Switzerland, often associated with its stunning mountain landscapes, sumptuous chocolates, and renowned watchmaking heritage, is also home to a thriving and lesser-known treasure – a rich tea culture that spans generations.
Nestled in this Alpine paradise is the London Tea Company, one of the oldest tea trading companies. It offers a variety of over 300 loose-leaf teas, pyramid sachets, tea bags, and teaware, making it a haven for tea enthusiasts, a go-to supplier for the catering industry, and a preferred choice for restaurants. Whether indulging in matcha lattes at trendy cafes or savouring artisanal tea tastings at their charming tea house, the London Tea Company is a cornerstone of Switzerland’s tea culture.
With a legacy dating back to 1896, the family-run business leverages its connections with key traders in England and Germany. Today, London Tea mainly focuses on two key tea traders in Hamburg that source small tea samples of multiple qualities from the world’s top tea gardens and present them to European trading companies.
This decade-long partnership allows London Tea Company to access new selections and handpick the finest teas before anyone in the industry. The partners nurture a deep understanding of London Tea Company’s tea preferences, often anticipating its needs without explicit instructions, ensuring the availability of the right teas.
London Tea Company evaluates two samples for the first batch when sourcing teas, focusing on quality to provide the best teas. Its customer base relies on past feedback and direct engagement, aligning its selections with customer preferences.
“Staying true to our family’s legacy, we honour our tradition while embracing innovation and considering new approaches to meet changing customer demands,” says Noel Bisang, member of executive board of London Tea Company.
The company still dispatches bills by post in Switzerland, offering a 30-day payment window, recognising the preferences of older clientele who prefer traditional banking methods. This dedication to meeting customer expectations is apparent in product quality and accessibility, fostering satisfaction through attention to every detail.
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Staying true to our family’s legacy, we honour our tradition while embracing innovation and considering new approaches to meet changing customer demands
London Tea Company embraces modern social media platforms like Instagram to connect with its audience while cherishing its longstanding multigenerational clientele. One loyal story is about a 75-80-year-old lady who proudly shares her family’s generations-long connection with the company. Continuing her grandmother and mother’s legacy, she continues to buy and enjoy the same tea, preserving her tradition, symbolising a profound generational bond through the products.
The company upholds excellence by placing quality at the forefront. For example, when the second flush of Darjeeling organic teas failed to meet its high standards, the company chose to prioritise quality over organic certification.
The Swiss blending process ensures freshness and precision. Unlike other traders who may blend massive quantities of different teas, the London Tea Company only blends around 20 to 30 kilograms of tea from a single tea garden. It sources the finest organic ingredients for blending, such as orange peel or fragrant lavender. This approach allows it to maintain a constant supply of fresh tea, with a three to four-week blending cycle.
Customers can access herbal and fruit-based teas, including relaxing options like lemongrass and ginger and herbal blends like peppermint. It has developed its own match brand ‘Teishu’, offering a range of five exclusive organic matcha varieties straight from the heart of Japan. Despite strict medical regulations, it promotes tea as a soothing beverage, maintaining transparency about ingredients, origins, heritage, and importation processes to offer holistic services.
Its Basel store provides a unique, knowledge-driven tea experience, justifying slightly higher prices through this approach. While customisation isn’t common, the company focuses on understanding customer needs through relevant questions, considering factors like taste preferences, the kind of origin, herbal or fruit tea, and organic options to match customers with suitable teas.
Customer relationships are maintained by recommending good tea. London Tea Company trains tea baristas in gastronomy and resale. Its collaboration with the Hotelfachschule Zürich has been integral to the regular training courses.
London Tea Company exemplifies a harmonious fusion of tradition and innovation. Preserving its rich heritage and sourcing quality teas, the company accommodates customer preferences, even forsaking organic certification for superior taste and purity.
