History of Williamson Tea (formerly Williamson & Magor)

Williamson Tea, formerly known as Williamson & Magor, is an English tea company.

Williamson Tea is a special name among tea connoisseurs. As one of the world’s few private tea producing companies, Williamson Tea occupies an unique position in growing, producing, marketing, and selling fine teas.

Williamson Tea has been growing and selling quality tea since 1869 when Captain J H Williamson, who was involved in the management of tea estates in Assam, met R B Magor, an assistant with the Great Eastern Hotel in Calcutta.

A family-owned company, the Williamson Tea group remains one of the worlds largest tea producers. Williamson Tea operates 4 Kenyan tea estates in Changoi, Kapchorua, Kaimosi and Tinderet. Williamson Tea farms are set in the spectacular Kenyan Highlands and produce some of the worlds finest teas. The Kenyan Highlands have rolling hills carpeted in neat, bright green tea bushes. The Kenyan climate is perfect for producing tea with rain falling almost every afternoon. Williamson Tea farms are based in Nandi and Kericho districts of Kenya.

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Typhoo Tea: Brief History

Typhoo Tea, England

Launched in 1903 by Birmingham, England, grocer John Sumner, Typhoo has been waking tea drinkers for nearly 100 years. Today, Typhoo Tea is one of world’s favorite teas.

Raised in a grocery business family, Sumner, was born on February 26, 1856 in Birmingham. At the turn of the 20th century, the business had extensive stock of wine and spirits, a stout and cider bottling brand and a grocery side. Sumner successfully ran the business for years but sought a specialty product to develop.

He found the answer when his sister, who suffered from indigestion, tried a special tea made from tiny particles, not the large leaf variety that was common. Sumner decided that, instead of selling the tea loose over the counter, he would packet the tea under a brand name. He settled on Typhoo Tipps. Typhoo meaning, in part, the Chinese word for doctor. The double p in Tipps was originally a printing error but remained misspelled on the packets of tea for years.

Typhoo was the first brand of tea to be sold pre-packaged rather than loose over the counter. In order to encourage his customers to purchase the tea, Sumner gave away a jar of cream to each person that bought a pound packet. The tea quickly became popular and customers were becoming loyal to the brand that, even though a little more expensive, went further and had digestive qualities.

Word of mouth recommendation from his customers led beyond his regular clientele and soon other grocers were asking to purchase the Ty.phoo tea, inspiring a wholesale business.

In 1905, Sumner closed the grocery business to focus on the tea. On July 29, 1905 , Typhoo Tea Ltd was incorporated. Sumner drew attention to tea made from the edge of the leaf. This pure-edge leaf tea produced 80 more cups to the pound than ordinary tea and also cut out the stalk that contained tannin and caused indigestion.

As early as 1906 Sumner sold Typhoo branded teapots to customers. He also inserted circulars into the tea packets to highlight its benefits, and included picture cards on a range of subjects, which became very collectible. By the mid 1960s, Ty.phoo was annually packing more than 80 million pounds of tea and exporting to 40 countries worldwide.

In the late 1960s, the company merged with Schweppes, the famous soft drinks firm, and formed a new company called Typhoo Schweppes. A year later, Cadbury’s also joined the conglomeration, creating Cadbury Schweppes Typhoo.

In 1986 Typhoo was sold and the new company called Premier Brands. Premier continued to expand its tea operation by acquiring the herbal tea market leader, London Herb & Spice.

In 1989 Premier Brands was bought by Hillsdown Holdings and then in 1999 by Hicks Muse Tate and Furst. Further product developments were seen in 1999 when Typhoo became the first tea brand to introduce a green tea blend to the UK market and, in 2004, with the launch of Typhoo Fruit and Herb.

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Bewley’s Tea: Brief History

Bewleys Tea, Dublin Ireland

Bewley’s Tea is one of Ireland’s most popular brands.  Here is a brief history of Bewley’s Tea.

Summary
Bewley’s was established in 1840 and is one of Ireland’s leading brands. Today, Bewley’s remains a leading household name and is Ireland’s leading supplier of quality coffees and teas. Bewley’s is best known for its cafes throughout Ireland.

History
Bewley’s is a historic company. In 1835, Charles Bewley imported the first tea into Ireland from China with over 2000 chests of tea. It was the first time tea was shipped direct to Ireland. In 1833, the monopoly held by the East India trading company was broken. Tea merchants all over the world were free to do business. Charles Bewley was the first merchant who exercised that freedom. However, it was Charles brother Joshua that founded the company that was to become Bewley’s.

Joshua set up as a tea merchant in 1840, and by 1850, his company, The China Tea Company, was boasting a large client base and brisk sales. In 1875, he moved the company and established a new trading identity there as Charles Bewley and Co. Tea Merchants.

Joshua’s son, Ernest, joined his father and brother, Charles, in the firm and worked long hours to build up the shop’s trade in tea, sugar, coffee and oriental decorative goods. When brother Charles emigrated in 1890, Ernest was left in charge of the firm.  Over the next 40 years, Ernest oversaw development of a new dimension to the business, the Oriental Cafes.

Ernest was a stickler for punctuality and honesty and his pursuit of quality and style was reflected in all aspects of the business. He hired the best continental bakers, dressed the cafes in a richly distinctive oriental decor and kept the menu simple: tea, coffee, rolls, sticky buns and eggs, poached, boiled or scrambled.

In his quest for perfection Ernest acquired a farm and started a Jersey cow herd that provided milk and cream of legendary quality for the cafes. He won prizes at the royal Dublin Show for cattle and butter, his smartly turned out horse drawn delivery vans and even his roses!

For business people and well-heeled shoppers, the Bewley’s cafes became favorite meeting places and, in true cafe society style, they were the haunt at various times of artists and writers such as James Joyce and Patrick Kavanagh.

Ernest Bewley’s decision in 1927 to embark on his most prestigious venture yet, a cafe in fashionable Grafton Street, was an affirmation of the family’s commitment to a city that had come through a period of great political and social change. Fitted out in the distinctive Bewley’s style, the new cafe had 6 magnificent stained glass windows commissioned from the artist Harry Clarke. Their rich kaleidoscope of colors still lends an exotic atmosphere to the ground-floor of the Grafton Street site.

Ernest’s death in 1932 marked the end of an era for the firm. Despite failing health, he had managed to see the Grafton Street project to completion but was denied the satisfaction of knowing that in ten years’ time the cafes would provide 40% of the company’s profits.

Victor, Ernest’s 20-year-old son, stepped into his father’s legendary shoes. Despite being a naturally shy young man, he quickly gained the respect of the staff employed in the three cafes, two bakeries, and a small chocolate factory.

The shortages of the war years brought further changes in eating patterns and a scarcity of tea resulted in an increase in coffee consumption, a trend that had become a permanent one by the 1950’s. Today Bewley’s continues to be a market leader in both tea and coffee. Maintaining strict control over sourcing and production, Bewley’s is your passport to the world of fine teas.

Very Brief History of PG Tips

PG Tips is England’s number 1 tea. PG Tips is a good cup of english tea. The PG Tips tea sold by teadog.com is the original tea and still made in Manchester, England.

In 1869, tea dealer, Arthur Brooke, opened his first shop in Manchester, England, where he sold tea, coffee and sugar. Brooke’s early slogan was “good tea unites good company, exhilarates the spirits, opens the heart, banishes restraint from conversation and promote happiest purposes of social intercourse.” Arthur Brooke had so intertwined tea and British life that his company continued to prosper even after his death in 1918.

In 1930, PG Tips, sold only as loose tea, is one of the United Kingdom’s top brands. The tea is still made in Manchester, England. The British drink an astonishing 150 million cups a tea daily. Thirty-five million of these cups are PG Tips tea, which Britons love, is at the center of the United Kingdom. After exchanging pleasantries upon a visit to the friend, the dialog continues with, “would you like a cup of tea.” The tea bag was invented in 1908 when American tea importer Thomas Sullivan sent some samples of tins tea in tiny silk bags.

In 2004, PG Tips decaf was launched. In Scotland, a blend of PG called Scottish Blend was designed for the soft waters of Scotland. In 2005, PG Tips celebrated its 75th anniversary. As an entrepreneur, Arthur Brooks was simply following his passion when be opened his tea shop.

When he died at 49, his passion became a way of life. Countless words of joy have transpired among those who sip PG Tips. So when you heart needs opening, or your spirit exhilarating, why not reach for a cup of PG Tips.

P.S. There was no such person as Brooke Bond. Arthur Brooke chose the name partly because he thought it sounded sophisticated.

Brooke Bond PG Tips

Many people who drink PG Tips refer to it as Brooke Bond PG Tips. Brooke Bond used to be the company that produced PG Tips. But, PG Tips actually has been owned and produced by Unilever UK since 1984 .

Was this man Brooke Bond? See the PG Tips History post.

History of Barry’s Tea of Ireland

The history of some of the famous brands of tea is fascinating. Some brands of tea we sell go back many years. Barrys Tea of Cork, Ireland is one such brand. We include the history of the brands of tea we offer at teadog.com. In case you missed it, here is a summary of the history of Barry’s Tea.

Barry’s Tea has a long established reputation as Ireland’s leading tea company. The company was founded in 1901 by James J. Barry. Since its inception, Barry’s Tea was known for providing high quality tea. In 1934, Barry’s Tea was awarded the Empire Cup for tea blending. Until the 1960’s, Barry’s Tea was sold mainly from a shop on Prince’s Street in Cork, Ireland. Since then, Barry’s Tea has expanded to include 30% of the Irish tea market.

To ensure you have a perfect cup of tea every time, Barry’s Tea carefully selects tea from the best tea estates in the world. Barry’s Tea is blended mainly from African teas with some Indian teas. The highlands of Africa produce tea year round, which guarantees constant freshness, crucial to maintaining Barry’s high standards of quality. One distinctive feature of East African teas is the rich, golden color. Tea from India keeps Barry’s Tea rich and diverse.

Barry’s tea blenders are experts in their field and have carefully passed knowledge and expertise down through generations, which ensures Barry’s always has the highest possible quality standards and the most refreshing tea.