History

Two scientists, one idea

Charlie and Natalie met through food chemistry. Instead of brewing tea hot, they let the leaves steep cold for many hours — preserving delicate aromatics and avoiding bitterness. The result is treated like a sparkling wine: dry, finely beaded, elegant.

The Founders

Charlie & Natalie Winkworth-Smith

The couple still run Saicho themselves. Their aim: an alcohol-free drink experienced not as going without, but as a pleasure in its own right — fine enough to sit beside the best wines.

Not drinking wine should never mean drinking less well.

The Teas

Three origins

Each cuvée comes from a single tea: a floral Jasmine green tea, a malty Darjeeling from the hills of northern India, and a roasted Japanese Hojicha. Single-origin, so the character of each comes through.

At the Table

How to serve it

Well chilled in a wine glass — as an aperitif or an alcohol-free pairing through a tasting menu. The Jasmine suits fish and Asian dishes, the Darjeeling lighter meats, the Hojicha mature cheese.

Conscience

Naturally minded

Saicho uses no artificial flavourings and is only lightly sweetened — the taste should come from the tea, not the sugar.