Hello, I'm Sam. Like many of the team here, I've spent many years (in my case 15 years) honing my slurping and spitting skills, often tasting up to 1000 cups of tea per day.

Currently the only "normal" tea I taste is in my mug at home (Ceylon High grown) or at work (Tetley Extra Strong). This is because I'm currently the Buyer for Botanical Ingredients & Flavours - so not tea at all!

It's an interesting and varied job. I interact with a variety of suppliers in Europe and beyond, ensuring I secure all the ingredients for Tetley's current portfolio. I also work on many of our New Product Development projects, offering tasting expertise, tea and botanical knowledge to the team.

The great thing about this job is that I'm always learning something new & no 2 days are the same. Tea is an ever-changing commodity which is core to so many societies around the globe. It's a fascinating and rewarding industry in which to work.

To keep things fresh & to expand out depth and breadth of our knowledge Tetley's Tea Buyers & Blenders move roles every few years. So today I may be tasting & buying Camomile, Redbush and Peppermint. This time next year I could be blending a range of teas for our Consumers in Pakistan, buying light fragrant orthodox teas from Sri Lanka, thick, gutsy Assam or red and robust Malawis.

Must go - time for a cuppa.