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 south-western China and nor ...

company founded in 1901 by James J. Barry in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. 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 in Ireland about which is the superior brand of 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

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, and in some areas of

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and the

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where there are significant Irish immigrant communities. Members of the Barry family have been elected representatives for

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

: the founder's son Anthony Barry ( TD 1954–1957 and 1961–1965), Anthony's son Peter Barry (TD 1969–1997) and Peter's daughter Deirdre Clune (TD 1997–2001 and 2007–2011, and MEP from 2014 to 2024).

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 Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

, 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 Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

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 indefinitely.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official WebsiteUS Website
Food companies of the Republic of Ireland Tea brands in Ireland

History

Controversies

See also

References

External links