About Thompson's

Thompson's is the Belfast tea house Northern Irish kitchens have run on since 1896, and on the island of Ireland it carries fierce everyday loyalty. The family business has blended tea for over a century, and its flagship, Punjana, is one of the genuinely strong mainstream black teas of these islands, the cup Belfast houses are built around: full, malty, taken with plenty of milk and unbothered if it has stewed. Ireland drinks more tea per head than almost anywhere on earth and drinks it strong, so holding that position for 130 years means satisfying demanding, tea-literate customers.

The range is built around that strong everyday character, Punjana as the flagship plus the breakfast and everyday blends, kept firmly in the robust Irish tradition, with packaging moving to recyclable cartons. The family has stayed independent and has not reformulated the blend, which in a strong-tea heartland is exactly the right kind of conservatism. For our shelf Thompson's Punjana is one of the strongest and most characterful mainstream black teas we sell: stronger than Yorkshire, malty rather than simply brisk, engineered for proper kitchen drinking with full milk. If a customer wants a serious strong everyday black with real heritage and no gimmicks, the kind of cup an entire region has trusted for generations, Thompson's is exactly that, and it drinks every bit as strong as its reputation promises.

Key facts

• Founded Belfast 1896 Robert Thompson establishes the family tea business in Belfast, building a brand around quality black-tea blending for the Irish market.
• Irish Water Calibrated The Thompson's blend recipes are formulated specifically for the harder, mineral-rich water of Northern Ireland and Scotland, producing a fuller cup than English-market blends.
• Family-Owned Heritage After 125+ years Thompson's remains family-owned, the same Belfast blending team continuing the original 1896 tradition.
• Rainforest Alliance Sourcing All Thompson's tea is sourced from Rainforest Alliance certified estates committed to biodiversity and fair labour.

The founders

Brand timeline

1. 1896 Founded in Belfast

   Robert Thompson opens the original Belfast tea blending warehouse on Eliza Street, beginning four generations of family ownership in tea.

2. 1900s Punjana brand born

   Punjana blend is launched as the family flagship, a hard-water specialist blend for Northern Irish and Republic of Ireland kitchens.

3. Today Independent family run

   Thompson's remains one of the last family-owned tea companies in Britain and Ireland, still buying leaf and overseeing the blend recipe directly.

4. 2026 Stocked at Teas.co.uk

   Hand-picked into the curator selection: Thompson's Irish Breakfast and Signature Blend for the harder-water cup.

Sustainability

Thompson's commits to Rainforest Alliance certified sourcing across the entire tea-bag range, fully recyclable FSC-certified outer cartons, plant-based plastic-free tea bag mesh, and partnerships with the Tea & Herbal Association on industry sustainability standards. The family-owned business reinvests profits into the Belfast operation rather than distributing to external shareholders, keeping a closer relationship with grower estates than larger corporate tea brands.

• Biodegradable Bags The tea bags are made from renewable plant based materials (PLA) and are fully biodegradable.
• Ethical Tea Partnership Improving the lives of tea workers and the environment in 2026 tea producing regions.
• Family Sourcing Direct relationships with farmers allow for better transparency and fair prices for the high quality leaf required.
• Rainforest Alliance Sourcing Thompson's sources its black-tea base from Rainforest Alliance certified estates committed to biodiversity protection, fair labour standards and forest preservation.