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Our History
Our story begins with a man called Charles Taylor. Back in 1886, he began his business, C. E. Taylor and Sons, supplying the Yorkshire region with exceptional tea and coffee. He understood that making a proper cup of tea or coffee meant thinking about every aspect of the process, including the water.
A few years later Charles opened a number of ‘Kiosk’ tea and coffee shops. These were busy, bustling cafes which included tasting rooms where local guest‐house owners could come to taste and choose blends suited to their local water.
Building a family business
In 1962 Taylors was bought by Bettys, another of Yorkshire’s well-loved businesses. This partnership proved to be a roaring success and in 1977 we launched the Yorkshire Tea brand, which is now perhaps our most famous offering.
Being a responsible brand
Investing in a sustainable future is something we’ve being doing for a long time. Nearly 30 years ago we began our Trees for Life programme to plant and protect trees around the world, and we’ve been building our ambition and impact ever since. Over the years we’ve worked on hundreds of projects both at home and overseas in our supply chains, from planting millions of trees to improving drinking water across East Africa.
Today we’re still stretching our ambition. All of our products are now certified carbon neutral; we’re sorting out our packaging by removing single-use, oil-based plastics; and we’re increasing the value of our investment with our farmers every single year. We’re excited for what the future holds.