Rwandan tea has always been very important to us. As part of our ethical scheme we’ve supported the tea-growing communities there for the past 12 years and our founders, Nick and Louise, have recently returned from a week-long visit to Rwanda with our charity partner, The Point Foundation. They were able to witness first-hand how our donations are used on a daily basis, and this has spurred us on even more in our mission to give back to these wonderful communities.
We currently donate from every pack of everyday brew, a blend of three black teas, one of which is Rwandan (that’s the one that gives it such a wallop!). Rwanda happens to be something of a tea taster’s hidden gem, growing some of the best tea in the world, and this gave us the brilliant idea of creating a single estate Rwandan blend. We would develop a wonderful product which gives a beautifully powerful and intense tea and, at the same time, raise even more money for Rwanda. The perfect plan!
Louise immediately sprang into action and our new product, Single Estate Breakfast Tea, is the result of her endeavours, with 100% of the tea sourced from the Pfunda tea estate near Gisenyi. It’s brisk and strong, it withstands a good amount of biscuit dunking (essential for any black tea), and the best part? 50p from each pack - our biggest donation to date - will go The Point Foundation as part of our ethical scheme.
What makes this tea even more special is its packaging. You will notice that it differs somewhat from our usual range, and this is because it was created by a student from the House of Children, a Rwandan school supported by teapigs for a number of years. We thought it would be wonderful to involve the students by running a summer pack design competition, and we absolutely love the top entry by Muhire, aged 9. During their recent visit, Nick and Louise were lucky enough to meet Muhire and present her with the packs of tea showcasing her prizewinning talents!
Louise, our tea taster says:
‘A single estate breakfast tea like no other – it’s strong, tastes great with milk and is an ideal replacement for your regular cuppa! And it does good too – what’s not to love!?’
You can shop our new single estate tea online or find it in select Waitrose & Partners.
