Tea is good for you (and good for the Royal Air Force!)
Our 'tea lady' friend Henrietta Lovell (first encountered at a Jo Malone fragrance session, which paired perfumes with teas) is becoming rather famous. You may have drunk her tea at Hix, or Kettner's, Arbutus or Terroirs (not to mention Copenhagen's Noma, voted the world's No. 1 restaurant), among many other places. At Christmas, Henrietta and her Rare Tea Company were all over Radio Four and the BBC website - listen here - talking about how 'kindness' has helped her business grow. We're all for generosity in business, long having believed that 'positive energy' is good for morale, for team spirit, for employee happiness - and (as a side-effect), good for the bottom line.
Two years ago, Henrietta created a special blend of fund-raising tea for the RAF, with every tin (sold exclusively through Waitrose and her website) raising 50p for RAF veterans. (Henrietta is pictured here with RAF veteran Flt. Lt. Terry Clark, a Bristol Beaufighter gunner who fought in the Battle of Britain.) Now, with the kind help of Waitrose, Rare Tea is giving away 4,000 vouchers for a free tin of RAF Tea at bases throughout the UK, redeemable at stores until 28th February. That's an impressive 160,000 cups of free tea...!
Tea, of course, is also packed with antioxidants and - unlike coffee, which lifts you up and dumps you right back down in the doldrums - delivers a sustained 'lift'. Frankly don't know how we'd get our books finished or our website updated without it. Jo now drinks a special turbo-charged black tea blend, created by Henrietta, which powers her through the day.
If you want to check out her range, click here - and look for it in Waitrose.
PS The Rare Tea Company's Rare Earl Grey also just won a taste test held by the Financial Times, top of 14 teas tried. Unlike most Earl Greys - which use synthetic flavourings - Henrietta sources high-quality natural bergamot from Calabria, which is probably why hers leaves the others standing.