Taylors team get festive in Kenyan tea fields

STAFF AT Taylors of Harrogate have taken festive fundraising to the tea fields of Kenya.

A dozen members of staff from the business – from finance and marketing to sourcing and production – travelled to the African country as part of a factfinding mission which saw them visit the farms and factories the company uses to source its tea and coffee.

The visit coincided with plans to mark Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day, so the team donned their festive knitwear to raise money for the charity while on the trip.

Taylors’ brand PR manager Gina Stringer, who was on the trip, said: “On day five of the trip whilst visiting the Kangaita Tea Factory in Kirinyaga County in central Kenya, we stopped off at the highest point of the estate to take a photograph in our Christmas jumpers.

“In 25-degree heat, it was worlds away from Christmas in the UK, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have our own festive celebration among the acres and acres of tea bushes.”

The trip was part of Taylors of Harrogate’s Sourcing Academy, which gives staff the chance to learn more about sourcing and to travel to nations that produce ingredients.

During the latest trip to Africa, the team visited the Tea Research Institute of Kenya, where they saw a vast nursery of tea plant seedlings – including fields of purple tea, a new clone of tea which is high in caffeine and antioxidants.

Tea buyer Simon Hill, who managed this year’s Sourcing Academy, said: “Our suppliers are really important to us and we’ve built strong, longstanding relationships over the years.

“Giving members of the wider team an opportunity to meet them highlights their importance to our business and showcases the amazing work they do, which they’ll then be communicating back to the whole company.”