Northern Tea

Northern Tea Merchants is a Chesterfield tea and coffee specialist with three generations of the Pogson family at its core. Albert Pogson started The Spire Tea Company in Chesterfield in 1936, and his son David formally established the business as Northern Tea Merchants on 1 May 1959.

David's son James joined in 1988 and became a Director in 2007. A coffee roaster was installed around 1988, alongside a tea operation that bids at the London Tea Auctions and sources direct from smallholder cooperatives across Africa, India, China, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

The business is based at Crown House on Chatsworth Road and runs the on-site Pomegranate Café. It is a Soil Association licensee since 1996 (covering its contract packing), Rainforest Alliance certified, a Carbon Neutral Business and a Great Taste Award winner.

Its decaf range includes a Swiss Water Process Costa Rica and a methylene chloride processed Brazilian. Tea remains the senior partner, with coffee a substantial secondary line.