A tea company that still tastes every batch

Steepwell began with three teas, a hand-crank scale and a folding table at the Portland Saturday Market. People kept coming back — not for packaging, but because the tea in the tin actually tasted like the tea we described. That's still the whole idea.

Whole leaf, never dust

The tea-bag trade runs on fannings and dust — the broken bits left after the good leaf is graded out. It brews fast and flat. We buy whole leaf: full twisted black leaves, rolled oolong pellets, unbroken flowers. It costs more and steeps slower, and it's worth every second.

Blended by hand, in small batches

Every blend is cut, mixed and rested in our Portland workshop in batches small enough to taste all the way through. We stamp each tin with the week it was packed, because tea is a fresh product — aromatics fade, and a date keeps us honest about it.

Sourced with care

We buy single-garden and single-estate leaf as directly as we can, favouring growers who pay fairly and farm cleanly. When we can't trace a lot to our standard, it doesn't go in the range. Simple as that.

Thanks for steeping with us. Put the kettle on.

— The team