Stephen Twining’s Southern Adventure

We took Stephen on a road trip - for his first ever trip to the South Island. We flew to Dunedin, where he hosted a dinner with Dish Magazine at Bell Pepper Blues where the chef, Michael Couglin, created a six-course dinner featuring Twinings tea as an ingredient in every course. There is a photo of Stephen, Michael and me below.

Stephen and I have been involved in many tea and food tasting evenings all over the world, from New York to London, however this was by far the best tea and food matching I have ever been part of. It was absolutely outstanding, and we all enjoyed a fantastic evening before heading straight onto Christchurch, where we held a series of tea tastings.

Stephen, once again, had a great time in New Zealand and I look forward to more antics during his next visit to our shores early next year!

Stephen Twining & Auckland Events

A lot of people don’t know, but Bell is the NZ distributor for all Twining’s products in New Zealand, and recently we had a visit from a member of the original Twining’s tea family.

Stephen Twining, who is a 10th generation Twining, arrived in New Zealand for an action packed trip. The tour kicked off with a Long Day at the Office where Stephen and I spent 12 hours serving tea at the Office bar at the Westin Auckland, Lighter Quay. We had a great turnout and revealed a few new teas to the NZ palate (and a few tea cocktails as well!). Stephen then officially opened the Twining’s Garden of Chai to celebrate the launch of Chai tea at the Ellerslie International Flower Show, and we spent a few days making thousands of teas for visitors to the show.

The two of us are a great double act, and this trip was no different. We had an absolute blast talking and laughing with people all over New Zealand.

Rwanda Tea Estate

As you may have guessed, I tend to taste a lot of teas! So when I find one that really impresses me – it is quite exciting. This month I was lucky enough to come across tea from a tea estate in Rwanda that I haven’t tasted for a long time.

The tea estate is based in the area of Pfunda and reminded me of some of the very finest teas from this region from 15 years ago, before the country was torn apart by civil war. It grows some of the brightest, liveliest teas in the world. Outstanding!

Image is of Pfunda. Those mountains are in fact volcanoes.

My Birthday!

Well it had to happen - last week I turned 40! Although a few may have assumed I’d celebrate at home, with a cup of tea, I instead decided to have a party... And tea was not the most popular beverage choice on the evening.

A wonderful time was had by all. It was very special to me that Vish Govindasamy made the trip from Sri Lanka. Vish is the head of Watawala Plantations from where we source all our Bell Pure Ceylon Tea and he is a dear friend. Chris Wright, the director and producer of the “Taste of Tea” programme that was part-shot in Sri Lanka, also came with his lovely wife Heidi, so it felt like a Ceylon Tea reunion!

The image below is of of Vish and me in Sri Lanka.

Introducing Twinings Pure Rooibos

Today we released a new Herbal Infusion to the market, Twinings Pure Rooibos. Rooibos is sometimes called Africa’s answer to green tea, because of its health benefits. Rooibos - pronounced ‘roy boss’ and translated to red bush - is delicious with or without milk but has extraordinary feel-good qualities.

I love a cup of Rooibos in the evening with just a little honey. Its smooth refreshing taste has a naturally sweet edge, which is very soothing – one sip and you can see why it is becoming so popular worldwide.

Look out for it in supermarkets, brew it for at least three minutes (because great tea takes three!) and try a cuppa!

Welcome from the Tea Guy

Welcome to my diaries and stories of life in the World of Tea. I am the Master Tea Blender at the Bell Tea Company in New Zealand - somehow I ended up with the nickname Tea Guy and before I knew it the personalised plate for my car even turned up. Anyway I want to share with you some insights into the World of Tea and the kind of things I do as a Master Tea Blender. It is currently buying season in China – the home of tea. From what I hear, this season has produced a great crop due to ideal weather and soil conditions. This is a very exciting time for the tea industry, and I personally can’t wait to hear the review of the harvesting.

Here's to Tea
Matt.