A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to the opening of a chic new tea boutique in London’s Burlington Arcade where Tamsin Lafferty is selling teas from Luponde Estate in Tanzania.  It’s unusual for a retail store to only sell teas from one tea garden but Tamsin offers quite a selection as well as some elegant porcelain tea wares in which to brew and serve the range of teas and herbal infusions.  Luponde is situated in the remote Livingstone Mountains in the south west of the country where wilder beasts, lions, hippos and zebra roam free across the high plateau that is covered in lush grass, thick forest and great lakes. Luponde’s organic, Fairtrade tea grows up at 7000 feet and the estate produces a white tea, a green, an orthodox black, a camomile, a peppermint and a mint flavoured green tea. 

All are on sale in the elegant little shop in one of London’s most exclusive shopping arcades.  The interior is sophisticated black which is brightened by three TV screens which immediately capture your attention with their images of sunshiny blue skies and tea fields of the brightest, most vibrant green.  Ranged alongside are the Luponde tins - also black and decorated with zebra-striped tea leaves and lipstick-pink, sharp green and pure white lettering.

The launch party was very stylish, held inside the private gated mall that is the very stylish Burlington Arcade close to the Royal Academy on Piccadilly in the heart of London.  When I arrived, tables were set up with samples of the leaf and all the teas were being brewed and served in taster-sized beakers so that visitors could sample this unusual taste of Africa for themselves.  The crowd filled a much larger space than the actual shop which is a tiny, jewel-box retail space that only comfortably holds 4 or 5 people at any one time.  On a normal shopping day, the black, white and pink packaging certainly catches the eye and entices potential customers into the pretty little shop.

Tamsin was helped at the publicity events by another tea friend, Romal Shah, who himself has recently become involved in selling a range of African teas.  Of Asian heritage but brought up in Kenya, Romal has created a company called Safari Lounge which has a totally African style - mainly African teas and herbals, African packaging (again, like Tamsin, using a zebra-print design) and with a connection to the Masai people and to three Kenya charities -  Kazuri, which works to create employment  for disadvantaged members of the Kenyan society, especially single mothers; Amani, a project that trains marginalised women to use sewing machines so that they can make garments and fabric goods in order to gain some financial independence; and the Northern Rangelands Trust which promotes community-led conservation projects in Northern Kenya.  How wonderful that in so many situations, tea businesses give back to the communities where they buy and sell their teas.  Everyone benefits from the success of ethical entrepreneurs.

I met Romal when he came to one of my Tea Masterclasses in London  in the early part of 2008 and he was working then towards this idea of linking his new tea venture to Kenya, to Kenyan crafts people and to Kenyan charities.  He had given up a job in banking to build a life and a career that put him in touch with the natural world and the vast landscape of his childhood home.  And so he has, rather like Tamsin, launched a new range of teas and herbals in stunning African themed packaging - white with zebra print black and white stripes. He has travelled backwards and forwards between London and Kenya arranging the manufacture of teapots and bowls by local Kenyan craftsmen and women for use in his business and working towards the opening of his first Safari Lounge tearoom.   The photo on the right shows Romal hard at work on his computer in a remote part of Kenya.) His plan long term is to have Safari Lounges in both Kenya and Britain.Romal’s blends include black tea blends with creative names such as Kenyan Earth (an orthodox black from Milima),  African Vanilla Muse ( Kenyan black with cocoa kernels and vanilla), Masai Mint (a green tea with a hint of mint), Monkey Sunshine (a flavoured green tea blended with pineapple and strawberry), White Mischief (white tea buds), various Ayurvedic blends designed for health and cleansing, and of course a couple of Rooibos blends from the Cederberg Mountains - one mixed with cinnamon and cloves, the other with citrus peels, rose petals and mallow blossoms.  He also offers fruits infusions and honeybush which only grows in the Langkloof area of South Africa’s Eastern Cape.

A determined marathon runner, Romal has the energy and tenacity to achieve his dream and establish a chain of stores that will give people the chance to appreciate these African blends.  When they know that his and Tamsin’s teas are traded ethically and that the local tribes and charities benefit, they will recognise the value of these two new businesses.

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