INTERVIEW
THE TWININGS TEA
STORY CONTINUES...
How it all began
The Twining story began back in
1706 by the company founder
Thomas Twining. It is the oldest
tea company in the world, and
the tiny site where it all began –
as a coffee shop - all those years
ago is still in evidence, almost
opposite the Royal Courts of
Justice in London.
In 1700 there were over 2,000
coffee houses in London alone,
and the capital was nowhere
near as big in those days, so
competition was fierce. Thomas
Twining decided to use tea as
his draw line, and at the time
no lady could be seen in a coffee
house.
The founder, a clever
marketing man, bought three
tiny houses to buy his way into
the Strand and converted them
into a dry tea and coffee shop.
As the name grew in stature
ladies travelled in their carriages
and waited outside as their
footmen were sent in to buy
the tea. At the time one pound
(weight) of tea was 18 shillings
(90p) the equivalent of £100
today. The new shop was where
ladies could now go and buy
their tea.
Thomas’ son eventually took
over, but sadly died at a young
age, so the widow Mary Twining
ran Twining’s successfully in
a difficult period. Her son
Richard was subsequently
elected chairman of the London
Tea dealers, and wrote a book
about taking the price of tea
down. This was at a time when
it was being suggested that tea
might replace ale as the breakfast
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drink, because water in London
was virtually undrinkable.
Richard Twining went to see
William Pitt the Prime Minister,
and finally persuaded the
Government to reduce the tax
on tea dramatically. Suddenly
the price plummeted and
everyone could afford to drink
it. The brewers lost out, as tea
became the ‘must have’ drink, so
1784 proved the turning point
in this country as far as tea
drinking was concerned.
Tea clipper ships were also
invented, and they rode the
waves bringing tea back from
China. There were huge bonuses
for the crew of the first ship
back, and betting was frenetic
on who would win. The funny
thing was that all the ships
carried the same tea – but it
panned out like the modern day
Beaujolais run.
Tea was discovered in India,
and as the country was a
British colony it came in at
a low price, and in 1870 it
came in from Ceylon, pushing
out the Chinese, even though
today around 42 per cent of all
Twining’s tea is Chinese.
Then the Seventh Duchess
of Bedford, fancying a snack
between lunch and evening
meal, is thought to have
introduced afternoon tea, taking
it with a few delicacies around
4.0pm. Other ladies copied her,
and once Queen Victoria began
drinking afternoon tea, everyone
wanted to; and so the afternoon
tea tradition was born.
The perfect
tea day
Sam Twining used to drink between nine and 15 cups
of tea a day. He still enjoys his tea, even though a
little less frequent. So how do you plan the day as far
as tea is concerned? He says: “Everyone is different
but basically they like to wake up in the morning to
something brisk and bright.
“Some call it builders’ tea; some call it breakfast tea,
but for me it is a nice way of coming round at breakfast.
But as the day wears on I like a strong cup of tea
at around 10 or 11 o’clock. It can be Assam, but by
lunchtime you may feel you don’t want something quite
so strong.
“A lot depends on the weather, and on a hot day
you may want something a bit thinner, like a good Sri
Lankan tea – golden, light and delicate. But I think
Darjeeling tea is good on a cold day. Then in the
afternoon if it is a beautiful day then there is nothing
better than cucumber sandwiches and Lapsang
Souchong, a Chinese tea with a wonderful smoky, tarry
flavour, which puts me in my seventh heaven.
“If it is a warm day I would have Earl Grey or Lady
Grey, and there is nothing wrong with mixing that with
another tea such as English breakfast, which makes
a very nice afternoon brew. If it is cold and miserable
you want something to cheer you up, and I would
have Yunnan China team, Assam again, or Russian
Caravan, which only comes from Twining’s shops and
is a very fine blend of stronger China teas.
“In the evening after a big meal you need a soothing
digestive tea, and I drink Jasmine, a green tea which is
low in caffeine, and is what the Chinese give you after
a banquet. But if people like a certain tea at a certain
time of day, then there is nothing wrong with that. It is
all about ‘what tea do you feel like?’
“Importantly, keep tea in a screw-tight tin or jar,
whether it is bags or loose as it will keep fresh. Tea is
like blotting paper, it will pick up kitchen smells, so you
have to keep it in an air-tight container.”