Adfin | Inside the Adfin Tea Party

Once upon a time at Adfin...

Where do I even start? We’ve just completed the most insane road trip ever. 2600 miles in 18 days. Over 25 counties visited. 500+ cups of tea made. The Adfin Travelling Tea Party will go down in history!!!

The prep for the trip was insane and took well over a month. We bought the van back in April, as it needed to get turned into the beautiful green tea brewing machine it is now. We got it wrapped in brand colours, fitted a massive LED Adfin logo on the roof (it had to be ”as big as possible, like… the size of a door” - Tom) and, thanks to Jack (our van man), had a lovely, welcoming tea counter built into the side of it. We ordered a bunch of goodies to give to everyone, including our iconic tea tins and some new Adfin mugs. Then the route had to be planned. I had high hopes that ChatGPT would do it for me, but after several very unsuccessful attempts, it became clear I was on my own. In the end, the route wasn't the most efficient, but it meant we could see everyone whilst matching their preferred timings as best we could. I then packed the van, and we were ready to set off 3 weeks ago yesterday (which seems like a lifetime away!).

(I actually set off on the wrong foot immediately, driving to one of the planned stops instead of my hotel in Bury on Sunday night…perhaps I was just too excited 😉)

As much as I would love to go into what each day held (as each one had its own little story), I’ve picked out a few standout moments: the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

Favourite drive:

My favourite drive was actually on day 1 - seeing our clients in and around Bury St Edmunds. Sam was with me, and it's where he grew up, so he took the reins on the driving as well as the animated guide of the roads: ‘here is where I worked, here is where I crashed my car…’ 😂.

Speaking of day 1, its probably a good time to mention that the VAN HAD NO AC. And it was 35 degrees. Sunshine was a godsend for this trip, but 2 heatwaves in 3 weeks? With no AC? Let’s just say it got a litttleeeee sweaty in the van.

Not so favourite drive:

I was with Nathan and Tom and we were just leaving Llaneli, a town just outside of Swansea, heading for Cheltenham. I had made a mistake in my drive planning that day, and we had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us to make a visit scheduled in 2 hours. We also planned to have breakfast in Wales (which there was no longer time for!) - so the drive was hot, hungry and long!

Favourite stop/most dramatic moment:

This one needs a bit of a set-up.

It’s the second-to-last day, and I’m in the van with Ciprian, heading to what might be our most scenic stop of the whole trip: Penny’s beach hut on Thorpe Bay. The sun’s out, we’re 15 minutes away, and everything’s going smoothly… until we get a call from Chris.

He and Jasper were driving separately in a car behind us…or at least they were, until the car broke down in the middle of a dual carriageway. Chris ended up having to push it across three lanes of traffic to get it out of the way. Conveniently (or suspiciously?), it broke down right outside a pub.

After about an hour, they eventually made it to the beach! We had tea at the hut, went for a swim (my first sea swim of the year!) and wrapped up the day with a fish and chip dinner.

Dream team:

I had different colleagues join me for different parts of the trip. Everyone had their strengths (Sam had the best anecdotes, Chris the best music, Ciprian the best advice), but the dream team had to be Nathan and Tom, who were with me for 3 of the hardest days. Together, we had nailed the setup routine, bringing total set-up time to just 3.5 minutes. Chairs, tables, flags, tea, cake and all. It was a military operation.

Funniest interaction:

On Wednesday night of the first week, I was making my way to Portsmouth Harbour, ready to board the overnight ferry to Guernsey with the van. Since we were carrying lots of our own merch, I had to check in as a freight vehicle.

Once I’d reverse-parked onto the ferry (proud moment), I realised it was just me (25, female) and about ten truckers. I was also holding a full plate of cakes, wrapped in foil, which I was desperately hoping someone would take off my hands. It felt wrong to throw them away, but slightly odd to be wandering around a freight deck offering cake.

In the clunky lift at the bottom of the ferry, one of the truckers nodded at the plate and said, “Are those for us?” as a joke. My face lit up. “YES. Please, take them.” It was a very happy exchange.

Favourite dinner:

A good dinner might rely on good food, but it’s really the company that makes it. My favourite meal of the trip was a beef bourguignon in a quaint pub just outside Grimsby, shared with Ciprian.

Our conversation turned almost philosophical: we talked about beliefs, plans for life, and what we think about the state of the world (yes, really). After a full day on the road, it was just nice to slow down and have a proper conversation!

This was definitely an unplanned consequence of the trip: spending so much time together (in such close quarters) really does bring you closer. I’ve learned so much about everyone, things you’d never get from just sitting next to each other in the office. I now know who’s definitely not a morning person, who can be trusted with the aux, and who definitely can't be trusted with directions… 👀

Biggest regret:

Okay, I’m not sure this really counts as a regret, but since we’re on the topic… putting ‘Honk if you hate chasing invoices’ on the back of the van might not have been the finest idea.

The honks were always funny and did lead to some great interactions - but every single time it happened, I had a mini heart attack thinking I’d cut someone off or done something horrendous behind the wheel.

Maybe next time we go with something a little less...interactive 🤔

Things I learned:

As I mentioned, I really got to learn more about everyone who joined me for the trip. Here are some of my favourite findings:

Sam used to be a sauna host, serving frozen grapes to spa goers (quite the career pivot)
Chris’s death row meal is a surf and turf: steak and lobster
Nathan is in the Army Reserves (trained in heavy artillery……….. don’t mess with Nathan)
Carlos’s go-to (alcoholic) drink is a good quality tequila (which doesn’t surprise me 😝)
Tom loves a bit of opera, opting to play Puccini in the van for some light listening on the way to Wales
Ciprian has always been ahead of the game: he specialised in AI at uni, hoping to go straight into it after graduating
I love driving a van

I also learned that our customers really are the best. Carlos made a big point of this in his recent blog, but spending so much time with so many of them really made it hit home. We were always welcomed with warm smiles and excitement - you don’t get that in all industries!

Finally, I can’t wrap up without a mention about Guernsey. We made 8 visits that day, hosted a launch party at the Yacht Club and really got to see the fun side of the island (Thanks, Tim 😉). Really looking forward to the next time we’re out there…perhaps in an Adfin sailboat.

I was asked on Friday (a mere day after the trip ended) if I would do it again. I hesitated for a moment, still exhausted from the travelling, long days and sleeping away from home, but smiled shortly after: “hell yeah”!

Inside the Adfin Tea Party

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