The countdown is now down to 38 days marking the 175th anniversary of the settlers’ landing at Howick Beach on Saturday, November 12.
175 canisters of a special blend tea to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of Howick have been packed and labelled ready for sale at Howick Markets on Saturday October 8.
The tea has been blended for the 175th Trust by local tea connoisseur Matt Greenwood, together with tea importer Paolo Aryan. They have worked to create a modern tea that reflects the famous tea so loved by Earl Grey – Lord Howick.
The label design was created by local graphic artist Jane Moody and reflects the Maclean family dinner set with the gold and maroon embossing.
It is a special tea in a keepsake container that recognises Howick’s special heritage.
Matt Greenwood
Armed with a silver tasting spoon and a strong desire to travel, Matt started his career in the UK as a professional tea taster for the world’s second largest tea company.
Whilst tea and coffee have always been close to his hear, Matt’s real passion has been working with extraordinary people across the world and bringing different cultures together in teams greater than the sum of their individual parts – a bit like the tea and coffee blends he has created.
After twice finishing runner-up in the New Zealand coffee tasting championships, Matt decided to hang up his spoon, spend more time with family and join hi other half at GingerFrog, a local business and marketing consultancy.
He loves all sport and still coaches cricket and rugby locally.
“I have lived in the Howick area ever since moving to New Zealand and it is very much home for me and my family,” says Matt.
“In creating Blend 175 I wanted to give something back to the community that I have enjoyed being part of for the past 20 years. It has been a true collaboration of talented local folk.”
Jane Moody
Jane’s strong ancestral ties to Howick brought her to the area after she came to New Zealand with her Kiwi husband and young family in 2017.
Having spent two decades working in brand consultancies in Auckland, Sydney and London, it was time to open her own business, Bathurst Brown Design. The business is based in Rice’s Mall on Picton Street and specialises in brand development and idea-led graphic design.
Jane is on a mission to make Howick look as great as possible from a design perspective and loves getting involved in local initiatives.
“I was honoured to have been asked to design the label for this limited edition 175 tea blend. The inspiration for the design came from vintage lettering and an old family tea cup, conveniently painted in the Howick colours!” she says.
“The cup was from a set that had originally been used in Howick back in the 1850s and I loved bringing a tiny slice of local history into the design in this way.”
Paolo Aryan
Coffee & Tea Lovers owner Paolo Aryan loves nothing better than roasting coffee and tasting tea.
He has been serving great coffee and speciality teas to Aucklanders since moving to New Zealand from Tehran more than 30 years ago. His first café was Groovy on K’Road, and he opened his first Coffee & Tea Lovers store at 12 Amera Place, Botany Downs, 18 years ago. There are now five Coffee & Tea Lovers’ café and retail shops in Auckland, including Cook St, in Howick.
Matt Greenwood, creator of Blend 175, has known Paolo since meeting him in his Newmarket café “Darjeelingz” more than 20 years ago. “Paolo has been my go-to guy for top quality premium teas since I moved to New Zealand. He is talented, generous, incredibly humble and a dear friend.”
Paolo has donated the tea for Blend 175 adding, “I wanted to participate in the Blend 175 tea project and give something back to the local community which has been home to my wife Alison and I for over 20 years.”
