The finest tea blend exclusively for the Windsor Farm Shop
Published by
Windsor Great Park
Jul 25 2024
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Our partnership with family-run tea-makers, P.M. David Silva & Sons (PMD), brings you three exclusive single-origin teas of the finest quality to take you through the day.
A classic collection created for the Windsor Estate
14 years ago, family-run tea-makers P.M. David Silva & Sons were asked to develop a tea collection of the finest quality exclusively for the Windsor Farm Shop.
Together we created a classic collection which focuses on ‘flavour first’.
The collection takes inspiration from society’s tea drinkers over 200 years ago. During that time, the tea taken in the morning was very different to the tea enjoyed in the late afternoon.
Do you know where your tea comes from?
The starting point was to develop three classic, tailor-made teas, each with a unique sense of ‘place’. This starts with knowing exactly where every tea leaf originates.
Despite tea being the world’s second most consumed beverage, after water, most tea drinkers do not know where their tea comes from. Many household tea brands do not include this information on their labelling because the tea used can come from a wide range of sources.
Our collaboration changes that.
Tea with provenance
Each tea in the exclusive Windsor Farm Shop collection is made from the finest single origin Ceylon tea grown in the mountains of Sri Lanka. On each tin you will see not just the country the tea is from, but which district.
You wouldn’t expect any less from the labelling on a bottle of wine, and we’re proud to do the same for our tea.
The lion logo you’ll find on the back of the tin adds to the provenance of our collection. That’s the independent certification of the Sri Lanka Tea Board which confirms it is pure Ceylon tea. It means the tea has not been blended with tea from anywhere else.
With PMD responsible for the entire journey of your tea – from the field right through to arriving in the Windsor Farm Shop – we can trace every step of its journey. We also deliver the freshest possible tea. It takes a matter of weeks to be picked, packed and added to our shelves, rather than the months-long journey taken by some teas.
A tea plantation in Adams Peak, Sri Lanka
A collection to take you through the day
The three flavours in the collection have been carefully crafted for you to savour at different times of the day. Each tea is hand picked to ensure the highest quality.
A tea to start your day
The blueprint for our English Breakfast tea was based on our desire to create a true classic old English Breakfast tea. One that went back in time to evoke the flavour experienced when tea was always hand picked, and savoured by society.
Two estates in the Dimbula and Maskeliya districts of Sri Lanka were selected for this tea. It is tea from this region that first came to Britain and set the standard for what an English Breakfast tea should taste like. The teas from the Maskeliya district add depth and colour to the cup whilst the teas from Dimbula add the flavour.
Seasonality is crucial to the process. At the start of each year, the area of Maskeliya can often experience a drought. It is this lack of water that causes the tea leaves to produce a much more concentrated flavour – ready to be picked for a much deeper taste.
Adams Peak, Maskeliya
The result is our English Breakfast tea which has the strength to get your day off to a great start. The tea has its own unique aroma, can stand up to the addition of milk, and can compete with a hearty breakfast.
An afternoon tea with a close connection to Windsor
The idea of Afternoon Tea was reportedly introduced at Windsor Castle in the early 1840s. This quickly becoming a widespread social event, prior to a fashionable promenade in Windsor Great Park.
Our Afternoon Tea follows in the footsteps of this great tradition and maintains the close connection between Afternoon Tea and Windsor.
We chose to make this blend from the ‘Lovers Leap’ plantation in Nuwara Eliya for a very special reason. In 1954, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh – who was then Ranger of Windsor Great Park – visited Ceylon and planted some tea bushes on Lovers Leap estate.
With such a close connection between this estate and Windsor, it felt very fitting that we should make our Afternoon Tea from it.
Lovers Leap plantation was also selected for the precise flavour we were seeking.
At an elevation of 6,000 feet Chinese tea plants are used as they flourish in colder climates creating an altogether lighter tea. This is the result of the slower growing habit of this plant and its smaller tea leaves.
The lighter flavour, and slight bitterness, is designed to pair beautifully with afternoon tea. The tea brings out the sweetness of afternoon tea trees, particularly slices of cake or scones, clotted cream and jam. Because of its more delicate taste, we wouldn’t recommend putting milk in this one, but that is of course up to you.
Adams Peak, Maskeliya
A tea for all other moments of the day
Earl Grey is an all day classic. We’ve created this refreshing, aromatic option to fit in around your breakfast and afternoon tea breaks.
This all-rounder can be enjoyed on its own, and also pairs well with food.
Sourced from Galle in the Ruhunu region, we add only a touch of bergamot oil to the carefully handpicked tea leaves. This ensures the gentle aroma isn’t too overpowering whilst staying true to the original blueprint of this classic all-day tea.
Why not try a ‘tea tasting’?
Together, our collection has been developed to guide you through different moments of the day.
But why not have some fun and try your own ‘tea tasting’ to see what we mean? Perhaps try both England Breakfast and Afternoon Tea with a slice of cake, and see if you agree with us about which one pairs best. Try them with milk, and without, to see how it affects their taste and which you prefer.
Sustainability
Whilst flavour is critical to our collection, sustainability is at its heart.
That’s why the picking, processing, and packaging all takes place in Sri Lanka ensuring that the value from employment and economic benefits of this thriving industry stay within Sri Lanka.
Our collection arrives with you in biodegradable pyramid tea bags, packed into reusable metal tea caddies and shipped using more environmentally friendly sea freight.
And the majority of the estates PMD work with use hydro or solar technology to generate their electricity. One even uses a zip line powered by solar energy to transport the tea from the higher regions to the factory. Transport via zip line avoids what would be a carbon-intensive 90km daily round trip.
Tea leaf carefully placed into sacks ready to be sent down the zip line
It’s why our collection comes from estates which are all Rainforest and Fair Trade Certified, and part of the Ethical Tea Partnership. The tea is organic and we are transparent about the herbicides and fungicides used.
And it’s why we work with PMD, which has worked with the same tea estates for 70 years allowing them to build direct and personal relationships with the people they work with. These strong relationships ensure that the estates our tea is sourced from, deliver the resident labour populations excellent care. This includes anti-natal care, eye-care, the provision of medical officers and provision of computer labs for children.
Estate life
Time to put the kettle on
Why not put the kettle on and take an extra moment to savour the unique taste and flavour of the Windsor Farm Shop tea collection?
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