Tea and coffee are such commodities and Ringtons invited us to their business premises in Newcastle to see how the business operates first-hand. We met with the CEO of Ringtons, Mr Simon Smith, who outlined the business model of Ringtons, the family history of the company and their ethos. We then heard about marketing and competition in the multi-million-pound tea industry. We visited and took part in tasting ten+ different brands and tea leaves from India, Kenya, Argentina and Rwanda. We learned about the perfect tea growing conditions, the chemistry of tea and how Ringtons blends it to get their signature taste. We all agreed that Ringtons tasted the best!

 

Over lunch we had a presentation on the global production, distribution and geo-politics of the tea industry before finishing our day at Ringtons newest factory (we are the first school group they’ve ever hosted). 

 

At the end of the day Mr Smith kindly gave each Y13 a farewell gift of Ringtons Gold tea and a packet of ginger biscuits. It was a tea-rrific day! Ringtons were wonderful hosts and the business makes a great case study, which I hope they get the chance to use in Paper 2 on May 22nd next year.

 

Our thanks to the impeccably behaved Yr13 geographers and to the Ringtons staff for hosting us, and in particular Simon Smith (the great-grandson of Sam Smith who founded the company back in 1907).