We're what happens when you go abroad, find something you really like and then can't find it back at home. Added to an opportunity to do something about it and a loving, supporting family. A perfect blend for a herbal tea company!
Sympathy Teas is a family business, run by Jennie, a full time mum of two. As a family we don't drink caffeine (or milk - allergies!) and don't like decaf black tea, so drink stacks of herbal tea. Mostly Mintomile and Rooibos Spice as it happens. We don't know about you, but we find most herbal teas out there to be, well, vile. Particularly the fruity ones. We had the fortune a couple of years ago to visit both Switzerland and New Zealand and found herbal tea companies that made fantastic blends. We waited a while in the UK for someone to make something similar and then thought 'stuff it, we'll make them ourselves'. So, after a great deal of plotting and scheming, out popped Sympathy Teas in October 2007. Since then we've learned a lot about what people like and have launched the favourites in tea bag.
This is the view from Sympathy HQ in South Kilworth - nice isn't it? It helps us keep our focus on being as natural as can be.
We're a happy, active family and we put this before business, so sometimes we may be slow to respond
We use the best ingredients we can find - a lot of our products are organically grown, but we can't call them organic as we're not yet registered with the Soil Association
We treat them with the care and respect we'd hope for from a supplier of loose leaf teas
We're cautious - herbs have effects, so we've had all our blends checked out by a herbalist and will do so for all our future blends
We apply our personal ethics to the business - if we don't like something, we won't do it
We aim to be helpful, responsive and friendly - if we're not, we're sorry!
We're open to ideas
We want to source locally, but are stumped by the fact that most herbs and spices that are available come from overseas - if you know of UK herb and spice suppliers, let us know!
