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three centuries of tea, one doorway

Twinings Tea Shop

FreeHidden gem
Strand · Temple
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The oldest tea shop in London, trading on the same Strand spot since 1706, with a tiny free museum down the back.

Getting there. At 216 Strand, a couple of minutes from Temple station.
Free shop & museum
ALWAYS
FREE
Strand · Temple
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The lowdown

At 216 Strand stands the oldest tea shop in London, where the Twinings family has sold tea from the same doorway since 1706, making it one of the longest-running businesses on its original site in the whole country. Above the door is a charming old sign with a golden lion and two Chinese figures, there since the 1700s.

The shop is famously narrow, just a few feet wide but stretching far back, and at the rear a tiny free museum displays antique caddies, old company records and the story of the brew that conquered Britain. It is free to step in, sniff the loose-leaf teas and sample a cup, a fragrant pocket of history on a busy street.

Locals only

The insider tip

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Walk all the way to the back of the long thin shop to find the small free museum and the tasting counter. Look up at the original 18th-century doorway sign, one of the oldest shop signs still in use in London.
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