- Established
- 2024
- People
- Lou & Sofia
- Based in
- Norwich, Norfolk
- Craft
- Tea
The Local’s perspective
A proper cuppa, a clearer story
Spill Tea is on a mission to make the daily cuppa genuinely great: full-flavoured tea with more transparent sourcing. Its everyday tea uses high-quality leaves sourced from smallholder farmers in Rwanda.
Founded by tea-industry experts Lou and Sofia, Spill makes a bold, bright everyday brew that works with milk or black.
The story
Following the tea back to the grower
Lou and Sofia wanted to make an everyday tea with a clearer connection to the people who grow it. Their approach brings together direct buying, conversations with farmers and a willingness to publish what was paid.
Spill’s published figures for 2024/25 report farmer payments above the Fairtrade minimum. Putting a date and figures to that ambition gives drinkers something concrete to learn about the tea behind their daily cup.
For the drinker, the proposition is simple: a fuller-flavoured everyday brew, with more of its sourcing story in view.
The people
Lou and Sofia, back to the leaf
Lou co-founded teapigs in 2006, after working as a tea buyer and taster for Tetley. Sofia joined teapigs soon afterwards, and the pair worked together to grow the brand.
They launched Spill in 2024 to create a fuller, bolder everyday tea and bring its sourcing and farmer-payment model into clearer view.
Inside the making
More of the sourcing story in view
Spill’s sourcing model is designed to put more value into the communities where its tea is grown. It works with tea from smallholder farmers in Rwanda and publishes farmer-payment figures, with its 2024/25 report recording payments above the Fairtrade minimum.
That openness is an important part of the brand’s approach: sharing the numbers behind the sourcing story, alongside the tea itself.
Our recommendation
An everyday brew with character
Spill Tea’s Everyday Tea uses leaves sourced and processed in Rwanda and packed in Norfolk. The brew is bold and balanced, strong enough for milk and smooth enough to drink black.
Spill gives an everyday ritual the attention it deserves: good flavour, a clear sourcing story and a willingness to publish what it paid farmers. It’s tea for people who want a proper, satisfying cuppa and a closer connection to where it comes from.
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