Author: Mark Orr

I have become a recent convert to green tea.  I have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and in my battle to control it without any drugs green tea is a powerful weapon.

However, whilst green tea is incredibly good for you and has immense health properties, it usually doesn't taste that great.  So, as I go around various coffee chains and independent cafés I get to try a huge variety of green tea.

My friend John Dale is a big fan of Pret a Manger.  He goes there every day on his walks around the Centre MK.  I have now become a fan too and one of the reasons is that the green tea in Pret a Manger is, by a very long way, the very best tasting green tea in the UK.  It's refreshing and very satisfying.

So, I asked John if Pret sell their teas as a retail item.  For example you can buy Costa and Starbucks coffees from their shops and in supermarkets.  John didn't know but he didn't think they did.

So, I contacted Pret directly through their website and asked where I could buy their green tea bags to drink at home.  I received a very swift response advising me that sadly they don't retail any of their items but offering to send me a few samples.

What a nice surprise on my doormat today.  A jiffy bag containing 12 of their very tasty green tea bags and a lovely handwritten greetings card from Lilly in their customer services team hoping I enjoy the tea.

I was so chuffed to bits that I have already rung several people to tell them about it and now I'm telling you here as well as sharing this across my social media channels.  What a brilliant attitude Pret has.

Other great examples of their ethics are that they give you 50p off of your drink if you bring your own cup.  Also, in Milton Keynes all of their left over fresh food is given to local homeless people every night.

Thanks so much Pret for making a real difference, I really appreciate it!