Tea innovator Krisi Smith
Krisi smith, 31, co-founded the tea mixology brand Bird & Blend (formerly the Bluebird tea Co.) with her husband mike in 2013. they live in Brighton.
I’VE always dreamed of setting up my own business, but tea was an odd choice for me. I didn’t drink it until I went to Durham University to study politics, where I felt I had to when getting to know people.
It was there I met Mike. He was my flatmate, then boyfriend. We bonded over a love of skiing, and after graduation, he took a job in Canada as a ski instructor. I followed him to the Rocky Mountains.
After six months of being a ski bum, I’d maxed out my credit card. So I took a job at a tea blending company called David’s Tea. It was like working at a cocktail bar — I learned all about tea mixology.
In the UK, no one was doing fun tea flavours, so if, like me, you didn’t enjoy traditional hot drinks, you were stuck. I knew a lot of food and drinks trends came from North America, and realised there was a gap in the market back home. This was my lightbulb moment.
I remember telling Mike my idea four months into my job. He thought I was bonkers. It meant giving up our flat, car and life in Canada, using up our £5,000 savings and moving back in with our parents. But I convinced him. I came up with cocktail and sweet-inspired recipes, and we packed the teas in our bedroom and sold them at small markets, festivals and online.
At first, we faced snobbery, as many tea brands are hundreds of years old and have rules about cup size and the weight of tea leaves — and here we were, adding in marshmallows and fruit chunks.
But we won people over, and in 2014 we opened a shop in Brighton, using a £25,000 government startup loan. Over the next few years we opened in Cardiff, Nottingham, Bristol, Manchester, Tunbridge Wells and London’s Borough Market and Angel. The shops offer a pick ’n’ mix-esque experience — our aim is to be the Lush of tea.
Today, our turnover is £3 million. We have a range of 100 blends, with bases including black, white, green, herbal, oolong, rooibos, and fruit. We also have the largest range of matcha flavours in the world. All of our drinks are healthy, low-calorie and low-sugar — so we have a rather accidental following of Slimming World fans.
Our mission is to spread happiness, one cup at a time. Tea really does have the power to bring people together. People say we’re the tea company for those who don’t even like tea!