Barry's Tea is an Irish
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
company founded in 1901 by James J. Barry in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
. Until the 1960s, tea was sold from a shop in Prince's Street, but thereafter the company expanded its wholesaling and distribution operations. There is a common debate among Irish households about which is the superior Irish tea; Barry's Tea or
Lyons Tea.
History
By the mid-1980s Barry's Tea had become a national brand. According to their website, they are currently responsible for 38% of all tea sales in the Irish market (which is worth an estimated €85 million annually). Today, Barry's Tea is also available in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and in some areas of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
where there are significant Irish immigrant communities.
Members of the Barry family been elected representatives for
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil à ...
: the founder's son
Anthony Barry (
TD 1954–57 and 1961–65), Anthony's son
Peter Barry (TD 1969–97) and Peter's daughter
Deirdre Clune
Deirdre Clune (; born 1 June 1959) is an Irish politician who is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency. She is a member of Fine Gael, part of the European People's Party.
She previously served as a Se ...
(TD 1997–2001 and 2007–11, and
MEP since 2014).
Controversies
In May 2018, it was revealed that many of Barry's Tea teabags are made with
polypropylene
Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene.
Polypropylene
belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...
, a non-compostable plastic which is damaging to the environment. As of August 2021, the company claimed that it had responded to consumer pressure and had made 100% of its teabags biodegradable.
Barry's Tea was a major sponsor of the greyhound racing industry in Ireland. Despite numerous calls for the company to desist, it had refused to cease its sponsorship of an industry which had been the subject of repeated investigations into animal cruelty. As of July 2019, the sponsorship has been pulled.
See also
*
List of Irish companies
This is a list of notable companies based in Ireland, or subsidiaries according to their sector. It includes companies from the entire island. The state of the Republic of Ireland covers five-sixths of the island, with Northern Ireland, part of th ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official WebsiteUS Website
Food companies of the Republic of Ireland
Tea brands in Ireland