A tea company in Oldham that experiments with 'unusual' and 'revolutionary' flavours has been recognised by the Great Taste Awards for a third time.

Tea Punks, otherwise known as "anarchy in a cup", is a unique loose-leaf tea company that has been brought to life by chef and expert brewer, Stuart Cunniffe. 

The "Oldham born and bred" man is a chef by trade, but first tiptoed into the industry when he and his wife, Dawn, opened their coffee shop in 2003.

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The cafe, Naked Bean, moved across Oldham, including in Spindles Shopping Centre and Oldham Library and gallery.

Their roasted coffee proved to be such a hit that just three years later, Naked Bean started supplying other companies with their products, which Stuart said ended up growing bigger than the coffee shop.

When Covid hit, Naked Bean moved out of the coffee shop but now operates from a unit in Greenacres.

Then, Stuart said a friend inspired him to start experimenting with making whole-leaf tea which he did by hand blending "funky" and "unusual" ingredients together.

His first was Thai Green Banana, based on a Thai green curry, which includes chilli, lemongrass and coriander - and Tea Punks Revolution was born.

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Now, under Brew Britannia, or "Brew HQ" off Greenacres Road, Stuart can be seen making teas, coffee and tray bakes which he supplies to the hospitality industry.

The unit is open to the public on certain days and also functions as a training ground for baristas and companies that stock the products.

What started out as a "bit of fun" has snowballed into an award-winning brand with not one but three Great Taste Award stamps of approval on Stuart's tea leaves.

Last year, Tea Punks won a star for its Rhubarb and Blood Orange tea and another for Punk'ed Panda - the first tea to include bamboo shoots and blends together lemon, ginger and green tea.

This year, Viva Cuba won the accolade - and stands as the only award-winner from across the borough in the Great Taste Awards 2023.

The tea is based on Stuart's favourite cocktail, Old Havana, which he explains is like "the original Mojito" with mint but with a "revolutionary" twist.

Stuart said: "I got the award the other day but they told me if I tweaked it a little bit more, I could probably get two or three stars for it, so I'm looking at doing that."

Reacting to the award, Stuart said: "I wanted to see whether we could do it because I thought to myself, 'let's just put these in and see what happens' so it was a bit of a surprise, but it's nice.

The Oldham Times: Tea Punks was born after Stuart started blending unique ingredients Tea Punks was born after Stuart started blending unique ingredients (Image: Tea Punks)

"I didn't make the teas for the stars, I just did it as a bit of fun so it was a bit of a shock really.

"It's nice to have a revolutionary tea which is also an award-winner."

Talking about the inspiration behind the name, Stuart said he used to be a punk as a teenager and described it as being "someone who goes against the grain and does things differently".

He added: "Since I blend seeds differently, and I want the teas to be revolutionary, I jumped into the genre with the distressed Union Jack and that's why we call it Tea Punks - because it's anarchy in a cup."

Beyond herbal concoctions and roasted coffee beans, Stuart's ultimate passion is helping the homeless with big plans for a social enterprise to tackle the problem.

He said one such enterprise is already in the pipeline which Stuart said provides rough sleepers working for the company with not only a real living wage but "purpose, dignity and skills".

Next, he said he wants to turn Brew Britannia into a social enterprise, "so watch this space".

He continued: "We want to use Brew Britania for good.

"We want to sell tea and coffee so that the profits can be going into tackling food poverty.

"Because nobody should be denied three square meals a day. Nobody.

"That's in the pipeline as that's where my heart is really at."

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.