We go to the ends of the earth...
To make sure we source the best & most unique flavours
Our tea story
Hello, I'm Dan. In 2008 I was working in national press, wondering why nobody would pay for a newspaper, but everybody would visit a café to pay handsomely for a coffee.
I then wondered why was tea – our national drink – not part of this change in consumer spending.
Curious about the incongruence, I decided to find out.
Books about tea told me that for hundreds of years it was a luxury that only very few could afford. This astonished me! I couldn’t reconcile ‘luxury’ with the wretched tea of the day.
So I spent my weekends driving to shopping centres to quiz everyone with a coffee cup in their hand (what about tea?).
The responses (I still have the questionnaires!) were encouraging. So I looked to the experts. At the British Library (now serving my tea!) I found industry reports. Within these reports I noticed a growth in demand for ‘specialist’ teas. It seemed demand existed, but there was no supply to meet it.
Looking back, I realize this was the moment I began the long quest to source luxury tea.
Two years (and several thousand cups) later I hosted some Summer ‘Tea Parties’ (outside) and a cold, snowy Winter market stall (also outside). The following year I found my first wholesale customer (thanks Joe!) and by the Summer I had a few more. So I sold my fishtank (sorry fish) and worked on my last newspaper.
CHASH was born!
Within 2 years my flat had no more space to store tea (boxes piled up around the TV!) so the tea moved to a warehouse in north London. I couldn’t afford to keep the flat so I put a bed in one of the rooms, the TV in another and moved in with the tea.
By 2015 (why is it always 2 years?!) I was able to move out the warehouse and get a dog (Hi Jasper) and watch telly free from boxes of tea.
Along the way I have been lucky to meet some great people in the industry. I owe thanks to them and especially my incredible Mum. CHASH wouldn’t be here without her (still tirelessly working for minimum wage).
Hopefully, in our small way CHASH is meeting the demand for luxury tea. After all, – If ‘Tea Makes Everything Better’ shouldn’t we be drinking better tea?
Follow our Instagram story
Social media gives us the chance to keep in touch, let you know what we’re up to and have a little chat. We like to have a bit of fun so while we take tea pretty seriously, our posts are often not so serious.
You’ll receive updates on new teas, introductions to venues that serve our tea and a glimpse into the (relentless) tastings we do!
Keep checking in. You'll see a different side to tea.