Twinings (216 Strand)

In 1706, Thomas Twining bought Tom's Coffee House on the Strand in London. In 1717 he expanded into the neighboring properties and converted one into a dedicated tea shop marked with a gold-painted lion — the Golden Lyon Tea and Coffee House, which Twinings' own history describes as probably the world's first dry tea and coffee shop. The storefront entrance seen today was commissioned in 1787 by Thomas's grandson Richard, and the shop still stands at 216 Strand on the same ground it opened on more than three centuries ago.

The company received its first Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1837 and continues to hold one today, currently under King Charles III. It created its English Breakfast blend in 1933, introduced tea bags to the North American market in 1956, and became a founding member of the Ethical Tea Partnership in 1997.

For a brand now sold in supermarkets worldwide, the Strand shop is the one place the whole three-hundred-year line runs through directly — the same address Thomas Twining bought as a coffee house, still selling tea over the counter.