CafeBuyer-2020

retail and the total Yorkshire Tea range has recently been named as Good Housekeeping readers’ favourite tea brand in their annual food awards. Cafés want their customers to have a fantastic experience and serving their favourite brew can contribute to this.” In fact, in Yorkshire Tea’s recent research, 48% of tea drinkers are more likely to visit an out-of-home outlet if it served a quality tea. “Café buyers can be confident that we offer the same strength across all products,” says Natalie. “So regardless of where a consumer drinks their brew, they will get the exceptional taste they expect from Yorkshire Tea.” A great tasting brew that both tastes good and does good; perhaps that’s why it’s stood the test of time? “We’re still family owned today and even though we have grown a little since 1886, our values haven’t changed,” says Natalie. “We’ve never compromised on our love of fairness, flavour and quality, and we’re still utterly devoted to the art of tea.” T aylors of Harrogate, makers of Yorkshire Tea, has won the hearts of tea drinkers around the world. But the company, whilst steeped in tradition, is evolving, winning carbon neutral status for all its products from field to shelf. Instead of shopping for carbon credits from existing programmes, Taylors has taken a characteristically ‘proper’ approach. “We decided to create new projects that would provide long term benefits to tea producers,” says Simon Hotchkin, Taylors’ head of sustainable development. “We’re passionate about making a positive difference in the world and this milestone is one of many we have in our sights. We are far from done!” Back to black... Great ethics are one thing, but when it comes to a good brew taste is king...”Research shows black tea is still the most consumed type of tea drunk YORKSHIRE TEA @specialityfood out of home, and the favoured type of tea across the day, so it is really important that cafés can offer their customers a satisfying, proper, everyday brew,” says Natalie King, out- of-home account manager for Taylors of Harrogate. “Data shows Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite tea by value in grocery AKINDER BREW We’re passionate about making a positive difference; this milestone is one of many in our sights SIMON HOTCHKIN, HEAD OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The historic company’s journey to carbon neutrality began in 2015 with an independent audit to measure and verify the volume of carbon emitted into the atmosphere by the business. Importantly the investigations looked not just at Taylors’ UK operations, but at every stage of the supply chain from tea bush to supermarket shelf. Yorkshire Tea then embarked upon a unique programme which supported projects directly within its tea supply chain, ensuring they balanced emissions while FROM THE BUSH TO BAG also supporting the tea farms and communities on which the brand depends. “Just one example of this is Yorkshire Tea’s work with TIST (The International Small Group and Tree Planting Programme) to encourage smallholder tea farmers to plant fruit and nut trees around tea gardens,” says Natalie. “These trees help the environment by soaking up carbon, but also provide valuable secondary incomes, along with shade and food. So far, this project has helped to plant over 1.5 million trees around the Mount Kenya region with over 4,000 tea farmers.” The brand has also worked on sustainability beyond its supply chain, switching to 100% renewable energy at its Harrogate headquarters. It’s helping suppliers weather the Covid-19 crisis, too. “Suppliers told us one of the key ways we can support them throughout the pandemic is to keep buying what we’ve said we will,” says Natalie. “Long term contracts and responsible trading practices are cornerstones of our sourcing approach and the foundations of the way we work won’t change during these tricky times.” Its Yorkshire Tea has long won plaudits for taste, but now Taylors of Harrogate has added ethics to the pot 10