About Lyons

Lyons is one of the great names of British and Irish everyday tea. J. Lyons and Co, founded in London in 1894, grew into a vast catering empire, the Lyons Corner Houses and tea shops that fed and watered Britain through the first half of the twentieth century. The company was so large and technically ambitious that in 1951 it built and ran LEO, the first computer in the world used for routine business work. Lyons tea for the home became a household staple, and in Ireland in particular it became one of the two teas the nation argues about.

The range is built around strong, brisk, milk-friendly black tea in the Irish and British everyday tradition, plus decaf and the convenience and iced-latte formats, with packaging moving to recyclable cartons. It is positioned firmly as an accessible everyday brand rather than a premium one. For our shelf Lyons is the heritage everyday cup: strong enough to carry a proper amount of milk, consistent pot after pot, and backed by more than a century of being the tea ordinary households actually drank rather than admired. It is not a tasting tea and never tried to be. What it offers is dependable strength, real cultural pedigree and a fair price, the qualities that made it a fixture of British and Irish kitchens, and on that promise it still delivers a familiar, comforting, unfussy mug.

Key facts

• Irish Heritage Since 1902 Founded in Dublin in 1902 as one of Ireland's strongest tea brands, the standard for Irish milk-tea preference.
• Cafe-Style Iced Lattes Recent expansion into the cafe-style iced latte sachet category with Salted Caramel and other indulgent variants.
• Strong-Cup Blend Recipe Heavier Assam emphasis than British competitors for the Irish milk-tea preference.
• Plastic-Free Bags Plant-based PLA biodegradable mesh tea bags since 2022.

The founders

Brand timeline

1. 1902 Lyons founded in Dublin

   J. Lyons and Co establishes Lyons Tea in Ireland, building one of the country's most-recognised tea brands particularly strong in the everyday strong-cup segment. Lyons becomes an Irish kitchen staple for generations of Irish families.

2. 1960s Strong tea brand identity

   Lyons cements its position as the Irish strong-cup standard, designed for proper milky tea with a biscuit. Heavier on Assam than British competitors to deliver the body Irish drinkers expect.

3. 2000s Becomes part of Unilever

   Lyons becomes part of the Unilever group as international tea brands consolidate. The Irish blend recipe and packaging stay unchanged through the corporate transitions.

4. 2020s Iced latte sachet range launches

   Lyons expands into the cafe-style at-home iced latte sachet format with Salted Caramel and other indulgent variants, bringing barista-style cold drinks home at a fraction of cafe pricing.

5. 2022 Plant-based plastic-free bags

   Lyons transitions tea bag range to plant-based PLA biodegradable mesh.

6. 2026 Stocked at Teas.co.uk

   Hand-picked into curator selection including Lyons Salted Caramel Iced Latte sachets.

Sustainability

Lyons sits within the modern tea industry sustainability framework with plant-based PLA biodegradable tea bags transitioned across the range, Rainforest Alliance certified tea base across the core range, and fully kerbside recyclable outer cardboard packaging. The Irish heritage is unchanged from the original Dublin recipe.

• Plant-Based PLA Bags Plant-based PLA mesh tea bags, home-compostable, zero polypropylene synthetic plastic sealants.
• Rainforest Alliance Certified Core tea base Rainforest Alliance certified across the range.
• Kerbside Recyclable Carton Outer cardboard carton fully kerbside recyclable across the UK and Irish markets.
• Sachet Packaging Updates Iced latte sachet range using FSC-certified card outers with foil pouch through supermarket soft-plastic collection.