Earl Grey descendants sell English tea to China
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Tregothnan British tea is seen at a tea house in the Hongqiao Antique and Tea Center in downtown Shanghai on Jan 25, 2013. An estate owned by descendants of the 19th century British aristocrat for whom Earl Grey tea was named is turning history on its head by selling English tea to China. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Evelyn Boscawen (left) and his wife Katharine, pose for a photograph at their home, the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Production manager Brian Eyers (right) and tea volunteer Brian Bowden work in a drying room at the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 15, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Production manager Brian Eyers cuts a Manuka plant at the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 15, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Wesley Goldsworthy holds a basket with tea leaves at the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Tea packages are displayed in a shop at the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 15, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Tregothnan British tea is seen at a tea house in the Hongqiao Antique and Tea Center in downtown Shanghai on Jan 25, 2013. An estate owned by descendants of the 19th century British aristocrat for whom Earl Grey tea was named is turning history on its head by selling English tea to China. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Evelyn Boscawen (left) and his wife Katharine, pose for a photograph at their home, the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Production manager Brian Eyers (right) and tea volunteer Brian Bowden work in a drying room at the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 15, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Production manager Brian Eyers cuts a Manuka plant at the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 15, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Wesley Goldsworthy holds a basket with tea leaves at the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Tea packages are displayed in a shop at the Tregothnan Estate near Truro in Cornwall on Jan 15, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
TRURO, England (REUTERS) - An estate owned by descendants of the 19th century British aristocrat for whom Earl Grey tea was named is turning history on its head by selling English tea to China.
The Tregothnan estate in the south-western English county of Cornwall started selling tea from its tiny plantation in 2005 and last year produced about 10 tonnes of tea and infusions.
Although a drop in the ocean of global tea production, which the UK Tea Council estimated to be about 4.3 million tonnes, Tregothnan has found a niche for its products by trading on England's historical reputation as a nation of tea-lovers.
"It's unique. There's no one else who's growing tea in England and putting English tea on the market," owner Evelyn Boscawen told Reuters.
