Member Article

Young Newcastle tea entrepreneurs brew further regional success with Darlington win

Blossoming loose leaf tea startup Easy Teasy, which now supplies its produce to the likes of Fenwicks, is growing its clientele across the region, hooking up with its first Darlington-based stockist.

Tom Webb, 23 and Luci Cowie, 21, owners of Newcastle-basedEasy Teasy, are now supplying Maison Royale, a design store based at the Cornmill Shopping Centre, with their range of fine loose leaf tea and handcrafted glass tea ware.

The boutique is best known for showcasing a range of original designs and products from over 20 talented local artists and craftspeople, brought together by Angela Kingsley, founder of Maison Royale.

The tea purveyors agreed the deal after impressing Angela with their assortment of 18 loose leaf tea flavours, including Peach Sencha Green Tea and Orange Blossom Oolong and newly developed tea-infused chocolate.

It is a range that sees many of the teas, including Pai Mu Dan and Yunnan Green, developed in their purest form, with all processing happening immediately after the tea is plucked in China before being imported into the UK to be packed.

The company’s flavoured teas are produced with the help of artisan blenders based in the UK, ensuring a high level of quality and expertise goes into each individual blend. The duo aim to ensure their teas are sourced through members of the Ethical Tea Partnership, so they know exactly who is growing it as well as safeguarding farmers and producers.

Set up in 2014 by the former Northumbria University students following a shared pot of bad tea, the company was formed as part of a university module designed to give students a real world experience of running a company.

The startup triumphed in local and regional heats in the Young Enterprise Start-up programme, before going on to win Best Investment Proposal and Best Trade Stand awards at the national final in Manchester.

Luci Cowie, said: “We really admire Maison Royale’s ethos of supporting local artists and craftspeople in the North East and it’s a perfect match for our target market – especially in the run up to Mother’s Day.

“Maison Royale is the first stockist of Easy Teasy products in the Teesside region and Angela’s been really helpful showcasing our products to the Cornmill shoppers - we’re so pleased to be a part of such a quirky and unique store.”

Angela Kingsley, of Maison Royale said: “Tea drinking is rising rapidly in popularity and specialist teas could be as just popular as coffee very soon. Easy Teasy has a strong brand, great flavours and a wonderful contemporary range of accessories for making tea.

“Also, being located in the North East, we love to support our home grown brands and currently showcase products from over 65 local artists, designers and makers who supply our store with a wonderful and unique range of products. Plus, I am a huge tea fan!”