Rare tea leaves arrive in the UK from India

A box containing a rare crop of Darjeeling tea leaves was broken open at the East India Company store in central London.

The Darjeeling First Flush tea leaves are only produced in limited amounts on a small estate in India.

Sonja Krippendorf, of the East India Company, opened the chest of leaves at a special ceremony inside the Conduit Street branch this morning.

The tea leaves are grown on the Himalayan foothills on bushes which lie dormant for five months.

But conditions have meant the crop could be picked earlier this year.

East India Company said it is the earliest picking in recent memory, allowing the rare batch to be sold in the UK weeks in advance than usual.