London Tea Auction

Summary

The London Tea Auction was a candle auction of tea, that ran regularly for over 300 years from 1679 until its closure on 29 June 1998. The auction made London the centre for tea's international trade. The East India Company held the first auction in Leadenhall Street and then in 1834 - after the East India Company ceased to be a commercial enterprise - the auction was held on Mincing Lane.

To the uninitiated a Tea sale appears to be a mere arena in which the comparative strength of the lungs of a portion of his Majesty´s subjects are to be tried. No one could for an instant suspect the real nature of the business for which the assemblage was congregated...

External links edit

  • eBook: Denys Forrest, Tea for the British (London, 1973).
  • eBook: Anonymous ('A Tea Dealer') Tsiology; A discourse on tea &c &c
  • Business: The Economy - Storm in a teacup
  • London tea auction abandoned - The candle that was lit in 1750 will be extinguished in June 1998
  • Britain's great tea ceremony ends after 300 years
  • Audio: Tea Auction 1936
  • 'By the Candle'