Where does Lipton tea come from?

In this brief article, we are going to answer the question of “where does Lipton tea come from?”. We will also discuss the history of Lipton tea and the reason for its popularity.

Where does Lipton tea come from?

Lipton teas are a mixture of teas from around the world, including India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and China, all of which are well-known countries that produce. Twenty different teas make Lipton Yellow Label. Unilever currently owns the Lipton Tea brand. 

Lipton’s is originally made from Camellia sinensis leaves. Their tea experts use high-quality and high-grade tea leaves to create a blend that appeals to a wide range of palates.

One 8-fluid-ounce serving of black coffee contains anywhere from 64 to 112 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, making it the most caffeinated option. There are no nutrients such as protein, fats, fiber, minerals, vitamins, or sugars in black tea.

Thomas Lipton, who worked as a supermarket in Glasgow, Scotland, established the Thomas J. Lipton Business, a tea packing business, in Hoboken, New Jersey, in the United States in the year 1893. In the year 1898, he was given the honor of a knighthood. With Home and Colonial’s merger in 1929, Lipton became Affiliated Stores in 1961, which was renamed in 1986. 

The Argyll Group bought Allied Stores in 1982 and renamed it Presto. Between the years 1938 and 1972, Unilever completed a series of acquisitions that brought them ownership of the Lipton tea business. In addition to black and green tea, Lipton teas include herbal teas, iced tea, and other varieties.

How did Thomas Lipton construct this tea empire?

Thomas Lipton was a self-made wealthy man before he had even entered the tea business. His father was an Irish grocer, and he was born in Scotland. In 1871, he established the first of a prolific system of grocery stores in Glasgow, which led to his becoming a wealthy man by the time he was 40 years old.

However, he recognized an opportunity to amass even more wealth within the working classes of British society.  Even though it was consumed by people of all social classes in Britain by the latter half of the 1800s, it was still considered something of a luxury item in the home. 

At the time, stores were charging the equivalent of fifty cents per pound for loose leaf tea. He was well aware that this price was out of reach for a working-class family that made only ten dollars per week. Lipton noticed a gap in the market and reasoned, “Why not eliminate the middleman?”

Lipton was under the impression that he could reduce the retail value of tea to a more reasonable 30 cents per pound while still generating a sizable profit for himself. Brokers of tea made the most money at that time. 

To get a better deal, he would have to stop purchasing tea from them and start cultivating his plants instead. Because of this, he was going to need a considerable amount of land. A “trip” to Australia was booked as a tactic, but he secretly arrived in Ceylon, presently Sri Lanka, to nullify any potential competitors. Ceylon had long been a major player in the global coffee trade.

However, a fungus arrived in the late 1860s and wiped out the entire industry. Several planters abandoned their fields, but others shifted their focus to tea, which was ultimately found to be an adequate substitute.

The tea cultivated in the central highlands of the island had a rich, mellow taste, was golden in the pot, and was trying to prove famous at the London tea auction on Mincing Lane. Before Lipton’s arrival in June 1890, Ceylon already exported approximately 45 m pounds of tea on an annual basis.

However, the island was still struggling to recover from the breakdown of the coffee business, and the land was being sold at fire-sale prices as a result. In the beginning, Lipton bought five estates and shortly had a dozen. He grew his tea and set up a facility with the necessary equipment to support increased output.

Before Lipton, the weight of tea from wooden chests was measured and folded into paper packages by shop assistants. Pre-measured packets of a quarter, half, and full pound were invented by Lipton. Shops would find it easier to deal with standardization. Additionally, it would alleviate any customer doubts about the shop’s scale or the tea’s provenance, which is another big advantage.

At a reasonable price, Lipton gained a reputation for producing high-quality products. Additionally, Lipton could use the packaging as an opportunity to promote its brand. The original design featured a Tamil tea plucker and the slogan “direct from tea garden to the teapot.”

In fact, Lipton’s tea packets were so popular that the company began selling them through other retailers outside of its own in the United Kingdom. In 1893, he traveled to Chicago for the World’s Fair, where he sold a million packets of Ceylon tea. With his bright yellow tag with its red shield, Lipton’s tea quickly gained a following in the United States and Great Britain.

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Conclusion

In this brief article, we have answered the question of “where does Lipton tea come from?”. We have also discussed the history of Lipton tea and the reason for its popularity.

Reference

https://tea.fandom.com/wiki/Lipton_Tea

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/10/25/498863411/-from-tea-garden-to-teapot-how-lipton-became-an-empire

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/which-tea-has-the-most-caffeine