A modern-day tea merchant

Alan leads Noble & Sunday’s sourcing, blending and day-to-day relationships with growers, hospitality businesses and tea drinkers throughout New Zealand.

Back to China, to visit our trusted tea suppliers and porcelain manufactures. Spend time in Hong Kong & Macau to research what is happening in the hospo tea space.

A wide-ranging journey through Darjeeling, the Dooars, Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, the Nilgiris, Goa, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan strengthened relationships and broadened our view of Indian tea.

Travel through Yunnan and Fujian, with time in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, deepened our understanding of regional production and opened conversations around future teas & tea trends.

A sourcing journey through Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyazaki, Fukuoka and Yame, exploring regional tea traditions, cultivars, processing and the people behind them.

Travel returned to Noble & Sunday’s calendar, creating new opportunities to reconnect, taste fresh harvests and continue learning at origin.

International travel paused, but our relationships at origin continued. These years reinforced the value of trusted partners. oh and raising a wee family!

Just before the world changed, we opened Little Noble—a temporary space devoted to tea, conversation and the daily ritual of slowing down.

Alan travelled through tea regions in China, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, learning how cultivar, elevation, weather, harvest and the decisions of the tea maker shape what arrives in the cup.

Apart from friends & family our first real customer was Coffee Supreme when they opened their flagship store in Christchurch called Supreme Supreme. Still here still going. Thanks Lori for giving us the chance!

AL and Rupert registered N&S Tea Merchants after years of conversations, tea tasting and early sourcing work. The idea was simple: make distinctive, high-quality tea more accessible in New Zealand.

Starting the branding and developing all the blends. Making contact with suppliers around the world.