Wissotzky Tea
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Native name | תה ויסוצקי |
|---|---|
| Company type | Tea Company |
| Founded | Moscow, Russia 1849 |
| Founder | Kalonimus Wolf Wissotzky |
| Headquarters | , |
Wissotzky Tea is an international, family owned Tea Company based in Israel with offices in London and united states. It is the leading tea distributor in Israel, founded in 1849 in Moscow, Russia, it is one of the oldest tea companies in the world.[1]
Early History
The Wissotzky Tea company was founded in 1849 by Kalonimus Wolf Wissotzky (Kalman-Volf, Vulf Yankelevich) in Moscow, Russia. born to a poor family of merchants from Žagarė, who recognized the potential in the trading of tea. Wissotzky Tea soon gained devoted customers all over the Russian Empire and by 1904 the company extended its activities to Germany, France, New York and Canada. In 1907 Wissotzky establishes the Anglo-Asiatic company with its head offices in London, managed by Ahad Ha'am, a renowned Jewish writer and philosopher.[2] The company acquired plantations in both India and Ceylon (present Sri Lanka).
In the years 1900's through 1917, Wissotzky Tea Company was the largest tea company in the world [3]. Following the Bolshevik Revolution, in 1917 all private businesses in the Russian empire were immediately nationalized by the government, yet it takes two more years to complete the takeover of Wissotzky Tea. This is mostly due to the social benefits provided by the company to their many employees.
In 1917 the company gradually ceases its operations in Russia and the Wissotzky family emigrated to the U.S and Europe, opening branches in Italy, Poland, and additional European countries.
In the years following the Russian Revolution Wissotzky Tea Company activities centered in London as its Headquarters and in Poland. The operation in Poland was run by Solomon Seidler, a tea specialist and scion of the Wissotzky family. Due to the vast emigration form Russia, the Polish facility catered the demand for the tea they were accustomed to back home.
In 1936 Simon Seidler the son of Solomon Seidler, sensed the impending danger of the war and left Poland for British Mandate for Palestine. In the following years, most of his family perished in the Holocaust and the company lost its holdings in Europe.
Recent History
Eventually the company headquarters moved to Tel Aviv. Today, the company is still run by the Wissotzky family.
Wissotzky's production plant is located in an industrial zone in the Galilee. It produces regular teas, herbal infusions and fruit teas for the local market and export.[4]
Russian folklore
During the Russian Revolution, an anti-Semitic ditty mentioning Wissotsky tea made the rounds of Russian society, spreading the idea that Russia was the victim of Jewish domination: "Tea of Wissotzky, Sugar of Brodsky, and Russia of Trotsky."
See also
References
- ^ Tea_companies_timeline
- ^ Achad Ha'am (Asher Ginsberg) and Cultural Zionism
- ^ The House of Dodwell:a century of achievement, 1858-1958
- ^ About Wissotzky
External links
- Wissotzky Official Website (Hebrew)
- Wissotzky Tea International Website (English)
- Leah Koenig, Wissotzky Tea Company