Twinings Museum facts for kids
The Twinings Museum is a small museum in London, England. It's right next to the famous Twinings tea shop on Strand. The museum tells the interesting story of the Twinings tea company, which has been selling tea for hundreds of years.
Contents
The Story of Twinings Tea
How It All Began
The Twinings story started with a man named Thomas Twining. He was born in 1675 and moved to London from Gloucester when he was nine years old. After learning to be a weaver, Thomas started working for a tea merchant. This job taught him a lot about the tea business.
In 1706, Thomas Twining bought a coffee shop called Tom's Coffee Shop. It was located in Devereux Court, near the Strand. Back then, coffee shops were very popular. Thomas decided to sell tea there too, which was quite new. Tea was a very expensive luxury product at the time.
Growing the Business
Thomas Twining also sold dry tea leaves to other coffee shops nearby. His business quickly became very successful. This allowed him to buy more space next to his shop on the Strand.
By 1717, Twinings was trading at 216 Strand. This is the same address where the business is today! The shop has a special entrance with a golden lion statue above it. There are also two figures of Chinese men, showing where tea originally came from. The museum is right next to this historic shop.
Today, the Twinings tea business is owned by a company called Associated British Foods.
What You Can See at the Museum
Exploring the Exhibits
The Twinings Museum has many cool things to see. You can find old items and documents that show the history of the Twinings company. The museum also displays old tea caddies, which are special boxes for storing tea.
You can also see examples of Twinings packaging from different times. There are old advertisements and other fun items related to tea. The museum also shares the history of the Twinings family.
Royal Tea
Twinings received a special honor from Queen Victoria in 1837. This was called a Royal Warrant. It meant that Twinings was chosen to provide tea to the British Royal Family. The museum proudly displays a copy of this Royal Warrant.
See also
- List of food and beverage museums
