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Green Tea &
What do bananas
have to do with tea?
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 Our History
Peter C. Larkin, a world traveler and food merchant, founded the Salada Tea Company. Salada was the name of a Ceylon Tea Garden Mr. Larkin came up with a great idea. He decided to introduce quality tea in handy foil packages to assure consistent, high quality products for consumers. Prior to this packaging innovation, tea was sold out of chests in loose form and tea drinkers could not be sure of freshness or quality. With this type of package and a determination to use only fine quality tea, he felt certain that the average consumer would appreciate his product. From a Salada brochure of the 1920's: "There are mixed into every blend of Salada Tea, teas from as many as 30 different gardens. In this way a blend is produced that is always consistent in flavor. No matter where you buy Salada, you will always find it, grade for grade, of the same high standard of quality. In addition, the Salada Tea Company has developed a system of checking grocers' stocks that assures the freshness of every package at all times." Larkin's recognition of the need for prepackaged tea set the packaging trend for the entire tea industry. And Salada's tea business quickly expanded in the Northeast United States and in Canada The popularity of Salada Teas in the U.S. led to the establishment of U.S. Headquarters and a blending and packaging plant in Boston, Massachusetts in 1917. Larkin constructed his new headquarters in the Back Bay area of Boston and commissioned the magnificent bronze doors that mark the entrance to the Salada Tea Building. The doors depict the early history of the tea trade as well as Larkin's commitment to quality. Over twelve feet tall and weighing more than two tons, the doors still stand proudly at 330 By the 1950's, Salada had established three large packing plants situated in Boston, Massachusetts, Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec. These three plants were devoted entirely to the blending and packing of tea. Distribution offices could be found in many cities of the United States and Canada, and buying offices were established in all the major countries of tea production. Salada first introduced its tea in tea bags in 1930's to provide an easy way to brew a single cup of tea. Originally the bags were made of fabric similar to gauze and were sewn closed. For convenient removal of the teabag, one end of a string was attached to the bag and the other to a paper tag, which remained outside the cup and could be grasped easily to avoid the hot steeping tea. To add an additional twist, Salada subsequently printed a few words of wit or wisdom on each tea tag beginning in the early 1960's. These tidbits were intended to provoke a smile or a thought while the tea drinker paused with a cup of Salada tea. Through the years, Salada tag lines have become a memorable part of Salada Tea. With consumers' growing interest in decaffeinated products, Salada introduced its first decaffeinated tea bag product in 1982. In the years since, Salada has continually refined and improved its decaffeinated tea products. In 1990, almost a century after Mr. Larkin founded his tea company, Salada introduced Salada Naturally Decaffeinated Tea, a blend of carefully selected high quality teas. These teas are decaffeinated using a 100% natural process to preserve their fine qualities and produce a flavor that is uniquely Salada. Salada has been marketing both black and green tea in the United States for more than 100 years. Salada's considerable experience and expertise in green has made Salada a leader in the green tea marketplace. In 1997, the company introduced Salada Green Tea Flavors, a line of flavored green teas for those tea drinkers looking for a new taste sensation. A new tea bag design was adopted for Salada products in 1997. Salada Teas now comes in flow-through tea bags to fully release the great flavor of Salada even faster than before. With four sides instead of two, these tea bags allow the hot water to quickly find its way to the tea leaves so brewing time is reduced.
Today, Salada Tea is made by Redco Foods, Inc. This manufacturing facility is the only building on Hansen Island in Little Falls, NY.
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