Celebrating Tetley’s 180th Anniversary

This October Tetley is excited to celebrate its 180^th anniversary – the UK’s no.1^[1] tea brand has been serving quality cups of tea to the nation since 1837! Tetley is drunk in 9.69 million UK households[2] and works all over the globe, sourcing, buying and blending the finest leaves to ensure the best quality cuppa is always served.From the first clipper ships that brought Tetley tea down the Thames in 1837, Tetley has grown from strength to strength – today it’s purchased by more households than any other tea brand. In fact, Tetley is not just a British success, but a success that spans over more than 60 countries worldwide.Since 1837, when Joseph & Edward Tetley first founded their business, tea has become an iconic symbol of British heritage, and remains the nation’s favourite hot beverage. The sales opportunity it offers spans across all day parts, with 3.1 billion tea occasions out of home in the UK[3].

Always at the forefront of innovation, Tetley continues to strive to add value to the tea category. After returning from a trip to America, Tetley-Jones brought the very first tea bag machines to the UK in 1940, and tea bags were properly introduced into the market in 1953. Three decades later, Tetley was the first tea brand to launch round tea bags – ideal for brewing individual mugs of tea. In 1994, Tetley were the first to create the dripless drawstring tea bag – now a favourite in Britain, the US, France, Russia and Poland, and by the early 2000s, Tetley’s portfolio ranged from fruit and herbal infusions to green and speciality teas – not forgetting it’s classic blend teabags!

As well as innovative and exciting products, Tetley is dedicated to sharing its 180 years of expertise and insight to allow operators to explore what the Great British brew has to offer. In 2016, Tetley launched Tetley Tea Masters – the first ever UK online tea training course, created specifically for the out of home industry. In the course, Tetley’s Master Tea Blender Sebastian Michaelis takes users on a journey from crop to cup, addressing the biggest barriers in tea. Start training to become the next Tetley Tea Master now: www.tetleyteamasters.co.uk

Here’s to the next 180 years of Tetley – we can’t wait for what’s in store!

[1] Kantar April 2016 to October 11^th 2016

[2] 52 w/e Kantar data to November 6^th 2016