About Barrys
Barry's Tea is Ireland's most beloved tea brand, founded in 1901 by James J. Barry in Cork with a simple mission: to blend and distribute only quality teas. Over 120 years later, this family-owned, Cork-born company remains true to its founder's vision, with quality at the heart of everything they do. Today Barry's Tea represents an impressive 40% of the tea market in Ireland and is exported worldwide, bringing the authentic taste of Irish tea to homes across the globe. The company's tea blending excellence was internationally recognised early on when James's son Anthony Barry earned the prestigious Empire Cup for tea blending in 1934. Peter Barry, Anthony's son, later transformed the business by introducing wholesaling and crucially began acquiring premium teas from East Africa in 1960. By the mid-1980s, Barry's had evolved from a local Cork favourite into a beloved national brand. Barry's Gold Blend stands as the brand's flagship product and Ireland's most consumed tea. Named for its distinctive bright golden colour, this perfectly balanced blend combines select leaves from the high mountains of Rwanda and Kenya with teas from India's legendary Assam Valley. The Master Blenders at Barry's craft Gold Blend for a richer, fuller flavour that sits between the strength of Classic Blend and the lighter Original Blend - making it a staple in countless Irish households. The Irish Breakfast blend offers a robust, full-bodied cup perfect for morning routines, delivering the strength and character that Irish tea drinkers expect. Both blends are available at Tesco in the UK, bringing authentic Irish tea tradition to British supermarket shelves. Barry's never compromises on quality, maintaining the standards that James J. Barry established over a century ago in Cork.