Miss TeaSmith — Traditional Tastes For The Modern Palate

Here at Forward Fooding, we work with a number of start-ups who are committed to bringing the tastes of the East and infusing them into the West, but perhaps none have taken it so literally as Miss TeaSmith. A delightful blend of traditional Sri Lankan flavours with contemporary flair, her teas are disrupting Britain’s traditional tea-drinking culture as we know it.

So what makes Miss TeaSmith so special?

I hand blend Sri Lankan tea to create bold and intriguing flavours; using a mixture of different spices and herbs, I’ve taken the traditional and familiar and re-imagined it for the modern palate. For example, some of our teas use blood orange, some have beetroot, some contain turmeric. All of our teas are strong and bold, while retaining the delicacy of the tea art.

Where had the idea for starting your own tea business come from?

I’d always wanted to do something with tea; it had been my dream for years to have a tea house. When I quit my job in city, I actually retrained as pastry chef at Le Corden Bleu; whilst this cemented by love for anything sweet, I found the areas I wanted to set up a shop not economically feasible for a start-up. I re-thought my plan, and started to go to farmer’s markets to do hands-on market research. Quickly it became apparent that despite the fact I could make brilliant cakes, it was my Ceylon (Sri-Lankan) tea they loved the most.

I started to research from the public how often they were drinking tea, what they liked, why they drank tea…I got a flavour profile for the UK, and I was set to create my flavours. I wanted to respect the traditional Sri Lankan roots and flavours, while adapting to the modernised tastes of the consumer.

I now make an Earl Grey and blood orange blend, a Mint Chocolate blend, and a Ginger and Lemongrass blend!

How did you find the skills you’d learnt in your previous line of work translated into being an entrepreneur?

Definitely organisation — I’ve been so used to having everything meticulously planned to the letter, that I can’t not continue to do that in my business. I also think how I interact has been the same — whether it’s across a boardroom or a market stall, giving customers the time to talk, to listen to them, and to respect their opinions, is a really invaluable skillset I’m grateful to have.

What’s been the most difficult part of setting up Miss TeaSmith?

Where do you want me to start! I think, like all start-ups, there are a lot of challenges, but one thing I hadn’t anticipated was just how different working in a corporation is to owning your own business. There’s no infrastructure, and you’re always learning for yourself without the management support working in an office affords.

The UK is a nation of tea-drinkers — how do you find the tea market here?

It’s crowded, competitive, and cut-throat, but it’s also incredibly exciting. I think there’s also a change in consumer mentality, which makes start-ups in the tea space at the cusp of some really big movements in the industry. For years, people have been very brand loyal — PG Tips, Twinings, Yorkshire Tea — but now, people want that provenance, and want to know that they’re getting real tea. I can’t and won’t compete with the likes of Unilever and Procter & Gamble, because I’m in almost an entirely separate market to them, both in taste, history, offering, and tradition.

How important is the Sri Lankan heritage of your tea?

I was born there, so it’s very important as a cultural element for myself and my product. The way tea is made there gives it a level of provenance and respect; Sri Lanka’s unique landscape gives its teas its renowned complexity in flavour and its characteristic strength and fragrance, and so the very soil, as well as the country, is a core ingredient of our teas. For the more subtle blends, we use black tea from the highlands. The humidity and the contrast of cool temperatures and the rich soil produce a delicate aroma and flavour. For a fuller punchier taste, we use tea from the lower slopes and plains, which have a richer flavour with a real kick to it.

Thank you for talking to us! If you want to read a bit more about Miss TeaSmith, or get your hands on some of their tea, feel free to check out their website here, or their Instagram here.

If you’d like to see what connections Forward Fooding could offer your start-up, feel free to get in touch with us at info@forwardfooding.com! You can also add your company to our FMCG trends section on our platform to get free visibility within our corporate and investors’ network here.

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