New Forest Tea Company produce premium tea that won't cost us the earth.

The family firm, based in Lyndhurst, specialises in premium leaf, home compostable teabags that are ethically sourced.

Ian Tiffen told the Daily Echo: "We launched the company in January to run alongside our existing loose leaf tea business. We have lived in the New Forest for nearly 10 years and love being part of the vibrant, small business scene.

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"We had two businesses running at the outset of Covid , one of which we decided to close after a lot of soul searching as we had been planning to launch the New Forest Tea Company and saw it as an opportunity to really put everything we have into the brand.

"Although it would probably be seen as a brave move to launch in a pandemic we felt after the strain that the original lockdown has put on our livelihood it was time to make a change and go for it."

Ian, Kelly and Gracie the dog, the firm's newly appointed 'Head of Tails and Barketing', believe every cup of tea should be an experience to savour.

They only use full leaf tea sourced from the finest estates around the world, which are all part of the Ethical Tea Partnership which ensures better working conditions and education for all the hard-working tea pickers.

They are one of the few tea companies in the UK offering home compostable teabags that contain premium tea and one of the few using compostable packaging. Their ethos is 'leave no trace'.

New Forest Tea Company teas are available in a host of local cafes and venues and their tea is available to buy from their online shop, which also offers tea subscriptions and gift sets paired with other local businesses including mugs from Angels Farm Pottery nearby and biscuits from New Forest Shortbread.

"We also support other local producers by featuring them on our website and sharing their amazing products," said Ian.

"From our previous business we have built a reputation for customer care, providing individual touches to each order that allow us to build an ongoing relationship with each customer. Our ethos is widely supported by our current customers and those who find out about us and our support of other local businesses is also appreciated."

• New Forest Tea Company is our trader of the week. If you'd like us to feature your small local business, click on the link below.