INFUSE Artisan Tea, Northern Ireland’s very first Tea Bar, not only celebrated its first birthday this month but has also been chosen from thousands of entries to feature as a Small Biz 100 by Small Business Saturday UK
Now in its sixth year, Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign which aims to showcase and promote 100 small businesses on the run up to its annual event on Saturday 1st December.
Small Business Saturday is an initiative that launched with the aim of encouraging people to spend with small independent businesses in the local community. It is seen as a direct contrast to the likes of Black Friday and Cyber Monday where large profits are typically made by multinational firms.
Aine McGuckian, the Co-Owner of INFUSE said, “We are delighted to have been chosen from thousands of other worthy candidates as one of the Small Biz 100 and being able to make the announcement on the first birthday of the Tea Bar has meant a lot to us.
“Duncan and I are hugely passionate about the world of tea, we pride ourselves in sourcing high quality loose leaf teas and brewing the tea leaves with exacting standards, which means specific water temperatures and steep times. We go further than most as we heat all our water to order in cast iron tetsubin pots, this allows us to be exacting in the temperature of water that we pour on the tea leaves, we even pour the tea when it is ready to ensure the tea does not over brew, the difference these systems make to the taste of a cup of tea is amazing.
“We have over 40 teas available in-store, from our own range of Artisan Tea to other Northern Irish tea suppliers like Miss McKeown’s and Suki Tea. At INFUSE we pride ourselves with being innovative within the industry, having created a range of Tea Mocktails and more recently tea infused sorbets. We even do tea infused hot chocolates, which might sound surprising, but they work really well.”
“Being selected as by Small Business Saturday is a huge achievement for us, we have entered into an extremely niche market and have seen the business grow and flourish in the last year so being able to top off our first year of the Tea Bar with this achievement has been wonderful.
Not only have we worked to develop our range of teas we have been proud to launch INFUSE Wellness above the Tea Bar also, where we offer a number of complementary therapies including Deep Tissue Massage and Herbal Medicine as this was a long term goal.”
Aine and Duncan’s journey to launch the Tea Bar began in 2014 when they both took part in a nationwide competition called TestTown run by the Carnegie Trust UK. They entered with Aine’s herbal practice The Little Herbalista, where people would have a chat about health and wellness over great tea and book in for a consultation if they felt it was right for them. The pair won the local heat in Coleraine in June 2014 and went to Cambridge for the Grand Final the following October. They decided to go big on the idea of a Tea Bar in Cambridge, where they put the emphasis on great tea and brewing standards with an underlying theme of health and wellness. The response in Cambridge blew the pair away and cemented their plan to launch a Tea Bar with attached therapy rooms back in Coleraine and they have been working towards that goa ever since.
Aine stated that “the journey of launching the Tea Bar has been long and arduous but I can honestly say that grit and determination have helped us stay true to our goal and I believe it has really paid off for us, so it is great to see this recognised by Small Business Saturday UK. I’m excited to see what the next year will bring.”
Full list of Small Biz 100
Sauce and Brown
Yummikeys
Katie Abey Design Ltd
The Nautical Company (UK) Ltd
Musical Moments
UK Bid Writer
hiyacar
KUKShades
Artie Craftie Limited / Blaenavon Post Office
Boatman Admin Services
Bitz ‘n’ PC’z Ltd
Mum Bub Hub
Alexander Byron
Button & Bear Children’s Bookshop
Grandads Front Room
The Little Black & White Book Project
Artwork By Emily Tull
All for Dance
More Organised Ltd
Enlighten
Dog and Hat Ltd
Beeze’s
Floating Point Float Centre
Thornton Community News & Business Directory
Kemps General Store Ltd
La Belle Cake Company
InSync Technology Ltd
Bean & Boy
Automation Ninjas
Sodo Pizza
Hay Hampers
Single Variety Co
Fair Trade Scotland Ltd.
Fitness Freedom Ltd
ROLI Ltd
AMD Promotions
Tea Traders (Wales) Ltd
Heart Of Wax: Vintage & Vinyl
Never A Wasted Journey
INFUSE Artisan Tea
Natural Weigh
Fur Babies
Wilkinson Construction Consultants
Morgan Innovation and Technology Ltd
Simply Devine Hat Shop
Rock Follies Vintage
Masala Masters
JimJams
Marketti
Wonder Adventures
Ridgefield Consulting
Brocante of Devon Limited – The Gift Experts
Business Success South West
Wadsworths Solicitors
Osbourne Lodge Nursery
Local Link Magazine
HydroVeg Kits
Red Dragon Manufacturing
Smart Turnout
The Stress Less Clinic
Shop Local Club Card
Hulme Comminity Garden Centre
The Old School BBQ Bus
helpmeorganics
Goodfayre
Serenity Loves
Forum Books
Trade Right International
Bill Baber Knitwear
Wardens of Newtownards
t4Local
Flood Protection Solutions Ltd
Od Designs
Millers Music Centre
SOPHIE SKIPPER PHOTOGRAPHY
The Pavilion at the Park
Lisa Satchwell Energetics
Not.Corn
Enamel Shades
Tylers Department Store & Cafe
Rachel Whitehead Jewellery
The DM Lab
Spiffy
Twin Made
Work for Good
Apples & Pips
The Boathouse
Bookbarn International
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