The Twining family of Gloucestershire, weavers and processors of wool for generations, were driven to London by recession in 1684.

With them went nine-year-old Thomas Twining.

After becoming a Freeman in 1701 at the age of 26, Thomas turned his back on his father’s trade, and went to work for a wealthy East India Company merchant. At the time, the East India Company was importing many exotic new products from around the world, including tea - the possibilities of which fascinated Thomas. In 1706, Thomas Twining bought Tom’s Coffee House off Strand, London, and applied his new-found knowledge to his own business.

By the time Thomas Twining bought Tom’s Coffee House, coffee houses had become a popular feature of London life. Men — but never women — of all classes would gather there to drink, to gossip, and to do business. Coffee shops gathered a loyal clientele by specialising in particular products or by encouraging customers with common interests. Poets, for instance, would go to one establishment; army officers, to another.

The knowledge that Thomas had learnt gave him an edge over his competitors. In addition to the standard coffee-house menu of coffee, brandy, rum, arak (an Eastern toddy), and drinking water (described at Tom's as "Bath, Bristol, Hungary, and Spa") Thomas was now able to offer fine teas.

Concentrating on tea was no gimmick. Thomas knew it was a drink with great potential. It was astute marketing that determined his choice of product and location.

Tea’s popularity grows.

Despite efforts to repress tea-drinking through punitive taxes, tea became increasingly fashionable during the early part of the eighteenth century. The clergy, the medical profession, and various vested interests were united in their opposition to tea, but the upper classes couldn’t get enough of it. Soon, Thomas Twining was selling more dry tea than wet. He even sold it to competing coffee houses.

Only the wealthy could afford to drink tea. In 1706, Twinings Gunpowder Green Tea was selling for a price that’s equivalent at today’s rates to more than £160 for 100g.

And while the custom of the day discouraged ’women of substance’ from entering the bawdy, masculine world of the coffee houses, Thomas Twining was fast building a reputation for selling only the finest teas - teas that well-heeled London ladies were eager to serve in their drawing rooms.

Convention may have prevented these ladies from stepping inside Tom’s Coffee House, but it didnt stop them waiting outside. While they sat in their carriages and sedan chairs, their footmen would buy the coveted tea.

By the time of his death, Thomas Twining was serving customers with royal connections and living the life of a successful businessman, having created an empire that would live on for more than three centries.

Exporting to America.

The son of Thomas Twining, Daniel, was the first Twining to export tea. His ledgers show that in 1749, Twinings tea was being sold to America. The Governor of Boston was a customer, and his tea seems to have made it to America without mishap.

During the infamous Boston Tea Party in 1773, American patriots dumped English tea in Boston harbour to protest a tax. However, as a distinguished writer noted: “…it was not Twinings tea the Boston rebels tossed into the sea.”

In 1762, after Daniel’s premature death, his second wife, Mary Little, took charge of the Twining family business. It could not have been easy to cope with an expanding business and a young family in a time when women were discouraged from entering public life. But cope Mary did.

She was a fine businesswoman, a great teacher, and scrupulously honest. At that time, Britain was flooded with illegally-imported tea. Honest, duty-paid tea was frighteningly expensive, yet Mary was proud to claim that she never dealt in smuggled tea.

Twinings shapes history.

In 1771, although he was just 22 years of age, Richard Twining took over from his mother. His younger brother, John, joined him the following year.

An influential member of the Twining family, Richard’s knowledge of the tea trade was unrivalled. At a time when tea was high on the political agenda, his negotiating skills made him a natural choice for Chairman of the London Tea Dealers, through which he persuaded William Pitt, the Prime Minister, to cut tea duties -at last making tea affordable to all.

With the premises at 216 Strand little changed since the days of his grandfather Thomas, Richard Twining wanted to upgrade the shop in a way that would attract attention, so he installed a grand new entrance in 1787. It was adorned with the golden lion, the timeless emblem of the company, and two Chinese figures to represent tea’s origins. There was also a new sign: the Twinings name with its distinctive typeface and lack of an apostrophe.

The combination of name and typeface seen above the door still appears on packets of Twinings tea. It’s been in continuous use for more than two centuries, albeit in different markets. Considered the oldest logo in continuous use in the world, it can even be found in London’s Museum of Brand, Packaging and Advertising, www.museumofbrands.com.

By royal appointment.

In 1837, Queen Victoria granted Twinings their first Royal Warrant for tea as ’Purveyor in Ordinary to Her Majesty’.

Throughout Queen Victoria’s reign, tea prices continued to fall, while Indian tea production increased. When World War II broke out, neither bombs nor rationing could halt the flow of morale-boosting cups of Twinings tea.

The blitz briefly interrupted sales at Twinings Strand shop - but not for long. The bomb that hit Devereux Court in 1941 may have knocked out part of the building, but it did nothing to dampen spirits. Within a few hours, a table was set up in the doorway of the Twinings shop, and tea sales carried on as normal.

Tea-rationing, which had been introduced the year before, also failed to damage the business. Twinings continued to supply wartime Britain with tea, and even produced tea for Red Cross prisoner-of-war parcels, for the Women’s Voluntary Service, and for many YMCA wartime canteens.

Looking forward to the next 300 years.

Now in its third century, Twinings operates its international business from the UK. Twinings still sells tea in London at 216 The Strand, probably the world's first dry tea and coffee shop.

Twinings is honoured to hold Royal Warrants of Appointment to HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales. The Strand Shop is a showcase for Twinings range of specialty teas, together with books, teapots, many glorious blends of coffee, and all the paraphernalia for making the perfect cup of tea. To the rear of the shop is the delightful Twinings Museum, full of stories and artifacts from the past.

After quenching thirsts for more than three centuries, no one knows better than Twinings how to deliver the perfect tea experience. Customers in more than 100 countries enjoy Twinings products. And not just the popular favourites - products such as fruit and herbal infusions, aromatic teas, and iced teas are delighting the taste buds of a new generation of customers.