Turkish Delight from top blender Suki Tea

Award winning tea blender Suki Tea in Northern Ireland has launched two new gourmet teas in its unique dessert range. Based in Belfast, Suki has introduced Turkish Delight and Green Tea Mint to its range of hand blended teas for both retail and foodservice.

Turkish Delight tea has a base of high grade Rwandan tea blended with cocoa nibs, rose oil and rose petals for a very fragrant aroma and rich, slightly bitter flavour. Green Tea Mint is based on the company's successful Green and Peppermint teas. It features high quality Gunpowder Green Tea blended with the finest Moroccan mint.

Suki Tea managing director Oscar Woolley, commenting on the new products, says: "Turkish Delight and Green Tea Mint reflect the growing market trend towards gourmet dessert teas.

"The new teas are also excellent examples of the innovation which underpins the gourmet tea business and is at the heart of our success in a market in which consumers are continually seeking different taste experiences.

"This focus on market-led innovation is ensuring the continued growth of the business in all our target markets. In 2016, for instance, we launched nine different teas to our retail and foodservice markets. We invest in new product development to enable us to set ourselves apart in fast moving and challenging markets.

"The new products are quite different from what's currently available on the market and carry forward our success with existing tea flavours especially our chocolate tea using cocoa nibs launched in 2015," he adds.

The company, which runs Ireland's only tea academy for training restaurant and café staff at its blending plant in Belfast, has won a series of national awards for its comprehensive range of teas and infusions. The company, in addition, has extensive on-line business for its extensive range of teas as well as fruit and herbal infusions.

Suki Tea was founded in 2005 by Mr Woolley and business partner Anne Irwin as a market stall in Belfast's iconic St George's Market. The company carries out its own sourcing, blending and marketing operations from a production facility near Belfast city centre.

It has since grown to be among the most successful and best-known artisan food companies in the United Kingdom. As well as supplying leading catering outlets in Britain such as Patisserie Valerie, Suki exports to tea to Japan, Europe and Africa. The teas are distributed in Great Britain by Glasgow's Matthew Algie. Further expansion is in the pipeline.