Twining's Tea Shop

Drink Like A Royal

Twining’s and England go together like two peas in a pod. Step foot in any house across the country and the likelihood is they will have some variety of Twining’s tea in their kitchen ready to brew – it’s just the way we do things here.

Set up by Thomas Twining after his time as an apprentice in the East India Company where he imported goods such as coffee and tea, Tom decided to branch off on his own and opened Tom’s Coffee House on the Strand in 1706 and quickly gathered a glowing reputation.

With his shop originally being set out to be dedicated purely to coffee, Twining quickly saw the potential in tea and grew a reputation for stocking some of the finest tea in London and within a decade switched his allegiances purely to the nation’s favourite drink. Coffee houses at the time were male only establishments and Tom’s use of dry tea leafs in bags opened his establishment up to woman who could host parties at home. The popularity of his tea led to more shops being opened and eventually Twining’s became the empire it is today.

The original shop still remains and is well worth a visit when coming over to visit London due to the importance of its name in the most famous of British traditions. The logo has remained unchanged since 1787 and is now the oldest corporate logo still in use and to rubber-stamp Twining’s name in national history Queen Victoria granted the company a royal warrant.

Jake Taylor

TripTide User