Yorkshire firm sends tea to China

Selling tea to China was a tough market to crack

A North Yorkshire company has won a contract to export tea - to China.

Taylors of Harrogate - makers of Yorkshire Tea - has this month sent its first shipment to Shanghai, a £30,000 order of flavoured teas.

It included China Rose Petal Tea, grown and blended in China, imported by Taylors and packaged in Harrogate, before being exported back to China.

A Taylors spokeswoman said: "We've cracked one of the most difficult markets - selling tea to China."

Taylors has been exporting its teas worldwide for 12 years and already does business in 30 countries.

But its move into China, which it described as "like sending coals to Newcastle", came after the company forged a partnership with advisers at Business Link York in a bid to tap new markets.

Taylors export manager Madeline Wolfe said: "We have gained a wider knowledge of overseas markets, enabling us to further develop our export strategy.

"As a result, we have taken a much more structured approach, focusing on the more important markets, such as China."