Renowned Edinburgh tea blenders, PekoeTea are expanding and launching a new Edinburgh Tea Studio this summer.
After eleven years at the vanguard of the Scottish tea world, Esther Kungu-Cooper and Jon Cooper are moving PekoeTea from its Leven Street store on Edinburgh’s south side to a striking new base on the city’s Leith Walk.
The specially designed PekoeTea Studio will continue to offer a space for customers to taste and browse the extensive range of teas; as well as the opportunity for private blending experiences and events that help share the team’s knowledge and love of teas from across the world. The Studio also allows the team to provide specialist training for wholesale clients and produce online workshops that can be used to spread the word to the company’s increasingly global audience. With an increased focus on their digital presence, the PekoeTea Studio also provides a useful creative space to facilitate product design and photography, alongside blend development.
Co-owner, Esther said:
“We’re delighted to announce this move. Over the last few years, PekoeTea has been consistently recognised for its knowledge and stand-out tea blends. Our new Tea Studio is more than double the size of our existing store and will allow our customers to attend special events and taste more teas than ever before. With Covid 19 there has been a big move away from traditional retail and our new studio allows us to further enhance our digital presence, ensuring that our brand is recognised further afield.
In a curious coincidence, the new studio is just a few doors down from what was originally a Melrose tea and coffee house, and there’s also a strong history of tea in Leith – it was once one of the UK’s most important centres of tea importation – so this feels like something of a homecoming.”
Working directly with tea growers from Scotland to Sri Lanka, Kenya to China, PekoeTea sources the finest single-estate teas, to create unique handcrafted blends: the only company in Scotland to specialise in such blending techniques rather than relying on pre-flavoured teas. Jon and Esther produce a range of teas: from black, white and green teas, to oolong, fruit and herbal blends. A selection of five whisky teas have also been specially blended by hand and flavoured with real Scotch single malt whisky; alongside a Whisky Fudge Tea.
Bespoke blends can be created privately for customers, and seasonal flavours like a comforting Christmas blend with flavours of apple, cinnamon, cloves, and orange or a summery Orange Blossom Oolong are also available at certain times of year. All PekoeTeas are loose leaf and many are also available in biodegradable pyramid teabags.
PekoeTea is set to move from its current store by the end of July with the new Tea Studio set to open in late summer 2021. The existing PekoeTea store will continue to trade after reopening on 27th April until the new shop is ready.
PekoeTea takes a comprehensively ethical approach to trading: from sourcing to selling teas. It is an accredited Living Wage Foundation employer.
Find out more about PekoeTea or order online at www.pekoetea.co.uk.