Twinings: 300 Years of the Royal Cup of Tea
From a coffee house on the Strand in 1706 to an unbroken line of royal warrants — the remarkable story of Britain's oldest tea merchant.
If there is one thing more British than tea, it is a very old company selling it. Twinings has been blending and selling tea from the same address for over three centuries — through nine monarchs, an empire’s worth of history, and the invention of one of the world’s most famous blends.
It began with a coffee house
In 1706, Thomas Twining bought Tom’s Coffee House at 216 the Strand in London — and it is still there today, making Twinings London’s longest-standing ratepayer at a single address. Spotting that tea was the coming taste, he soon opened a dedicated shop for dry, blended teas, marked by a gold-painted lion above the door. It is often described as the world’s first dry-tea shop.
An unbroken royal warrant
In 1837, Queen Victoria granted Twinings its first Royal Warrant for tea. Remarkably, the company has held a warrant from every British monarch since — an unbroken line of more than 180 years, and one of the longest royal associations of any brand in the country.
The story of Earl Grey
Twinings is also the home of Earl Grey, the bergamot-scented blend named after Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey and a nineteenth-century Prime Minister. The tea’s exact origins are wrapped in charming legend, but Twinings’ association with the blend is long and well documented — and in 2024 the present Earl Grey publicly endorsed the company’s version as the original.
Still on the Strand
What makes Twinings so lovely is its sheer constancy. The same narrow shop, the same golden lion, the same Strand address that has poured tea since Queen Anne sat on the throne. To buy a caddy there is to take part in something that has barely changed in three hundred years.
Royal Warrant holder status is reviewed periodically and can change; details are correct as of 2026.
