About Williamson

Williamson Tea is one of the oldest tea companies still in family hands, and its story is rooted in one place. The business traces to 1869, and the family concentrated on Kenya, where Williamson owns and runs its own highland estates to this day. It does not simply buy Kenyan tea on the open market; it grows, plucks and processes its own across estates such as Changoi and Kaimosi that it has farmed for generations, which is why it can speak about provenance with a specificity most tea companies cannot. The elephant on the packaging marks land the company actively protects.

The range is built on bright, clean East African black tea, English Breakfast and Earl Grey above all, with a consistency that comes from controlling the crop from bush to box. Sustainability is genuinely embedded: the Williamson Tea Foundation has built schools, clinics, housing and clean water for estate communities and runs elephant-corridor and reforestation work, and the bags moved to plant-based plastic-free in 2019. For our shelf Williamson is the single-origin Kenyan cup done by people who own the gardens. The breakfast blend is brisk and full without the coarse edge of cheap East African tea, the Earl Grey is properly balanced, and the provenance is real rather than marketing language. Founded in 1869 and still independent, it states its claims as plain fact, and the cup is grown on the land the elephant marks.

Key facts

• Founded 1869 James Finlay Williamson founds the tea estate business in 1869, building plantations across Ceylon and Kenya.
• Family-Owned Estates Williamson remains family-owned with multi-generational direct relationships to its Kenyan tea estates.
• Elephant Friendly Certified Williamson holds Elephant Friendly certification for Kenyan estates that protect elephant migration corridors.
• Biodegradable Pyramid Bags Plant-based PLA biodegradable mesh pyramid bags, FSC-certified recyclable cardboard outer cartons.

The founders

Brand timeline

1. 1869 George Williamson founds the company

   George Williamson establishes the tea importing house, beginning a heritage that would eventually pivot to single-estate ownership in East Africa.

2. 1958 Kaimosi Estate acquired in Kenya

   Williamson moves from buying at auction to owning, acquiring the Kaimosi tea estate in Kenya, the model for single-estate African tea that defines the brand today.

3. Today Single-estate Kenyan and Malawian tea

   Williamson is one of the very few UK tea brands that grows, blends and packs their own leaf, with farm-to-cup traceability across Kenya and Malawi.

4. 2026 Stocked at Teas.co.uk

   Hand-picked into the curator selection: the Williamson Earl Grey is one of the best-balanced commercial Earl Greys we have ever tasted.

Sustainability

Williamson sustainability commitments include Elephant Friendly certified Kenyan estates protecting wildlife migration corridors, biodegradable PLA pyramid bag mesh, FSC-certified recyclable cardboard cartons, carbon-balanced shipping logistics, and direct multi-generational grower relationships with Kenyan tea-grower communities.

• Elephant Friendly The Kaimosi farm is managed to allow the free movement of wildlife, ensuring tea farming coexists with natural heritage.
• Carbon Conscious The farm utilises renewable energy sources, including solar and hydro power, to minimise its 2026 carbon footprint.
• Biodegradable Bags Tea bags are fully biodegradable, ensuring your daily ritual does not leave a lasting mark on the planet.
• Single-Origin Kenyan Sourcing Williamson sources its tea from family-owned Kenyan tea estates with multi-generational grower relationships, supporting Kenyan tea-grower communities through long-term partnerships.