It was reportedly considered by Winston Churchill during WWII when imports were threatened, but when it was discovered that the camellias required a 6 year establishment period the plan was scrapped in favour of stockpiling dried tea. Tregothnan knew from the outset that the first English tea would be very special and sought after.

Our tea is incredibly fresh, often reaching you within weeks of plucking. Whilst each tea sachet is individually foil wrapped we recommend storing loose tea in a caddy to preserve flavour and freshness.

Tregothnan usually picks from April to October. A bush is plucked for its top ‘two leaves and a bud’ at least once a month during the season. These tips are the ultimate flavour and softness to create perfect tea. They grow at the end of each branch and are strictly limited in quantity.

Most Tregothnan teas are single estate, meaning they are pure, unblended, homegrown leaves. To ensure that every cup is as delicious as the last, our named blends will say what the blend includes. Popular blends such as Afternoon tea should include leaves from Darjeeling. True Breakfast blends (including Classic & GREAT) will include typically 5% to 10% Assam leaves, from north India. Added to our tea, blending maintains consistency and our own unique character. The delicate nature of tea means that each plucking varies in taste. Thomas Lipton pioneered tea blending for consistency in order to create a successful brands, using techniques that were soon adopted by the Scottish Whisky distillers.

Yes, all other ‘teas’ are tisanes or herbal infusions.

Black ‘Classic’ tea has five main stages of processing: Pluck, wither, roll, oxidize, dry. The oxidation stage is missed out in the green tea production. The leaves could potentially come from the same bush.

Tregothnan supplied the first tea bushes to keen gardeners in Scotland in 2002 and has enabled dozens of plantings from the far north of Scotland to the islands. The climate is quite different to Tregothnan and special measures are needed to get tea to stay alive in challenging conditions. Our hardiest selections have been planted in dozens of sites across Scotland with limited success. We strongly advise testing a few bushes in any new location before investing in dozens or hundreds of plants. A number of growers are finding seedling tea is hardier and better suited to harsh conditions.

Tregothnan has advised a number of potential sites, from Aberdeenshire to Pembrokeshire and in Europe from Ireland to Portugal. In every case it is sensible to start with a small number of bushes as no other site has the benefit of two centuries of Camellia growing that has been so essential to Tregothnan. Whether Yorkshire, Lancashire or Pembrokeshire tea can join Tregothnan in actually growing within the UK should be known in the next decade.

Tea cuttings are taken from specially selected plants that give the best flavour and the resulting plants are identical to the selected parents, also know as vegetative propagation. Seedlings give variable results and are not favoured by the leading tea gardens of the world. However, if you wish to grow tea in cold or challenging conditions then seedlings can give a serviceable tea bush. The flavours of seedling tea are variable and will lack the consistency of tea from cuttings but can prove hardier. The inimitable conditions at Tregothnan include centuries of Camellia expertise and selections for taste, hardiness and good Camellia breeding as well as the soil and microclimate. We will select the form of tea bush that we believe has the best chance of thriving in your location.

There are many reasons why leaves can become brown on tea bushes and typically include physical or cold damage. Scorching from sunlight being magnified on droplets of water is also common. No ‘evergreen’ plant will keep its leaves forever and the old ‘maintenance’ leaves on tea bushes do eventually fall off. Leaves are more likely to fall off in winter months especially when the plants are young.

If you have a query or concern regarding your tea bush or wish to share with us how well it is growing then please email us a picture here.

These symptoms suggest a lack of nutrients – particularly nitrogen. A potential treatment will be spring applied nitrogen rich fertiliser either as a granula or soluable format to the compost.

Ensure the compost does not completely dry out but it not water logged.

When they are more established tea bushes typically flower in the autumn. New leaves will shoot from late spring to early autumn.

Tregothnan was the first place in the world to grow Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) outside New Zealand. The pioneering plants were introduced to the Cornish estate in the 1880s, thriving in the uniquely mild, ocean-tempered microclimate. Today, those early plantings have matured into extensive stands of Manuka, providing the nectar for Britain’s only estate-grown Manuka Honey. From Tregothnan, Leptospermum entered cultivation in many locations, with its variants becoming popular garden plants.

Tregothnan honey is sold as floral rather than medicinal, reflecting the diversity of Tregothnan’s botanical landscape and the clean environment that surrounds our hives. We do not apply UMF or MGO ratings – these are trademarked systems created for New Zealand producers, designed to measure antibacterial properties rather than floral character. Instead, we celebrate provenance, purity, and taste.

Tregothnan’s Manuka Honey represents scale, history, and authenticity: a rare combination of heritage planting, sustainable estate management, and exceptional beekeeping. Our experience in the global Manuka story have led to invitations from Australian producers to help long-running discussions with New Zealand counterparts over naming rights and authenticity.

Our Honey bees are relied upon to produce Manuka honey in New Zealand as the native species there does not produce.

Bees do not live on a single species of nectar and although the prolific manuka flowering provides the unique flavour, it cannot be monofloral. This is also true in New Zealand where the Manuka is less dense growing as it does intersperse with other native flora. At Tregothnan the Manuka stands are much denser, surrounded by acres of tea that do not flower until September.