There are plenty of Tea sellers out there. So why buy from Mei Leaf? Here is what makes the Mei Leaf difference.
HISTORY & CONNECTIONS
My family have been sourcing Chinese herbs and tea for 50 years, and we have built up a deep connection with producers and scouts across China, Taiwan and Japan.
This means we can source teas usually reserved for the inner circle of tea connoisseurs – teas rarely found on the international market, even amongst speciality tea sellers.
SOURCING EXPERIENCE
Finding great tea is so much more than assessing taste and smell. Pinnacle tea has a character which is intangible yet undeniable and finding those gems from the hundreds of thousands of batches of speciality tea is an instinct which needs time and training.
I have personally been curating tea for over 20 years, fine-tuning my ability to source truly characterful teas at the right prices.
PICKY, PICKY, PICKY
Our curation process is obsessive.
Every year our producers and scouts in the mountains will taste many thousands of batches of tea. From these, I am usually sent about a thousand shortlisted teas for my appraisal. I blind-taste these brews to remove bias and distractions (such as price or origin) and purchase about seventy for Mei Leaf.
So, we stock a tiny fraction of teas from tens of thousands of batches that are tasted yearly. This means that the Mei Leaf shelves carry the absolute pinnacle brews.
EVER-CHANGING
Every year the quality and character of tea vary and we change our selection so that we only have the best tea for our shelves. We will never stock a tea (even a best-selling one) if the samples of that year do not impress us.
Similarly, we never pre-buy from producers and we blind-taste to avoid any bias towards certain farmers. Our commitment is to our clients and not to our producers.
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
Tea is a lifelong journey of learning. Our passion in the way of tea is unwavering even after more than twenty years.
We are also committed to spreading this knowledge freely to others. Mei Leaf has the biggest Tea YouTube channel worldwide, creating weekly videos about tea with over 10 million views. We have a loyal following of 'Teaheads' globally.
LOVE
We have a timeless love affair with tea. Tea is not a business but a personal passion. We imbue that passion into our tea, teaware and our customer service. We want you to love our brews and your experience at Mei Leaf, and we are committed to giving you the best service possible.
