Punjana is a brand of tea produced by the Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 based tea company Punjana Limited. Punjana Limited is the only major privately owned business in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 involved in the importation, blending and packaging of branded and own label teas. Punjana was founded in 1896 by the Thompson family. It has since become one of the most popular brands in Ireland and Scotland. It buys its teas from tea gardens in Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

, North India

North India

North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

 and on the slopes of Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...

.

History

The company was originally founded by McArthur and Willis near the docklands of Belfast. In 1896, Robert Samuel Thompson, who had been in the tea business since 1887 and had studied the art of tea tasting

Tea tasting

Tea tasting is the process in which a trained taster determines the quality of a particular tea. Due to climatic conditions, topography, manufacturing process, and different clones of the Camellia sinensis plant , the final product may have vastly differing flavours and appearance...

, was made a partner. He led the company for 51 years. The association of the company with the Thompson family was strengthened when in the post-war years when James and Tony Thompson also became partners in the company. They were responsible for the birth and the development of the Punjana brand.

Ross and David Thompson are currently the joint managing directors of Punjana Limited and are responsible for the tea tasting.

Trivia

• The name "Punjana" was taken from an inscription relating to the "Punjab
  Punjab region
  The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
  
  " on the Gillespie statue in Comber Square, Comber
  Comber
  Comber is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies 5 miles south of Newtownards, at the northern end of Strangford Lough. It had a population of 8,933 people in the 2001 Census. Comber is part of the Borough of Ards...
  
  , Northern Ireland.
• 60,000 cups of Punjana tea are drunk every hour of the day, 365 days a year.