Playing with Tea, Time and Technique
We want to share ancient tree tea in an accessible way so that anyone, even without tea brewing skills, can experience these amazing teas. Distillation is a highly effective method for extracting and preserving the tea’s essence and flavour in a different way to water. The idea for Auld Tree came about eight years ago after an incredible meal at one of the UK’s most iconic innovative restaurants where they presented Tim with their famous whisky wine gum map dish and a green tea version made with teas from farms we work with. When, to his surprise, he preferred the whisky wine gums, he started thinking about creating a complex, unaged single malt, where the depth of flavour and complexity come from some of the oldest living tea trees rather than from aging in wooden barrels. With the help, skill and knowledge of Alex who runs the production side of Postcard Teas and is also a brewer and a distiller, it has taken seven years and many trials to find the right way to make a spirit we feel worthy of these special teas.
To make a batch of Auld Tree we produce a fermented barley wash using a premium barley grown in Scotland following the same initial process as you would if you were making a whisky from scratch. When the wash is distilled, we add tea not only to the pot but also to a basket which the vapour passes through, similar to how gin is distilled through juniper and other botanicals. For the third layer of tea contact, we infuse a small amount of tea with the malt spirit for about a week, which gives the spirit colour and mellows it. We try as much as possible to make every process and every quantity of tea exactly the same so the difference between each Auld Tree is primarily the tea, not the process.
The three Auld Tree versions available at the moment are Wakocha, Shui Xian and Peach Dancong with the Wakocha being the latest off the still in late November 2025.
Wakocha Auld Tree is created using a wonderful Japanese Black tea or Wakocha made by Mr Matsumoto on his family’s farm which was planted by his ancestors in the 1920s. It has a dark plum flavour with lingering vanilla sweetness reminiscent of some whiskies. Numbered by hand 200 bottle edition.
Shui Xian Auld Tree is produced from an incredible roasted oolong handmade by Master Xu from just four 125 year old Shui Xian cultivar tea trees deep in the Wuyi mountains. It has a lovely minerality and floral notes reminiscent of the tea from these famous tea mountains which are a Unesco World Heritage site. It reminds us a little of a fine brandy. Numbered by hand 75 bottle edition.
Peach Dancong Auld Tree is made from a single 500 year old tree’s oolong tea by Master Lin on Wu Dong mountain in southern China. It is a juicy peach flavour with violet floral notes. Its smooth highly aromatic quality as well as its complex flavours make it stand out – this Auld Tree spirit reminds us of the very best fruit eau de vies. Numbered by hand 50 bottle edition.
Auld Tree is a creative collaboration between Timothy d’Offay and Alex Simpson of Postcard Teas. During his three decades in the tea business, Tim has worked with the world’s leading spirit brands Diageo, LVMH and Pernod Ricard. One collaboration included spending time in Cognac learning about heritage distillation and blending. As well as working with tea since 2012, Alex has spent the last decade brewing, distilling and visiting dozens of distilleries across England and Scotland. In 2023, he spent a week studying at Scotland’s most traditional distillery Springbank.
PLEASE NOTE
This product is only available via Click and Collect from our central London store just off Bond Street. Any orders which contain Auld Tree will be automatically sent to the shop for collection. They will NOT be shipped. In the New Year we hope to offer UK delivery.
A ‘Challenge 25’ Policy as shall be in force at the point of delivery of the alcohol. No collection or delivery shall be made if the person seeking to collect or to accept delivery appears under 25 and is unable to provide proof of age. Examples of appropriate ID include a passport; photographic driving licence; military ID; biometric residents permit and the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) approved age cards.
