Canton story

An oolong tea so fragrant, intoxicating and moreish that it changed her life.

Back in the 1990s, Jennifer Wood was the copywriter for The Body Shop. For many years she had been drinking a tea called Pouchong (Bao zhong) from the mountains of Taiwan. It was an oolong tea so fragrant, intoxicating and moreish that it changed her life: in 2007 she founded Canton Tea on the strength of it.

" Wow. That Pouchong: big, fat, juicy, whole green leaves with heady notes of honeysuckle and soft ripe fruit. It was sent to us each season from a family friend with a tea farm in the mountains of Taiwan.  It was the top grade award-winning tea, reserved for government ministers, close family and a few very fortunate friends. We had no idea we were drinking one of the most expensive teas in the world. To give you an idea, if served in a five star hotel a pot of this tea would cost around £500.

It was 2007 and the UK was by no means ready for tea at this level, but I had decided it was time to wake people up to this astonishing tea and I wanted Pouchong. There were other grades (also outstanding) from the same garden so we bought them. We travelled to small farms in China and chose some superb classic teas, and we built a website.  Canton was born. We got a few things wrong in the beginning, but we always got the tea right. Always."

Jennifer Wood

Edgar Thoemmes, another family friend, a dedicated gourmand, financial analyst and intuitive entrepreneur joined Jennifer at the start. He takes up the story . . .

‘It was 2007 and the start of a big recession, so if you can get through the first few years things should get easier - right? We got though but they didn’t get much easier!  We had no idea just how reluctant people were to pay a fair price for this incredible tea and most people in the trade figured loose leaf was a hassle.  We persevered with our vision and now at last the market is beginning to catch up. That’s why we’re at the forefront of the sector and experienced in supplying discerning partners with great teas. We thought the world was ready for us in 2007. It is now.” 

Edgar Thoemmes

Real tea isn’t cheap and dusty, stacked high in the supermarket. It’s truly beautiful. Steeped in ancient history.  People who drink Canton know this. They understand tea the way we do. Canton is served in some of the most exclusive hotels and restaurants in the world. Luxury doesn’t do it justice. Everything is high grade. It’s beyond premium. It’s a work of art.

Canton values

We buy fresh tea each season, direct from small, traditional gardens where tea bushes have grown for hundreds of years.  

This is an important point of difference for Canton as many tea companies buy from wholesalers with general region and vague season

Authentic farms where every leaf is treated exactly the way it should be: handpicked and handcrafted to tease out the sweetest notes and the most complex flavours. Most of our teas are beyond organic, some are biodynamic, several are from tea farms abandoned many years ago with trees allowed to grow untamed, others are from wild native trees in the forests of Yunnan.