A Guide to Tea: Your Everyday Brew

It is interesting to think that our everyday morning cup of tea has such a rich history. Tea has been around for centuries, in which it is constantly evolving in flavour. Every sip is a complex flavour profile, experiencing a multitude of flavour notes and subtle changes.

Tea is often thought of as being a quintessentially British, and we have been drinking it for over 350 years. But the story of tea begins in China. In 2737 BC, the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree. His servant poured him boiled drinking water, in which then, some leaves from the tree blew into his water. The Chinese Emporer decided to try the infusion. The tree was a Camellia sinensis, and the resulting drink was what we now call tea.

Ethical Tea Partnership

We are proud that all of our Bristol Twenty tea is sourced through the Ethical Tea Partnership. Not only are our loose leaf pyramid tea bags environmentally friendly, but we also care about where our tea comes from and the people who make it. The Ethical Tea Partnership, a not-for-profit organisation that works with tea farms to improve the livelihoods of the tea farmworkers as well as the environment the tea is produced and the sustainability of the process.

Environmental Impact

At Bristol Twenty Coffee, we strive to recycle and re-use whenever and wherever possible. We recently had all of our packaging redesigned so that it could be as environmentally friendly as possible.

All of our teabags, from the bulk wholesale options to the speciality blends, are made from Soilon. Soilon is a plant-based material and contains no nasty plastics.
Soilon features a mesh filter teabag with a much longer string in comparison to other teabags available on the market, meaning they are perfect for use in a variety of different cups and mugs.

The outer mesh bag, strings and tags are composed of biomass materials derived from plants, making it a much more environmentally friendly and renewable option. Kinder to the environment while offering customers the same fantastic quality and flexibility they have come to expect.
Discover the full range of Bristol Twenty speciality teas

All of our new packaging is either fully compostable, recycled, recyclable, reusable or all of the above. Our philosophy is simple: we want to help you serve the very best range of hot drinks possible in the most sustainable way we can.

Types of Tea

• Black Tea 

Black tea can vary hugely in taste as it is fully oxidised, meaning that molecules in the tea react with the oxygen. This gives the leaves a rich, flavour in a dark brown, almost black, colour as well as being higher in caffeine. Black tea is the most common variety of tea, making up 90% of the tea consumed in the western world.

Many black teas in the market are flavoured with fruit, spices or even flower petals, or infused with essential oils to enhance the original flavour of the tea. The natural depth and richness in black tea makes it perfect for experimenting with flavours.

Bristol Twenty Tea Range: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Assam, Decaf English Breakfast, Lapsang Souchong.

• Green Tea 

Unlike black tea, green tea is heated to stop oxidisation in order to preserve the fresh taste of the tea as well as the greenish colour that is presented.

This is exactly the reason why green tea should not be brewed with boiling hot water as it is far more delicate in comparison to an ordinary black tea. If the water is too hot it will make your green tea bitter. It is always best to leave the water too cool in the kettle for 2-3minutes before pouring onto your tea leaves. This way it will have cooled down enough to not extract the tannins from the tea and leave you with the full flavour intended.

Bristol Twenty Tea Range: Yunnan Green, Jasmine.

• Herbal & Fruit Tea

Our Bristol Twenty fruit and herbal teas are blended with a mix of fruit, herbs, spices and flowers. This means that our herbal and fruit teas and caffeine-free, from Rooibos, Red Bery and Lemon and Ginger tea.

Our extensive range of flavours in our fruit and herbal teas come from a variety of ingredients, from the natural sweetness of camomile flowers to bright, tart berries and Jasmine.

As our fruit and herbal infusions don’t contain caffeine (tea), there is no bitterness to the tea from over brewing. The longer your brew your tea leaves, the richer and more intense flavour you get.

Bristol Twenty Tea Range: Rooibos, Red Berry, Peppermint, Camomile Flowers, Lemon and Ginger, Chai. *NEW* Christmas Cookie Tea

Explore their ranges of teas HERE!

Our Top Pick

We are all starting to get into the Christmas spirit, so what better way to look ahead to the festive season than with our new Christmas Cookie Tea.

Brew yourself a cup of festive cheer with this luxurious fruity, Christmasy treat – Christmas Cookie Tea.

We’ve taken the essence of Christmas flavours and blended them together in just the right proportions to give a fruity, warming, spicy cup that will make you want to wear a Christmas hat when you drink it.

The ingredients for this tea contain Hibiscus and Rosehip shells for colours, apple pieces and orange peel for sweetness and zestiness and cinnamon and ginger to complete this festive flavour profile!

Shop their Christmas range HERE!