Top taste

Five questions to…Giles Hilton

Giles Hilton is more commonly referred to as "The Nose" such is his acute sense of smell – and taste – when it comes to tea.

Whittard's resident taster has worked for the company since 1976, first as Dick Whittard's accountant before being trained by the boss to take over the most important job – choosing the leaves.

The Briton, who travels the world choosing the dozens of teas and coffees sold in its branches, reveals how he decides what makes the cut.

How get you get into the tasting business? I used to think of tea as just a regular drink, but Mr Whittard had such an imagination and way of describing them that it brought it all to life. It opened my eyes to something I had taken for granted. You can smell your way through tea and everyone can learn if you're pushed to do it. I smell all the samples and if I have doubts, I brew them and don't often find myself wrong. It's a hobby I'm paid for.

From where are the teas sourced? I buy from all over the world. If you take Darjeeling, for example, there are only 86 gardens in the whole of Darjeeling and I have five favourites that never let me down. Because it's such high altitude, I get sent 20 days of pickings and they all taste different; if it has rained the leaves are greener so it's softer tasting but if it's dry there is a slight brittle taste. Four days after a storm is the best time to pick the leaves.

How much do you drink? If I'm working, up to 200 cups a day but if I drink it socially, I have 15 – and four jugs of coffee.

How often do you change the teas on sale? There is a natural erosion of the range when there is little demand or if they prove popular we will find more varieties each year.

Did Whittard struggle as gourmet coffee houses grew in popularity? When there was a resurgence of coffee from the likes of Starbucks and Caffé Nero, some people said tea was doomed but it wasn't. People didn't brew coffee at home but bought it and that had a positive effect on Whittard. It grew our coffee sales as people defected from the instant drink they had at home. Then it started to work for tea because again it was real tea and not from a bag.

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