# Barry's Tea

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**Barry's Tea** is an Irish [tea](/source/Tea) company founded in 1901 by James J. Barry in [Cork](/source/Cork_(city)). Until the 1960s, tea was sold from a shop in Prince's Street, but thereafter the company expanded its wholesaling and distribution operations following its growing popularity. There is a common debate in Ireland about which Irish tea was superior —Barry's Tea or [Lyons Tea](/source/Lyons_Tea_(Ireland)).[1]

## History

In 1960, Peter Barry, Anthony’s son, pioneered the concept of wholesaling tea and began sourcing tea from East Africa, introducing blends that quickly gained widespread acclaim.[2] By the mid-1980s, Barry's Tea had become a beloved national brand. According to their website, they are currently responsible for 38% of all tea sales in the Irish market (which is worth an estimated €85 million annually).[3] Today, Barry's Tea is also available in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), [Spain](/source/Spain), and in some areas of [Canada](/source/Canada), [Australia](/source/Australia), [France](/source/France), [Luxembourg](/source/Luxembourg) and the [United States](/source/United_States) where there are significant Irish immigrant communities.

Members of the Barry family have been elected representatives for [Fine Gael](/source/Fine_Gael): the founder's son [Anthony Barry](/source/Anthony_Barry) ([TD](/source/Teachta_D%C3%A1la) 1954–1957 and 1961–1965), Anthony's son [Peter Barry](/source/Peter_Barry_(politician)) (TD 1969–1997) and Peter's daughter [Deirdre Clune](/source/Deirdre_Clune) (TD 1997–2001 and 2007–2011, and [MEP](/source/South_(European_Parliament_constituency)) from 2014 to 2024).

## Controversies

In May 2018, it was revealed that many of Barry's Tea teabags are made with [polypropylene](/source/Polypropylene), a non-compostable plastic which is damaging to the environment.[4] As of August 2021, the company claimed that it had made 100% of its teabags biodegradable.[5]

Barry's Tea was a major sponsor of the [greyhound racing](/source/Greyhound_racing) industry in Ireland.[6] As of July 2019, the sponsorship has been pulled indefinitely.[7]

## See also

- [List of Irish companies](/source/List_of_Irish_companies)

## References

1. Teapot, Little Yellow (2012-06-15). ["Irish Tea Debate — Lyons vs Barry's"](https://blog.englishteastore.com/2012/06/15/irish-tea-debate-lyons-vs-barrys/). *Tea Blog*. Retrieved 2022-11-03.

1. ["Barry's Tea | Our Story"](https://www.barrystea.ie/our-story/). *Barrys Tea*. Retrieved 2025-11-04.

1. ["About Barry's Tea | Irish Tea Brands"](https://www.barrystea.ie/about-us). *Barrys Tea*

1. Pope, Conor (22 May 2018). ["Barry's Tea says it is working to take plastics out of its tea bags"](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/barry-s-tea-says-it-is-working-to-take-plastics-out-of-its-tea-bags-1.3504273). *[The Irish Times](/source/The_Irish_Times)*. Retrieved 12 April 2025.

1. ["Cork-based Barry's Tea removes plastic from Teabags"](https://www.thecork.ie/2021/08/13/cork-based-barrys-tea-removes-plastic-from-teabags/). 13 August 2021.

1. Fortune, Michael. ["Veteran 'Sarahjo' the Barry's tea pick"](https://www.independent.ie/sport/greyhounds/veteran-sarahjo-the-barrys-tea-pick-36992013.html). *The Irish Independent*. No. June 9, 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

1. Horgan-Jones, Jack. ["Barry's Tea and FBD Insurance pull greyhound racing funding"](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/barry-s-tea-and-fbd-insurance-pull-greyhound-racing-funding-1.3944643). *The Irish Times*. Retrieved 2019-07-25.

## External links

- [Official Website](http://www.barrystea.ie/)
- [US Website](http://www.shop.barrystea.com/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barry's Tea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry's_Tea) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry's_Tea?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.