Hornimans facts for kids

Hornimans is a well-known brand of tea. It is currently owned by a company called JDE Peet's.

The Start of Hornimans Tea

The Hornimans Tea Company began in 1826. It was started by a trader named John Horniman in Newport, Isle of Wight, England.

In 1852, John Horniman moved his business to London. He did this to be closer to the London Docks. At that time, London Docks was the busiest place in the world for trading tea.

How Hornimans Changed Tea

Before 1826, tea was usually sold as loose leaves. Some dishonest traders would mix other things into the tea, like hedge clippings or dust, to make more money.

John Horniman changed this. He started using machines to fill and seal tea packages. This made the process faster and helped make sure the tea was pure. This new way of selling tea meant customers got better quality tea. Even though some competitors were not happy, Hornimans became the biggest tea trading business in the world by 1891.

The Horniman Museum

In the 1870s, John Horniman's son, Frederick John Horniman, took over the business. Frederick loved collecting things from when he was a child. He traveled a lot and collected many items.

He used much of his money to build the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, South London. This museum was made to hold his huge collections. Today, the museum has about 350,000 items. About 10% of these items were part of Frederick's original gift.

Hornimans Today

After World War I, in 1918, Frederick's son Emslie Horniman sold the business. It was bought by J. Lyons & Co.. They moved the tea production to a new factory in Greenford, Middlesex.

Hornimans tea stopped being sold in the United States in 1993. However, Hornimans tea and herbal infusions are still very popular. You can find them in countries like Spain and Uruguay.

See also

In Spanish: Hornimans para niños