Once a year, we invite two of our suppliers over to Harrogate to spend a few days with us. But it’s more than just a social call – in fact, it’s a pretty special occasion: our Supplier of the Year awards.

Now in their third year, these awards recognise the best of our international suppliers and aim to build strong and relationships for the future. We pick one from the world of tea and one from the world of coffee (as made by our sister company, Taylors Coffee).

This year’s winners are Ajay Kichlu from Chamong in Darjeeling, and Gilbert Gatali from KZ Noir in Rwanda (that's them above - Ajay on the right, Gilbert on the left).

Ajay, who visited this week, said: “We’re really pleased to be here – delighted and a little taken aback!”

Our head of tea, Ian Brabbin, helped to choose Chamong. He said: “There’s genuine warmth in the relationship, Ajay’s like a friend to us, and they do make the best tea in Darjeeling and some of the best in the world. The service they give us is exceptional and they consistently go over and above our expectations.

And Rick Tingley, the head of coffee at Taylors, helped to choose KZ Noir. He said: “It’s not just about the last year, but the last few years. Before then we didn’t know Gilbert or KZ Noir at all. It’s testament to what you can achieve in such a short space of time – they’ve gone from nothing to producing Rwanda’s first ever Rainforest Alliance certified coffee.

Gilbert said: “We’re really happy to be working with Taylors, for our growth to be sustainable we know we need to build long-term relationships. Achieving Rainforest Alliance certification this year was an historic moment for Rwandan coffee, and we were delighted to be the first and to have partnered with Taylors to do it.”