Brew launches crowdfunding campaign to help put tea back on the high street
Following the success of a seven-day pop-up in Brixton last December, founder Alex Holland is looking to raise £180k through crowdfunding website Crowdcube to help him fund the opening of the first Brew, a pub for tea site in Balham.
The venture already has the backing of Franco Manca founder Giuseppe Mascoli and Roast founder Iqbal Wahhab is lending his support as a mentor and on the company's board.
Holland says Brew, a pub for tea, will aim to look like a pub, but will serve pots of loose leaf tea which has been sourced by experts from around the world, instead of pints of beer.
Food and cakes will be served alongside teas with suggestions of top food and tea matches. In the evening the venue will serve alcoholic tea cocktails such as the Earl Grey and Tonic and the Green Tea Martini.
The site will also sell loose leaf teas and equipment to customers to make tea at home. Holland also plans to offer work experience to ex-offenders through partnerships with charities like Switchback and Bounce Back.
Like tea sommelier Ajit Madan, Holland believes that with tea seeing a resurgence in popularity across the globe, there is space in the market for outlets selling a quality tea offering.
"The British drink twice as much tea as coffee but it's a struggle to get a good brew outside the home," he said. "Lots of British tea experiences have become a bit of a joke, more about the doilies than delivering on taste. At Brew we will treat tea like a serious drink."
On Crowdcube Holland said he is already looking at opening a second site in East London and with further finance in 2017 plans to 'expand rapidly with directly-owned and franchised outlets across London and other major centres in the UK'.
Find the Crowdcube campaign here.
