Dorothy's Tea Journey

About Dorothy

A Yorkshire born and bred farmer’s daughter, Dorothy had the opportunity to travel the world for 4 years tasting and experiencing food and drink.

Born out of this culinary global journey and her strong farming ethos of respect for real food and drink grown with passion and knowledge, Dorothy discovered her love for excellent loose leaf teas and a desire to know more and share it with others.

Hazelmere Tea House

In 1984 Dorothy returned home, settled in the beautiful English Lake District and set up the world famous Hazelmere Teahouse, Restaurant and Artisan Bakery in Grange over Sands.

In an era when teabags were the norm and real loose leaf tea with a provenance was very rare, Dorothy was determined to do things differently.From the start loose leaf teas were on the menu with tasting notes and historical anecdotes.

Over the years since those early days journeys to tea estates have been made, relationships and connections nurtured and Dorothy’s respect and love for real tea has grown and grown...and continues to grow.

The passion has paid off with many awards including Cumbria Life cafe of the Year 2016, several Awards of Excellence from the Tea Guild and British Tea Shop of the Year 2006/2007 from which Dorothy was invited to set up and run a pop-up tea shop in Osaka, Japan serving Hazelmere Special house tea , scones and damson jam. To this day a tea is never bought without being tasted several times, following the best growing seasons and is rejected if Dorothy feels a certain tea is not good enough!

Join our Tea Club

“Drinking tea is a pleasure, a ritual and a moment to take time out of a busy day.”

Dorothy is dedicated to real tea drinking and to help you enjoy the best teas money can buy! Tea worshippers and tea novices alike have called, phone and emailed demanding Hazelmere Teas and so Dorothy’s Teas has sprung to life offering a monthly subscription service.

Whether you decide to indulge yourself or treat someone else to the gift of Dorothy’s Teas subscription service, you can relax knowing that Dorothy will be sending some of the best teas on the planet, beautifully wrapped with tasting notes and advice for you to enjoy at home every month.

“Drinking tea is a pleasure, a ritual and a moment to take time out of a busy day.”

- Dorothy

Drinking tea is a pleasure, a ritual and a moment to take time out of a busy day.

Explore our tea range in our online shop

Tea Shop

There’s not much Dorothy doesn’t know about tea. Four years of world travel is what first gave her the passion.

Learn More

• Tea Musings •

5 Popular Misconceptions About Tea… And The Truth!

Tea has been around for an incredibly long time (around 5,000 years!), so it's hardly surprising that lots of tea-related myths have started and been put to bed in that time. We're always hearing lots of different rumours about tea, and here are 5 of them... plus the truth!

How to Get the Perfect Cup of Tea

There’s nothing better than sitting down and relaxing with a cup of tea. Whether your drink of choice is a classic breakfast tea, Earl Grey, herbal, oolong or green tea, we know a thing or two at Dorothy’s Teas about making the perfect brew. Here’s our simple guide to getting the most out of your chosen teas, and how to get the perfect cup of tea.

Plastic, Teabags and Loose Leaf Tea

Plastic is a hot topic at present. And quite rightly so! Oceans awash with plastic, images of sea creatures struggling for their lives and David Attenborough’s beautiful “The Blue Planet” series have made us all re-think. But how does our over use of plastic affect our daily cuppa?