The History of Twinings Tea

In 1684, nine-year-old Thomas Twining moved to London with his family. In his 20s, he learned about the fledgling tea trade while working for a wealthy merchant and soon decided to purchase his own coffee house, Tom’s Coffee House. There, he set himself apart from the competition by offering tea. He was soon serving gentlemen in the coffee house while ladies sent their footmen in to purchase dry tea for use at parties in their homes (at the time it was taboo for women to enter coffee houses). In 1717, Thomas opened what is thought to be the world’s first dry tea and coffee shop, The Golden Lyon Tea and Coffee House. Fittingly, a painted golden lion adorned the shop entrance. Around the same time, it became acceptable for ladies to shop for tea, and Thomas’s new venture quickly took off. His son, Daniel, took over the family business and oversaw Twinings’ first overseas exports, which included customers like the Governor of Boston. (Notably, a Boston writer clarified that “it was not Twinings tea the Boston rebels tossed into the sea.”) In 1762, the widowed Mary Twining ran the business independently and despite the high amount of smuggled, inferior tea being brought into the country, she proudly wrote in her journal that she successfully preserved Twining's reputation for quality and never bought any of it. In 1783, Richard Twining argued for drastic cuts to tea taxation, leading to the Commutation Act of 1784. Sales exploded and tea became the national drink of England. In the 1830s, Twinings began producing its famous Earl Grey tea, which was named after Prime Minister Charles Grey II. In 1837, Queen Victoria granted Twinings its first Royal Warrant for tea, appointing the company as the official supplier of tea to the royal household, a tradition every British monarch has continued since. Twinings ran its first print advertisement in 1899 and unveiled its famous English Breakfast blend in 1933. In 1956, Twinings began making tea bags, primarily to sell to customers in North America. In 1972, the first Twinings herbal offerings hit store shelves and in 1994, Twinings launched a new blend called Lady Grey. Twinings Keurig K-Cups were launched in 2006 and in 2018, the company unveiled a line of wellness-focused teas. Today, Twinings is one of the best-known and most-loved tea brands in the world and is especially popular in its native England.