Forest Road Brewery spill the TEA!

In 2020 we at Forest Road Brewery found our new home and signed the lease for our brewery site: Unit 1A, Elizabeth Industrial estate, Juno Way, London, SE14 5RW. Before moving in our 60 hectolitre brew kit we needed to install our drain channels, we drilled a core sample to find a two inch gap between the slab of concrete and the earth below. This meant we needed to dig up the existing 5,000 square feet of concrete, level the earth below and reinforce it. Two of our 240 hectolitre tanks when full are 35 metric tons which could have caused the old flooring to crack, and worse than that, damage drainage pipes below.

While removing the concrete flooring, we discovered the rubble of the previous premises belonging to Mazawattee Tea Company. Established in 1887 by John Boon Densham, Mazawattee Tea was one of the most important and most advertised tea brands in Britain during the late 19th century. The Mazawattee premises was built south of the Thames, in an estate known as the New Cross Triangle. The factory was inaugurated on 1st October 1901. The building extended to many acres with a factory wall of 700 feet, a circular chimney 150 feet in height with gigantic letters reading Mazawattee. Nearly 2000 people were employed, the second floor of the factory produced coffee, tea and chocolate. Their beautifully ornate tea tins were made on the premises too.

The advent of World War II saw the New Cross facilities bombed and destroyed along with all the Mazawattee records. Today, Mazawattee is owned by a family company, who were captivated by the story of the brand and whose passion for tea has helped to revive it.

We recently contacted the owners, who are delighted that where their brand was born, is now the home of a new and exciting company. Better yet we’re making sure the site’s strong history of delicious ‘brews’ is not forgotten.