The Tea Experience brews expansion plans

A FORMER Royal Mail human resources manager has lifted the lid on a new career by turning a hobby into a growing online tea business.

Ann Davis from Doncaster set up The Tea Experience, originally selling traditional China teapots, after being inspired by a gift from her husband.

Recovering from breast cancer a few years ago, Mrs Davis was looking for a new direction which would give her the quality of work and lifestyle balance she wanted.

The turning point was the gift of a Yixing ‘purple sand’ China teapot. After learning more about them and frequently being asked by friends where they could buy one, Mrs Davis and her husband Paul decided to sell the teapots themselves.

The business is expanding and now offers a complete tea drinking experience from imported loose tea to teaware and gifts.

The enterprising couple have travelled to the Far East, mainly China, over a number a years and each trip provided the opportunity to try a variety of teas, which made them question the quality of what they were drinking at home.

Importing loose tea from the Far East, Germany and the UK from specialist tea importers and wholesalers, the company strives to ensure consistency of taste and quality for its customers.

Mrs Davis said: “After appreciating the quality of some loose teas versus teabags on our travels, it has become our passion and goal to encourage others to try loose tea.

“We want our customers to enjoy a whole tea experience from trying the very best quality loose teas in the most beautiful traditional teapots. We are still very small, but I can’t believe that my hobby of selling teapots is now growing into a viable website business.

“It’s a very exciting time for us and we are currently investing in new branding and marketing to help build the business further.”

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