something special

“The main difference between us and other tea producing countries is that the cost of our labour is massively higher,” says Tregothnan’s garden director Jonathon Jones. “However, we are also producing a very special tea here, which costs a large amount to produce in terms of growing, establishment time, processing and development.” This results in a higher price for Tregothnan teas compared to mass-market alternatives. A 10-sachet box of Tregothnan’s blended Classic tea retails at £4.10, making the price per cup approximately 18 times more expensive than mass-market blends. A 2.5g pack of first flush Tregothnan Single Estate fresh tea leaves costs in the region of £90, which is not unusual for first flush teas, says Jonathon. In China, some rare Single Estate teas, processed with a lot of care and pride, retail at more than £2,000 a kilo.