Where to Buy Tea in London: Twinings, Strand

Twinings London TwiningsThomas Twining started selling tea from his coffee shop in 1706. Tom’s had a library and was ‘…a place renowned for its polite and scholarly interests’.

Twinings is still run by Thomas’s family and over the years has sold tea to Jane Austen, Sir Christopher Wren and Winston Churchill.
The distinctive doorway, with the Chinese figures and golden lion, dates from 1797 and features the Twinings logo – chosen in 1787 – the oldest in continual use.
On entering Twinings, the first thing you notice is the wonderful aroma of tea; the essence of 300 years trading must be infused in the walls.

The long, narrow shop is lined with dark-wooden shelves, stacked top-to-bottom with all kinds of teas, infusions and tea paraphenalia. Above are portraits of generations of the Twinings family including Thomas by William Hogarth (also encountered at the Foundling Museum), supposedly painted in return for tea.

At the back of Twinings shop is an excellent range of speciality teas and a table set out with different brews to taste. Helpful staff will make you a (free) cup of any of the tea on the shelves; a great idea if you are keen to try something different. I tasted the High Mountain Oolong from Taiwan. I am just discovering oolong tea, which is lighter than black tea and more full-bodied than green (I am enjoying a very nice cup as I type).

On leaving Twinings, is well worth taking a short walk through the alley at Devereux Court, a few steps away. This is the site of Tom’s original coffee shop which was opposite The Grecian (now the Devereux pub). An important meeting place for 18th century scientists including Issac Newton, Edmund Halley and Hans Sloane, who would repair to the Grecian after their weekly meetings of The Royal Society for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge. Much intellectual discussion and assimilation of ideas took place in coffee houses or ‘penny universities’ as they became know (one penny being the price of admission).

Twinings is a great place to try and buy loose-leaf tea. It is popular with tourists and can be a bit crowded; so try to visit when quiet, as the friendly and knowledgable staff are happy to talk tea and the history of the shop.
Stephen Twining, takes a hands-on interest in his forefathers business, and had apparently been in the week before I visited. So go for a free cuppa (portrait painting skills not required) and you may even bump into Thomas’s descendent.