Birchall Tea: The Award-Winning British Brand Now at Coffee King

Birchall Tea is one of the UK's most awarded tea brands — a fifth-generation, independent family business founded in 1872, with a reputation built on sourcing the finest high-altitude East African estate teas and packaging them in fully plant-based, biodegradable materials. Every blend in the Birchall range is crafted to deliver a genuinely great cup: bright, flavourful and consistent, whether you're brewing an English Breakfast at 6am or a caffeine-free Peppermint at midnight. At Coffee King Direct, we've brought the complete Birchall core collection into the range because it meets the same standard we apply to our coffee: exceptional quality, ethical sourcing, and a cup that speaks for itself.

Who is Birchall Tea — and Why Does It Matter?

Not all tea brands are created equal. Most commercial tea you encounter in cafés, supermarkets and hotel breakfast rooms comes from commodity blends — mass-produced, price-driven, and built to a specification where cost leads and flavour follows. Birchall operates from a fundamentally different position.

Founded in 1872, Birchall is one of Britain's longest-standing independent tea companies, still family-owned after five generations. That continuity of ownership matters: it means the people making decisions about sourcing, blending and packaging are the same people whose names are on the label, not shareholders optimising for quarterly margin.

The result is a range of teas that consistently punch well above their price point — recognised with multiple consecutive Great Taste Awards, particularly for the Great Rift Breakfast blend, and trusted by premium hospitality venues across the UK who need a tea they can be proud to serve.

At Coffee King, we look for products that share the same philosophy we apply to our own coffee range: start with what a genuinely excellent cup looks and tastes like, then work backwards to the sourcing and process that delivers it. Birchall fits that brief exactly.

Why Does Birchall Source Predominantly from East Africa?

The majority of Birchall's tea is sourced from high-altitude estates in East Africa — Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda in particular. This isn't a marketing decision. It's a flavour decision.

East African tea, grown at altitude in volcanic soils with the right combination of rainfall and sunshine, produces a naturally brighter, more full-flavoured cup than the commodity tea commonly grown at lower altitudes in other regions. The high elevation slows growth, concentrating the natural compounds that give tea its body, brightness and colour. The result is a liquor that is genuinely golden, rich and robust — not pale, flat or astringent.

This is why a Birchall English Breakfast looks and tastes different from a standard supermarket breakfast blend. The sourcing is doing real work in the cup, not just supplying a background for branded packaging to do the selling.

Birchall also holds Rainforest Alliance Certification across its core range, and works with Fairtrade-certified estates on several blends — ensuring that the farms and workers producing the tea are operating under standards that protect both people and environment.

What Does "Plant-Based Tea Bags" Actually Mean?

This is worth understanding properly, because the term is used loosely across the industry.

Most conventional tea bags are made from polypropylene — a plastic polymer used to heat-seal the bag. Even "paper" tea bags often contain a small percentage of plastic to hold their shape, which means they don't fully break down in compost or garden waste. It's a detail most consumers don't know, and one the industry has been slow to address.

Birchall's plant-based bags are made from Soilon — a biopolymer derived from corn starch that is certified home compostable and biodegradable. There is no polypropylene and no plastic in the bag itself. The envelopes are also plant-based, and Birchall holds carbon-neutral certification across its product range — one of the few UK tea brands to do so.

If you're making conscious choices about reducing single-use plastics at home or in your café, Birchall is one of the few mainstream premium tea options where the packaging claim is substantive rather than superficial.

The Complete Birchall Range Available at Coffee King Direct

Coffee King currently stocks six Birchall teas, all in the enveloped 25-bag format — individually wrapped bags that preserve freshness and present well in hospitality or gifting contexts. Here's what each blend delivers:

Birchall English Breakfast Tea — 25 Enveloped Tea Bags

The flagship. A masterful blend of hand-picked East African estate teas producing a bright, golden, full-bodied cup with the strength to hold up well with milk. Rainforest Alliance Certified and Fairtrade. If you drink one cup of tea a day and it's at breakfast, this is the blend to have.
→ Shop Birchall English Breakfast Tea

Birchall Green Tea — 25 Enveloped Tea Bags

Pure whole-leaf green tea from the finest Chinese estates — bright, fragrant and clean with a smooth, refreshing character that's light on the palate. Fairtrade certified. Works equally well as a morning alternative to coffee or as an afternoon drink when you want something restorative without caffeine intensity.
→ Shop Birchall Green Tea

Birchall Peppermint Leaves — 25 Enveloped Tea Bags

A luxurious single-mint herbal infusion made from the finest whole peppermint leaves — not flavouring, not powder, but the actual leaf. Naturally caffeine-free. Cool, clean and refreshing, with a depth of mint character that cheaper peppermint bags don't come close to. Excellent after dinner or any time you want a calming, alcohol-free evening drink.
→ Shop Birchall Peppermint Leaves

Birchall Redbush — 25 Enveloped Tea Bags

South African rooibos sourced from wild Aspalathus linearis — the only plant species from which genuine rooibos can be made. Naturally caffeine-free, high in antioxidants, and with a sweet, earthy character that's deeply comforting. Plant-based biodegradable bags. An excellent choice for anyone who loves tea but is reducing caffeine, or for an evening cup that won't disturb sleep.
→ Shop Birchall Redbush

Birchall Red Berry & Flower — 25 Enveloped Tea Bags

A fruity herbal blend built around invigorating hibiscus and sweet red berries. Naturally caffeine-free, high in antioxidants, and deeply flavourful with a beautiful ruby colour in the cup. Plant-based bags. Works hot or iced — a brilliant summer pitcher drink made simply with cold water and time.
→ Shop Birchall Red Berry & Flower

Birchall Decaffeinated Tea — 25 Enveloped Plant-Based Tea Bags

A premium decaf breakfast blend from the finest East African estate-grown teas — bright, full of flavour and genuinely satisfying in a way that most decaf teas are not. Fully Rainforest Alliance Certified. The right choice when you want the warmth and ritual of a proper breakfast cup without the caffeine — at any time of day.
→ Shop Birchall Decaffeinated Tea

Which Birchall Tea is Right for You?

A quick guide to match the blend to the occasion:

• First cup of the morning, with milk: English Breakfast Tea — the classic for a reason. Bright, strong and properly satisfying.
• Mid-morning, without milk: Green Tea — clean and restorative, with a natural lift that's gentler than coffee.
• Afternoon ritual, caffeine-free: Redbush — sweet, earthy and warming without any of the stimulant effect.
• Evening wind-down: Peppermint Leaves — calming, genuinely refreshing and the ideal digestive after a meal.
• Something fruity, hot or iced: Red Berry & Flower — vibrant, antioxidant-rich and just as good in a cold-brew pitcher as in a mug.
• All-day drinking, no caffeine: Decaffeinated Tea — the breakfast flavour profile without the restriction. Works at any hour.
• Households with mixed preferences: Pick two or three across the range — English Breakfast for the caffeine drinkers, Decaf or Peppermint for the evenings. The enveloped format keeps everything fresh.

How to Brew Birchall Tea Properly

Premium tea deserves the same attention you'd give to a good coffee. These aren't complicated rules — just a few habits that make a measurable difference to the cup.

Water temperature matters more than most people realise

For black teas (English Breakfast, Decaf), use freshly boiled water — as close to 100°C as possible. For green tea, let the kettle cool for 2–3 minutes after boiling before pouring, or aim for around 80°C. Boiling water on green tea strips bitterness out of the leaf that you don't want in the cup.

Don't over-brew

Black teas: 2–3 minutes is plenty. Green tea: 2 minutes maximum. Herbal and fruit infusions (Peppermint, Redbush, Red Berry & Flower): 3–5 minutes, and these can go a little longer without turning bitter because they contain no tannins.

Use filtered water if you're in a hard water area

Hard water — common across much of England — leaves a film on the surface of the cup and dulls the brightness of high-quality tea. A simple water filter makes a genuinely noticeable difference, particularly to lighter teas like Green and Peppermint.

Don't squeeze the bag

Squeezing a tea bag releases additional tannins that add astringency. Lift the bag out cleanly with a spoon and let it drain for a second or two — that's all you need.

Frequently Asked Questions About Birchall Tea