History.
Our family business was founded in 1886 in Harrogate, one of the nicest towns in Yorkshire. We’re still family owned today and we work hard to stay true to our love of fairness, flavour and quality.
The story of Taylors.
Our story starts way back in 1886, when a man named Charles Taylor and his two sons set up a tea and coffee company. Back then, the old water networks meant the taste of tap water could vary from street to street – but by buying the best and creating bespoke blends to suit each customer’s water supply, C. E. Taylors & Sons became known for quality. Before long they picked up a national award, winning a gold medal at the London Grocery Exhibition in 1896.
Charles Taylor set up tea and coffee kiosks in towns around Yorkshire, and a flagship store in Harrogate. Known across the region as a destination for tea lovers, it’s still open today as the home of our sister company, Bettys. Meanwhile, we keep the Taylors tradition alive in our factory and offices across the other side of town.
Over a century later, our business is still independent, still family-owned and still based in Harrogate.
Yorkshire Tea is the most famous tea that we make, but we stay true to Charles Taylor’s legacy by creating a whole host of teas and infusions - from speciality black teas to green teas, and fruit and herbal infusions - and a range of really high quality coffees.
Even though we’re a little bigger today than we were in 1886, our values haven't changed. Our family company is now in its fourth-generation, and that sense of family still defines how we act.
We think of our business as a legacy, to be handed down to future generations of stakeholders.
And by stakeholders, we mean everyone who contributes to the business’s success, from our family owners to the people who work for us, the communities we operate and trade in, our suppliers and our customers. Honouring those values puts us in a different position to many businesses – it gives us the freedom to take time, to put real care into what we do, and to prioritise doing the right thing over pure profit. When you’re protecting a 130-year family legacy, you think about the long term.
And because we're independent, we've been able to stick to that vision. We’ve never compromised on our love of fairness, flavour and quality - and just like our founder, we're still completely, utterly devoted to the art of tea and coffee.
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Tea and coffee has been what we do for a very long time, so we do it properly.