Tea shops · London, United Kingdom
Twinings' flagship at 216 Strand, opposite the Royal Courts of Justice: on the Strand since 1706, with a tea sampling bar and a downstairs tasting room.
The house
Thomas Twining bought Tom's Coffee House on the Strand in 1706. By 1717 he had acquired two neighbouring houses and turned one into a shop for loose tea, the Golden Lyon, so that women, who by custom did not enter coffee houses, could come in and buy tea for themselves. That building is today's 216 Strand. The doorway followed in 1787, commissioned by his grandson Richard: two Chinese figures for the origins of tea, and a golden lion for the Golden Lyon, lying down as a sign of respect to his grandfather.
The shop stands exactly opposite the Royal Courts of Justice and carries the whole Twinings range, from boxes of tea bags to loose leaf. Its sampling bar pours a daily selection of loose teas and infusions chosen by the staff, usually four or five at a time, and you can ask to taste before you buy. A Pick & Mix wall of tea-bag envelopes lets you build your own assortment, loose or in a wooden box. The tasting room holds the Hogarth portrait of Thomas Twining that, as the family tells it, settled the painter's unpaid account.
Downstairs, a tasting room for up to ten guests hosts the Classic Masterclass: two hours on where tea comes from, how it reached Britain and how professionals taste it, with white, yellow, green, oolong, black and pu'erh teas in the cup. It runs every afternoon at 15:30, with an extra 11:30 session at weekends, and is for over-18s. The loose-leaf range covers the same six families, from Long Jing and Tie Guan Yin to a white made for Twinings in Yunnan, a Huo Shan Huang Ya yellow tea from Anhui and an Imperial Pu'erh from Xishuangbanna.
London · United Kingdom
216 Strand, London WC2R 1AP
Opposite the Royal Courts of Justice. Temple station (District and Circle lines) is a two-minute walk; buses 4, 11, 15, 23, 26, 76, 172 and 341 stop opposite the shop.
Published hours: Mon–Wed, Fri–Sun 11:00–18:00 · Thu 11:30–18:30
216 Strand · Europe/London
Hours · 216 Strand
Check with the house before visiting. Published hours may include appointments, seasonal schedules or temporary closures; live status, where available, applies only to the named location and does not account for exceptional closures.
The FindMeTea edit
01 · Black tea
The house blend named after the street the shop stands on: black tea with bergamot and lemon peel, a twist on the Earl Grey that Twinings says it first recreated for the Prime Minister Earl Grey. Sold loose in a 100 g pouch.
£ 17.50· 100 g
Explore this tea →02 · Yellow tea
The only yellow tea on this list: Huo Shan Huang Ya from the mountains of Anhui, early buds wrapped in parcels to mellow and then dried slowly. Yellow is one of the six families tasted at the Classic Masterclass downstairs.
£ 20· 50 g
Explore this tea →03 · White tea
A white tea that Twinings says is produced only for it in Yunnan: one bud and one leaf, lightly withered in the sun and then dried. Sold loose by the 50 g.
£ 17.50· 50 g
The one worth the trip
The only limited edition among the loose teas: a 2026 first flush from Chamong Estate in Darjeeling, a tea garden since 1871 on a hillside between 1,150 and 1,850 metres. It is the most expensive tea on this list, and the regular Darjeeling beside it is a blend of second-harvest teas.
£ 65· 90 g
Explore this tea →At the house
Classic Tea Masterclass
Daily at 15:30, and at 11:30 at weekends · £ 50 per person
Two hours in the downstairs tasting room, for up to ten guests: where tea comes from, how it reached Britain and how professionals taste it, with white, yellow, green, oolong, black and pu'erh in the cup. Over-18s only.
Bespoke Blending Session
By appointment · £ 350 per session
A blend of your own, made with the shop's team; the price includes 1 kg of the finished blend.
Prices
Prices are indicative. Each price keeps its currency and pack size; this selection does not necessarily cover the house's complete range.
15 prices
| Tea | Type | Price / pack |
|---|---|---|
| Earl Grey Loose Tea | Black tea | £ 2.95125 g |
| English Breakfast Loose Tea | Black tea | £ 2.95125 g |
| Keemun Loose Leaf Tea | Black tea | £ 15125 g |
| London Strand Earl Grey | Black tea | £ 17.50100 g |
| London Strand Breakfast | Black tea | £ 17.50125 g |
| Darjeeling Loose Leaf Tea | Black tea | £ 17.50125 g |
| Gunpowder Green Loose Leaf Tea | Green tea | £ 17.50175 g |
| China White Loose Leaf Tea | White tea | £ 17.5050 g |
| Huo Shan Huang Ya Yellow Tea | Yellow tea | £ 2050 g |
| Long Jing Loose Leaf Tea | Green tea | £ 25100 g |
| Imperial Pu'erh Loose Leaf Tea | Pu-erh tea | £ 27.50125 g |
| Tie Guan Yin Oolong | Oolong tea | £ 30150 g |
| Jasmine Pearls Loose Leaf Tea | Green tea | £ 32.50125 g |
| Grey Dragon Oolong (West Java) | Oolong tea | £ 35100 g |
| 2026 1st Flush Darjeeling (Limited Edition) | Black tea | £ 6590 g |
Indicative prices, with each product’s pack size. Prices may change; check with the shop. Price verification dates: 2026-09-25.
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Images are cropped to fit the layout. The generic cover, when used, is illustrative and does not show this shop.
