British who founded the tea empire: Thomas Twining
Twinings was founded by Thomas Twining, of Painswick, Gloucestershire, England, who opened Britain's first known tea room, at No. 216 Strand, London, in 1706; it still operates today. The firm's logo, created in 1787, is the world's oldest in continuous use.
Twining is a famous British company that markets tea and other drinks (coffee, hot chocolate and malt drinks) based on Twining, Andover (Hampshire), and has been a Associated British Foods since 1964. Today, Twining is considered an important brand that will be used synonymously with the history of British tea.
Thomas Twining from the town of Painswick (Gloucestershire), the founder of Twining, opened the first known tea room in Britain in 1706 at 216 Strand address, which is still open. The logo of the company, which was created in 1787, is considered the oldest and continuous company logo in the world. Twining, the owner of a royal order, is famous for its Earl Gray tea, which is mixed with bergamot, but it is not known when the production of this tea starts. Some claim that Earl Gray was produced by Jacksons of Piccadilly, who initially competed with Twining but was purchased by Twining in the 1990s.
Thomas Twining worked as an apprentice at East India in his youth, and he imported exotic regions, especially tea. Thomas's shop opened in Strand in 1706 and Tom's coffeehouse (Tom’s Coffee House) soon became a popular meeting point for the aristocrats. Although the shop is dedicated to coffee, Twining soon becomes famous because it has some of the best tea mixtures in London. Thanks to these mixtures, women can find the opportunity to drink tea at home. Because at that time, cafes were only the businesses that appealed to men.
Thomas Twining soon enlarged his business, opened more stores, and eventually turned it into the tea empire as it is today.
England and tea
Although Britain's relationship with tea was thought to be as old as the British nation itself, this drink was introduced to Britain by a Portuguese queen in the 1660s. Thanks to the increase in Eastern Indian trade and the increase in the number of merchants such as Twining, tea has quickly become the national drink of the British.
History of Twining
https://twinings.co.uk/blogs/news/history-of-twinings