Soon American colonists were consuming more tea than England and the Dutch stayed active in tea trade throughout the Western world.
Once tea did become popular in England, the British could hardly be expected to travel abroad without their precious drink and as a result, tea made second entree to the United States with the British colonists.
By the beginning of the 18th century tea was available in major American cities, but through trade with England. In 1880’s, America came to the forefront as the biggest importer of tea due to faster clipper ships and the ability to pay its debts in gold.
In 1890, Sir Thomas Lipton, who had already helped to popularize tea in England, brought his business acumen to the United States. During the war years, Lipton had enlarged its U.S. sales and in August 1919 it moved its packing plant and main office to a large eleven-story building in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Another British form, Tetley Tea, had sizeable American market share. Salada Tea Company founded in Toronto in 1892 also marketed in the United States.
At the turn of the 20th century the tea bag came along a surprise and Thomas J. Lipton was responsible for designing a four sided tea he dubbed the ‘flo-thru’ tea bag.
Tea business in America
