Twinings Tea

One of the most famous brands in the world, Twinings have produced a delicious site for those interested in the history of tea. An admirable decision has been taken not to push the Twinings brand too heavily in their editorial. Designed for small screens and simple to use, it's a beautiful and very clear site. The images are slow to appear but well worth the wait. Most pages have a link at the bottom that automatically takes you to the next page in the sequence.



Special Features



History of Tea A charmingly-written section covering quite different information from the Tea Council's site, for example social history, the role of women in promoting tea-drinking, and the development of tea gardens and afternoon tea dances.



The Twinings Tradition A history of the company, yes, but one that encompasses many fascinating aspects of British history too.



Tea Production This excellent section on the main tea-producing countries supplies useful maps, details of the market, and the styles of tea produced. There is a glossary of terms, and everything you need to know about how tea is made, graded, and blended. You will also find the golden rules of brewing tea, and coverage of the milk and sugar question.



Twinings Shop Online mail order sales were previously restricted to the USA, but thankfully this has changed. Here is a marvellous opportunity to buy the Twinings specialities that are for some curious reason not widely available in British stores (although they are, for example, in Australia). Amongst the caddies and bags of classic teas are Prince of Wales, Jasmine and Lemon tea, and there's even rarely-seen bags of Russian Caravan. The green tea section reveals many that you may not have realised Twinings even offered, such as Sencha, Java, Lotus and Jade green teas. also here are the fruit and herb tisanes that are widely distributed in supermarkets, plus flavoured black, organic and decaffinated teas.


Other Features



A brief overview of the health claims made for tea, Tea of the Month, and links to sites on tea and health, and the Tea Sourcing Partnership, an ethical trading initiative of which Twinings is a founder member.