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By the
1920s the Lyons tea business had expanded
dramatically, particularly after their
acquisition of the Horniman and Black
& Green companies. The new tea factory
at Greenford had come on-line and all
production of tea, coffee and cocoa, until
now carried out at different sites, had
been transferred. Most of the leaf tea
which Lyons used in their blending process
came from the London auction rooms in
Mincing Lane, London. Some was obtained
direct from agents in Calcutta and Colombo
and their subsidiary, Lyons (India) Ltd.,
supplied local markets.
In 1923 an
approach was made to Lyons to invest in
one of the up-and-coming tea areas in
Africa, known then as Nyasaland, but now
Malawi. A block of some 8,000 acres,
situated on the south base of the 10,000
ft Mlanje mountain, had come onto market.
Harry Salmon, a shrewd property buyer,
took charge of the negotiations. After
many months agreement on price was
finalised and Lyons became the owners of a
Tea Plantation, or Tea Garden as some call
it. Much of the property was still
undeveloped and large areas of bush and
forest had to be cut back before tea
planting could commence. A plantation
manager from Celyon (now Sri Lanka) was
employed and he took control of all local
matters including the employment of
labour, many of whom came from the
Portuguese colony to the south. Some
disputes arose regarding the estate's
boundaries, both with the Government and
local garden owners, but these were
resolved, eventually. A part of the estate
was too difficult to grow tea and this was
given over to timber and sisal crops both
of which could be used on the tea estate.
Accommodation bungalows and a large
factory-type building was erected.
Seedlings were planted and nurtured over
many years until the trees (bushes) became
productive. The young leaf was picked and
laid out in the large drying lofts before
weighing and boxing into tea chests for
transport to the coast (by railway) and
onward shipment by freighter to the UK. As
electricity was not available in this part
of Africa, at least not in the tea growing
area, Lyons dammed a local river,
installed generators and produced their
own electricity.
The tea
estate was not intended to satisfy all of
Lyons needs. Firstly it was too small to
satisfy their demands but more
importantly, blends were made from more
than one garden and locality and the
Lujeri tea was just one ingredient in the
recipe. Nevertheless the plantation was
fairly productive and gave Lyons a small
control over their supplies.
In the
1960s a new constitution was written for
Nyasaland as Britain disposed of its
Empire. Changes in the political situation
began to have a detrimental effect on the
business and by the 1970s Lyons decided to
dispose of their undertakings to Brooke
Bond, a strong competitor in the UK
market.
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