Instant Tea: From England to 1950’s America

by Avis Yarbrough

Is a teabag just a tea bag? In the case of Lipton Instant tea it is a tale of showmanship, a clever slogan, and the luck of the Irish.

Thomas J. Lipton was an Irish immigrant and a multi-millionaire with a string of retail stores. In order to appease some tea brokers in London, Lipton decided to sell tea in his stores, but he wanted to sell tea that would be affordable to working class families.

To do this Lipton did three things. First, he cut out the middleman and brought his tea directly from India. Second, he sold his tea in packages by the pound, half a pound and quarter pound. Lastly, he made tea bags so that they would be easy to handle.

At first, Lipton sold his tea aggressively to the English working class with much success, but eventually instant tea came to the United States. The question is, why?

Well, it started post War World II, when tea sales in the United States started to flourish, out distancing those in England for once. The reason primarily has to do with 1950’s advertising, and the advent of pre-packaged and ready made food products available to the Americans after the war.

Because of this, instant tea took its place along side other pre-packaged foods like instant coffee, food mixes and frozen drink items. Also, because of instant teas, housewives, during the 1950’s, no longer had to worry about brewing the perfect tea for guests. But it was only in the late 1950’s that instant tea took off.

Why? Companies had invented a tea that dissolved in cold water, therefore housewives, pressed for time, did not have to boil water to make a good cup of tea. This sealed their devotion and instant tea has been a hit in the United States ever since, with no signs of abating.

So when you are drinking the glass of cold ice tea this summer, remember to give thanks to Thomas J. Lipton for having vision, fortitude and good business sense for helping bring instant tea to the United States.

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