Saicho

Founded in 2020 in the UK by husband and wife team, Charlie and Natalie Winkworth-Smith.  They met while studying for PhDs in food chemistry, and bonded over their mutual passion for food and drink.

Wanting to create something that has the complexity and heritage of wine, but with its own unique flavor, history, and culture, Natalie and Charlie turned to tea!

“The catalyst for creating Saicho was my alcohol intolerance and the constant feeling of missing out on a complete dining experience,” states co-founder Natalie Winkworth-Smith.  “I drew inspiration from my heritage, where I had grown up enjoying tea alongside meals and understanding its vast range of flavors and depth that could enhance the dining experience.  Redefining how tea can be enjoyed with food has been an exhilarating and fulfilling journey. Our aim with Saicho is to celebrate the exceptional quality and versatility of tea, asserting its rightful place at the finest dining tables worldwide.”

Saicho showcases the nuanced and complex flavors of single-origin teas.  Celebrating the artistry, heritage, and craftsmanship of the finest teas, each sparkling tea is imbued with a distinctive sense of place.

Meticulously sourced and expertly balanced, Saicho is designed to pair perfectly with food.

Saicho takes its name from a well-recognized monk from Japan.  After studying with Tiantai priests in China, he returned to Japan in the year 805, bringing back not only Buddhist teachings but also tea seeds.  He is known for planting the first tea trees in Japan and thus defining a core part of tea culture as known today.

Today, Saicho brings this spirit of tea drinking culture to the modern era and proudly brings you a range of single origin, cold brewed, sparkling teas.

Charlie and Natalie are on a mission to bring sparkling tea to the drink’s receptions and dining tables of the world.  Whether eating in a fine dining restaurant, enjoying a drink at a wine bar, or just at home with family and friends, they hope that their knowledge, passion, hard work, and hands-on approach shines through in every glass.

Single Origin

All tea comes from one plant, Camelia sinensis, but depending on the type, terroir, and production method, there are huge variety of flavors – from floral to fruity, nutty to smoky, candied to umami.  Saicho sources the finest single origin teas from around the world, hand picking the exact varietal, time of harvest, terroir, and processing methods.

Cold Brewed

Each tea is cold brewed for 24 hours, to extract the most delicate and complex flavors.  You get a very different flavor by cold brewing compared to hot brewing.  It’s far more delicate, with enhanced aromatics and better balanced astringency, creating a more complex flavor profile and mouthfeel which pairs perfectly with food.

Sparkling Tea

Each cold brewed tea is finely balanced with a dash of acidity and a hint of sweetness.  Saicho uses Airen grape juice which adds a beautifully rounded texture. The teas are sparkled via inline carbonation. Unlike the Charmat method, there is no fermentation. This means the delicate flavors of the tea which have been carefully crafted by the tea masters are preserved, and also means there is zero alcohol, which is why the sparkling teas are Halal certified.  Saicho is the perfect accompaniment to life’s celebratory moments!

Overview: Saicho’s carefully selected Darjeeling tea is grown in the foothills of the Himalayas, India.

Region: Gopaldhara Estate, Darjeeling, India

Elevation: 2,000 meters

Farming Practices: The tea gardens are sustainably farmed. While they are not organic, they only use pesticides in extremity.

Harvest: Summer flush (May/June)

Tea Type: Black

Tasting Notes: The pure mountain air and loamy soil produce a unique muscatel-like tea with notes of ginger, mandarin, and wood spice.  This particular tea is handpicked in the summer when the muscatel flavor is at its most pronounced.

Food Pairing: Grilled meats and roasted vegetables.

Serving Suggestion: Serve chilled in a Champagne glass.

Caffeine Content: Low (9mg/100ml)

Alcohol Content: 0%

Carbohydrates: 3.4g, of which sugars: 2.5g

Shelf Life: The shelf life is 2 years from production. Once opened, seal with a good cork stopper (or Coravin), refrigerate, and consume within 5 days.

Overview: Carefully selected Hojicha tea which hails from Shizuoka Prefecture, situated along the Pacific Ocean coast of Japan.

Region: Tenryu, Shizuoka, Japan

Elevation: 500 meters

Farming Practices: The tea gardens are sustainably farmed. While they are not organic, they only use pesticides in extremity.

Harvest: Summer (second flush)

Tea Type: Roasted green

Tasting Notes: Fresh Sencha tea leaves undergo steaming, machine rolling, and drying.  They are then roasted to add the signature toasty flavor.  Notes of nori seaweed, hazelnut, and roasted chestnut.

Food Pairing: Sushi or mushroom risotto.

Serving Suggestion: Serve chilled in a Champagne glass.

Caffeine Content: Low (8mg/100ml)

Alcohol Content: 0%

Carbohydrates: 3.6g, of which sugars: 2.8g

Shelf Life: The shelf life is 2 years from production. Once opened, seal with a good cork stopper (or Coravin), refrigerate, and consume within 5 days.

Overview: The Jasmine green tea originates from the elevated terrain of Fuding in China’s Fujian Province. Saicho uses natural oak wood flavor in the Jasmine sparkling tea. This is created by soaking toasted oak staves in alcohol to extract the flavor and then the alcohol is subsequently removed. This produces a rich oak concentrate. This is added to the Jasmine to marry up to the tea’s natural vanilla notes and round out some of the bitterness. This is very similar to how a wine maker might decide to use oak barrels with a white wine.

Region: Fu Ding, Fujian, China

Elevation: 500 meters

Farming Practices: The tea gardens are sustainably farmed. While they are not organic, they only use pesticides in extremity.

Harvest: Handpicked in April

Tea Type: Scented green

Tasting Notes: In the summertime, these leaves are artfully scented with fragrant Jasmine flowers over the course of several days.  Notes of apple, lychee, and vanilla.

Food Pairing: Spicy salads or creamy desserts.

Serving Suggestion: Serve chilled in a Champagne glass.

Caffeine Content: Low (17mg/100ml)

Alcohol Content: 0%

Carbohydrates: 5.3g, of which sugars: 5.1g

Shelf Life: The shelf life is 2 years from production. Once opened, seal with a good cork stopper (or Coravin), refrigerate, and consume within 5 days.

Overview: Saicho’s newest seasonal offering, Osmanthus represents the pinnacle of scented tea artistry. This delicate oolong, perfumed with golden osmanthus blossoms, embodies Saicho’s commitment to showcasing tea’s extraordinary versatility. In Chinese culture, osmanthus symbolises love, faithfulness, and optimism – qualities that mirror Saicho’s dedication to nurturing relationships with tea gardens and creating meaningful connections through exceptional flavor.
For over a thousand years, osmanthus flowers have been treasured in Chinese gardens, their honeyed fragrance marking the arrival of autumn. Saicho’s tea masters honor this ancient tradition, layering fresh blossoms with Tie Guan Yin leaves during the flower’s brief seasonal bloom. This centuries-old technique creates a tea of remarkable complexity – one that bridges the gap between tradition and innovation, perfectly embodying Saicho’s pioneering spirit.

Region: Jinxi Tea Estate, Putian, Fujian – in the mountains of Xianyou County, China. Xianyou County’s mineral rich red soil and high mountain peaks make it an ideal region to produce oolong tea. The lightly oxidized tea is scented with fresh osmanthus flowers.

Elevation: 800 meters

Farming Practices: The tea gardens are sustainably farmed. While they are not organic, they only use pesticides in extremity.

Harvest: October

Tea Type: Scented Oolong

Production: Fresh osmanthus flowers, picked at dawn for maximum potency, are layered with oolong leaves in traditional bamboo baskets for 24 hours. The tea naturally absorbs the flowers’ essence before they’re carefully removed by hand and replaced with fresh blossoms for another 24 hours of scenting.
The scented leaves then undergo 24-hour cold brewing in our Shropshire facility using English spring water, preserving the delicate aromatics that hot brewing would destroy. Finally, gentle carbonation and a touch of grape juice are added to create the signature champagne-like effervescence.
Each bottle represents over 72 hours of meticulous craftsmanship from garden to glass.

Food Pairing: Osmanthus’s floral complexity and subtle fruitiness make it an exceptional companion to refined cuisine. The delicate apricot notes complement roasted duck, seared scallops, and grilled sea bass, while its creamy undertones provide elegant contrast to apple crumble or fresh goat cheese and honey.

Serving Suggestion: Serve chilled at 6-8°C in champagne tulips to concentrate the delicate aromatics.

Caffeine Content: Low (14mg/100ml)

Alcohol Content: 0%

Carbohydrates: 4.6g, of which sugars: 4.6g