September 2016
CANTERBURY FARMING
Andrew and Jennie McWhannell are passionate about supplying tea lovers with a decent cuppa
T by Ayla Miller
Roseglen Tea of Canterbury holds a special place in local farming history and it is this, combined with the loyal following, that motivated Jennie and Andrew McWhannell to bring it back after a five year absence from the New Zealand market.
he tea, imported from Sri Lanka, was first available at Cuddon and Stewart Ltd, a rural merchandise store which Andrew’s father, and later himself, owned with several other Directors. The company supplied everything to do with farming with the exception of machinery, from dish washing liquid to fencing equipment and tea. In 2006 Cuddon and Stewart Ltd was sold and the tea disappeared off the market. “The tea had a great following mainly in North
Canterbury. People started to ask Andrew where they could get that tea because they missed it,” says Jennie. After the earthquakes the family sold up in Christchurch and moved to Amberley. A year after settling in the couple continued to get requests for the tea and they decided to see if they could import it themselves. “We approached the same tea estate that Cuddon and Stewart had used all those years ago in Sri Lanka.” Everything fell into place, and not long after they began importing bulk boxes, Jennie
was approached by a local graphic designer named Margot Korhonen. Margot was also relatively new to the Amberley area and had seen an article in the paper announcing that the tea was back. She offered her services if they needed any assistance setting up this new business. “Margot did all our branding and after some marketing sessions, we decided to bring in smaller boxes of tea for households or individuals who didn’t need 5kg of tea!” says Jennie. “This also presented the
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We have got a good clean high yielding crop, the Betanal quattro has done its job well, being easily mixed as a single solution spray, and it’s dealt with the problem weeds on our farm very effectively.
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NEIL ROE – MAMAKU, ROTORUA
CHRIS HORN – WAITAKI SPRAYING LTD, KUROW, OTAGO
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