18th century Bristol was a flourishingcommercial port with tea clippers to be seen returning from the plantations of India, Cylon and the Far East. In the 1800 Edmund and then his son Stephen were involved as tea merchants. Then the next generation of Carwardines saw the business throught years of the 1st and 2nd world wars till Christopher took over in 1973. In 1981, Martin Carwardine joined the business and has been continuing the tradition of tea and coffee blending and roasting.