping — its aromatic oils are delicate and need protecting.