Tea time is over. Or so the latest market research suggests. But not in Walking Heads Towers…we are still partial to a cuppa and sometimes even make it the proper way: in a teapot. Which is only right since we are based in the city which gave birth to Thomas Lipton. Oh, come on, you’ve heard of Liptons!

Seriously, the Mintel research, stirs concern for those of us who still enjoy a good brew – sales of tea dropped 15% between 2010 and 2014 and this year’s report shows they are predicted to fall another 7% during 2015. It seems tea drinkers are switching from old-fashioned ‘builders’ to green and herbal blends. But the biggest rival is coffee.

Cafe culture tends to be associated with the irresistible whiff of roasted beans and a barista who can produce your chosen blend with a theatrical flourish. And we are definitely not adverse to an aromatic cup from one of the many excellent independent cafes all around us. (Have you tasted Ethiopian coffee from Dear Green?)

But while coffee is a great kickstart to the day, and a comforting digestive at the end of a meal, there’s nothing quite like a good cup of tea. Properly made – teapot heated, teabags (tealeaves even!) of good quality left to brew for six minutes – and poured, milk in first, into a fine mug. China if possible. Ah…

There’s a long, long story to both tea and coffee drinking. But tea came first – from China thousands of years ago and into Britain via the East India Company in the early 18th Century. It’s often a bloody and violent tale but that’s for another day. Right now, it’s an interesting thought that many of the tea plantations in India were developed by Scots.

And one of the most successful tea traders was Thomas Lipton, an Ulster-Scot who was proud to claim his place of birth in 1848 was a Gorbals tenement. He was educated at St Andrews parish school on Glasgow Green but left school when he was 13 to supplement the family income ( his parents ran a modest shop selling ham, butter and eggs). By the age of 30 he was a millionaire.

 

Lipton's_seat

The so-called Lipton’s seat, a place in Haputale surrounded by tea fields, 1905 m above sea level. Picture Adbar, Creative Commons

In between – to cut a long and incredible story short – he sailed to America as a 15-year-old cabin boy on a ship from Glasgow, returning five years later to open his first shop. By 1880 he had a chain of shops which were to spread through Scotland and the rest of Britain. According to Wikipedia: “In 1888, when his empire had grown to 300 stores, he entered the tea trade and opened his tea-tasting office.”

Lipton’s entrepreneurial genius was by-pass the wholesale dealers so he could reach the hitherto untapped working class market. That led to Lipton’s tea gardens in Ceylon, tea shops at home and a world famous brand which is now owned by Unilever. (Thomas would probably approve of the cold-tea innovation, reaching a whole new market in the US)

Thomas Lipton blew much of his fortune on his passion for sailing – unsuccessfully competing for the Americas Cup – but he left what remained, including yachting trophies, to the city of Glasgow and they are now on display in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Sir Thomas Lipton died in 1931 and is buried with his parents and siblings in Glasgow’s Necropolis.

We can take you to the Necropolis with our Glasgow Landmarks audio tour. After a nice cup of tea.

Download our audio walking tours on GuidiGO too : we lead you from the digital world into the streets, uncovering a feast of often hidden stories.