From the beautiful countryside of Amite, Louisiana, dappled in the shade of the pine trees, Fleur De Lis Tea Company is growing tea. This beautiful environment has played a part in the development of a very unique cup of black tea.
Our black tea called “Big Easy”, is masterfully developed with the help of internationally renowned Tea Consultant Beverly Wainwright of the Scottish Tea Factory, Fleur De Lis Tea Company Tea Production Manager, Hans Marchese, and owner David Barron.
"Big Easy" has distinct layers of flavor, a caramel sweetness, woody notes - but also florals, some say it’s sweet olive, others honeysuckle. Floral flavors in a black tea are quite special.
This is the first flush of our distinctly Louisiana tea, which will be featured with the world renowned, luxury tea shop and online store, Harney & Sons. The quantities are expected to remain very limited throughout the year.
Owner David Barron commented,
“It has been a long journey from planting our first tea plants, to offering our very first flush of tea to the renowned tea importer’s, Harney and Sons. We have put in a tremendous effort into the development of this tea, including hiring a world class consultant from Scotland to help us develop our tea processing. Tea is one of the most imported products in America and I am very proud that we can be one of the first to offer a beautiful tea that is grown and processed right here in Louisiana.”
"Big Easy" will be retailed online through Harney & Sons Fine Teas and through our own website at fleurdelisteaco.com/shop.
About Harney & Sons
Harney & Sons Tea is a family owned and operated global tea company founded by John Harney in 1983. The company grew quickly from its original six tea flavors, to more than three hundred with three generations of Harney's preserving John's tradition of fine tea and traveling the world in search of the best ingredients. Headquartered in Millerton, New York, the family business sells its tea online as well as in luxury shops, coffee shops and retailers around the world. Rich in tradition and experience, Harney & Sons sources, blends and packages its products from start to finish.
Meet the Louisiana producers of "Big Easy"
Founder, David Barron
Fleur De Lis Tea Company was founded by David Barron in October of 2017. David is a retired machinist with a gift for woodworking. He was given some tea plants from a local nursery and with the help of his team, they went to work planting them. With the first 850 tea plants planted, he put his woodworking skills to work, building a beautiful Louisiana styled tea house. This beautiful tea house has many of David’s hand-made fine touches throughout.
David’s vision is to deliver a fine cup of tea within the serene country settings of their Louisiana styled tea house.
Tea Production Manager, Hans Marchese
With a background in Biology and Chemistry, Hans traveled to India after university to explore Asian culture. On returning to the US, Hans worked on several small farms producing organic vegetables and fruit for local markets. He studied foraging and wild foods, and managed a garden program for children.
In 2020, Hans started work at the Fleur De Lis Tea Company and has been concentrating on bringing the tea into bearing and planting new fields. He has had hands-on tea making experience at The Great Mississippi Tea Company and has worked alongside Beverly Wainwright, to create the first ever commercial tea here in Louisiana.
Meet the tea expert behind "Big Easy"
Scottish Tea Consultant, Beverly Wainwright
Beverly's background includes managing Amba Tea Estate in Sri Lanka. In just four years she turned around the fortunes of this estate by setting up the first micro scale tea factory in Sri Lanka and developing a line of exclusive hand made teas. In more recent years, Beverly has been working as a consultant. She has helped set up 2 small scale international tea sellers, won awards for her teas and built a tea factory in Scotland.
Beverly's philosophy when creating a new tea is never to try and copy an existing tea but rather to develop flavors and processing methods that suit the plants and the terroir.
Shop "Big Easy", black tea today!
The "Big Easy" will be retailed online through Harney & Sons Fine Teas and through our own website at Fleurdelisteaco.com/shop.