Enjoyed first thing in the morning, when visiting friends and family or after a meal with something sweet, Atlantic Canadians have been brewing Red Rose tea for well over a century. What started with a single tea merchant in New Brunswick grew into a major brand of consumer packaged goods sold across the globe. Still available today, a taste for Red Rose’s blend continues.

Establishing the blend

Theodore Harding Estabrooks is credited for founding the Red Rose brand, as well as having a significant impact on tea history. Dating back thousands of years to 2737 BC, tea was serendipitously discovered when leaves blew into a bowl of boiling water a Chinese Emperor was drinking. Eventually, a taste for the soothing beverage spread East to Europe and the Americas and a worldwide tea trade was established.

Born in Wicklow, New Brunswick in 1861, Estabrooks grew to have a career as an exporter and importer and eventually focused on trading tea. In the late nineteenth century, tea merchants primarily sold loose tea leaves from large chests, so each cup of tea customers brewed at home varied in taste. In 1894, Estabrooks established a shop on Dock Street in Saint John, N.B., marking the beginning of Red Rose tea. Wanting to provide a consistent product, Red Rose began packaging pre-blended tea leaves into bags and was one of the first companies to utilize the convenience of single-serving tea bags.

Steeping stronger

Red Rose tea quickly became popular across Atlantic Canada and its first factory was built in Saint John, N.B. in 1903. The brand expanded beyond the border to a handful of nearby cities in the U.S. in the 1920s and across the pond to England in the 1930s.

In 1932, the Red Rose tea factory was sold to Brooke Bond tea company, which established a second factory in Montreal, Quebec in the 1940s.

Throughout the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, Red Rose included various collectables in its tea boxes, including tea cups, saucers, tea cards and ceramic figurines made by Wade Ceramics (which were very popular).

A Red Rose ad from 1984 (video credit: Retrontario on YouTube)

Ending an era

In 1988, it was announced that the Red Rose tea factory in Saint John, N.B. would close its doors. A CBC article included commentary from Hartley Loeman, plant manager at the time of the announcement. He said changing consumer tastes was one of the reasons for the closure and the decision resulted in 47 lost jobs. He also recognized the history associated with the building and was quoted saying the factory was: “like home and an awful lot of the city residents have worked here—their mothers, their fathers, their grandchildren.”

After years of renovations, in 2001 the former Red Rose tea factory building reopened as office space.

Still brewing

Today, consumers can still enjoy a selection of Red Rose teas, including the classic orange pekoe blend. The brand is currently owned and produced by Lipton Teas and Infusions in Canada and Redco Foods, a subsidiary of Teekanne, in the U.S.

Note: A representative of Red Rose was unavailable for an interview; the above article is based on third-party research.

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