Stir Me Tea.

Stir Me was founded in 2017 by Sheena Patel, a graphic designer who grew up around the tea gardens of Mt. Kenya, where the family drank black tea that was otherwise destined for export. The brand was built on that gap: Kenya ships enormous volumes of leaf that lose their name once they leave, and Stir Me set out to put specialty Kenyan tea on Kenyan shelves, with packaging designed in-house. Her sister Reena Patel, a fashion designer based in the UK, runs global marketing. In 2018 the brand won three awards and in 2019 eight more, conferred by the Tea Directorate of Kenya and the Marketing Society of Kenya.

The leaf comes from the northern and southern foothills of Mt. Kenya, both CTC and specialty grades, and is stored at the atelier at low temperature. The single teas are sold in 100 g cylinders: a green with a mild, vegetal cup, an oolong from the southern slopes that the house calls a rare surprise for Kenya, and a Flowery Orange Pekoe made from two leaves and a bud. The white teas come in 50 g: a silver needle of sun-dried buds and a golden tips of one leaf and a bud. All the blends are handcrafted in-house, from an Earl Grey on Mt. Kenya FOP with bergamot oil to a masala chai on southern-slopes black tea and a Purple Exotic that mixes Kenyan purple tea with lemongrass, star anise and hibiscus.

The atelier sits at unit B22 of Kenafric Business Park on Baba Dogo Road, and the house invites you to pop in for a cup of fresh tea and a cookie; it opens Monday to Saturday from 9 in the morning to 10 at night and Sundays from 10 to 6. The same team does private labelling for hotels and corporate brands, catering and tea for weddings and company events. If you are not crossing town, the webshop delivers in Nairobi, and Monty's at Sarit Centre in Westlands keeps the black tea, the Earl Grey and the masala chai on its shelf.