“Brits don’t drink tea like they used to” – meet the entrepreneur inspiring a new generation of tea-drinkers by introducing global flavours to the UK

When London local Kevin Tang first moved to the capital, he was surprised to discover that young Brits seemed to be falling out of love with ‘the cuppa’.

Determined to create a new generation of tea-drinkers, he dedicated himself to bringing unconventional blends and flavours to the capital, creating tea brand KAYTEA in the process.

While growing up in Asia and North America, tea was a big part of Kevin’s life for many years.

“Tea is very ceremonial in East Asian cultures. If we had company over, my parents would always have the tea sets out and make green tea. I was exposed to that tea culture a lot as a kid, it was a way to build connections with people”.

After moving to London at the age of 18, Kevin noticed that the British tea-drinking stereotype didn’t seem to ring true.

“For a tea-drinking nation, it’s not popular amongst gen Zs and millennials. Tea culture got lost in London in a sea of Starbucks and independent hipster coffee shops. Bubble teas and cold brews have blown up across Asia and North America, but it’s lost its limelight here. I think there’s still potential for it to be the way we build connections again here in London”.

With the mission to create a new generation of tea-drinkers, Kevin began making his own blends at home which quickly started gaining the attention of the younger generation.

“I was making ceremonial Japanese matchas and adding lemon to cancel out its bitterness, or traditional Chinese jasmine teas with grapefruit to balance out its botanical flavour. I loved putting my own spin on traditional teas and I think that’s what people responded to the most”.

Kevin fell in love with tea-making, and soon left his career in finance to focus on bringing tea to a new generation of tea-drinkers and re-introducing it to popular culture in England.

“The financial industry is very dog-eat-dog and everyone’s always so tense. There’s something so intrinsically satisfying about bringing something I loved as a child to the UK and seeing people respond positively to it. We’ve launched into over 200 stockists across the country with the potential for a national listing this summer. I want KAYTEA to be a household name”.