Twinings Museum facts for kids
The Twinings Museum was a small, temporary museum next to the Twinings tea shop. It was located at 216 Strand in London, England. This museum shared the long history of the famous Twinings tea company.
The Story of Twinings Tea
Thomas Twining moved to London in 1684. He was nine years old. After learning to be a weaver, he worked for a tea merchant. Thomas soon became a tea merchant himself.
In 1706, Twining bought a place called Tom's Coffee Shop. It was near the Strand. He started selling tea there, which was not as common as coffee back then. He also sold dry tea leaves to other coffee shops. Tea was a very expensive luxury item at that time.
Twining's business quickly became very successful. This allowed him to buy more space next to his shop. By 1717, Twining was selling tea at 216 Strand. The business is still there today! The shop has a special doorway with a golden lion statue above it. There are also two figures of Chinese men. These figures show where tea first came from.
The tea business became known as "R. Twining" in 1771. This was after Robert Twining became its leader. In 1837, Twinings received a special award from Queen Victoria. It was called a Royal Warrant. This means Twinings was chosen to supply tea to the Royal Family. The museum proudly showed this Royal Warrant.
Today, the Twinings tea business is owned by a company called Associated British Foods.
What You Could See
The Twinings Museum had many interesting items. These items told the story of the Twinings company. You could see old advertisements for tea. There was also a copy of the Royal Warrant. This showed that Twinings supplied tea to the British Royal Family. The museum also displayed old tea boxes, called tea caddies. You could also see examples of how Twinings tea was packaged over the years.
Learn More
- List of food and beverage museums
