“The leading U.S. importer of fine teas has long been acknowledged to be The G.S. Haly Co." - James Norwood Pratt, Author of New Tea Lover’s Treasury
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Company History
A brief narrative by James Norwood Pratt
Author of James Norwood Pratt's New Tea Lovers Treasury
George Standish Haly
George Standish Haly, a man of starched collars and luxuriant mustachios, still imported tea in sailing ships back in 1889 when he first established his firm in San Francisco. Besides tea, he also traded in coffee, spices and other commodities, doing business chiefly with other San Francisco firms. Over forty years after his father began it, the founder's son and heir Thomas Haly died and his widow sold the business to Thomas' tea apprentice Edward Spillane. Young Spillane was hard working and likeable, but the year was 1930, possibly the least promising year in all American history to go into business for oneself.
George Standish Haly and son Thomas
Edward succeeded in running an importing business that not only survived the Depression but also survived World War II, when tea was a strategic commodity allotted to importers by arbitrary quotas. After the war ended, Edward returned to his first love and concentrated on importing tea, and nothing but tea. He was highly respected in the trade and served on the United States Tea Board of Experts in the early 1950s. His premature death in 1961 left the firm in the hands of his widow, Marie. Almost overnight Marie Spillane was forced to change from housewife to businesswoman and the business she had to take charge of, moreover, was one of the most complex in the world—tea.
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Edward Spillane |
Marie Spillane |
Tea is a fussy product, never quite the same from one garden or season to the next, and sometimes quite unexpectedly different from anything you might expect. Like the product itself, tea customers can also be fussy, with specific individual needs that require expert attention. With generous help from her late husband's business colleagues, Marie devoted herself to learning tea and kept the family business going. From being a tea broker, Marie had gradually transformed The G. S. Haly Company into an importer/wholesaler by the time Michael Spillane succeeded his mother as president of the company in 1977.
Having literally learned tea at his mother's knee, Michael quickly became recognized as one of this country's outstanding tea palates. I think, more than the head of any other tea business I know, Michael deserves to be called the "tea education" president. By now there must be many hundreds like myself for whom Mike was our first teacher in tea. From the beginning of his business career he has devoted countless and sometimes thankless hours to the cause of lifting America's tea consciousness, one individual at a time. In an effort to educate more people on tea, he founded and served as first president of the country's first premium tea trade association, the American Premium Tea Institute (APTI).
Beginning in the early 1980s, Americans began taking a renewed interest in tea. In my view this was partly a direct result of Michael's years of educating and proselytizing nationwide. Whatever the reason, the U.S. began waking up to fine tea and found very few reliable sources for it. From that time to this, business at The G.S. Haly Co. has expanded exponentially, yet the company has never failed to provide courteous and wholly individual customer service at the level traditional in this most genteel of trades.
The G.S. Haly Co., Redwood City, California
When Mike began in the family business, he says, they stocked just eight separate types of tea. "If we sold a chest of tea a day it would cover our fixed expenses back then! The only thing about the company which has stayed exactly the same as in the days of my father, Edward or the founder, George Standish is this: We are trusted. If they doubted us, we would be in trouble because we don't have a sales force, we don't advertise, everything we have here is word of mouth. It's been trust that's brought us this far, and it's trust that will carry us. This is a two-edged sword, of course: People trust us so much we could never let them down."By common consent, the leading U.S. importer of fine teas has long been acknowledged to be The G.S. Haly Co.. I am able to make this statement without the slightest fear of contradiction by other tea professionals because I am widely acquainted—mostly, in fact, long-time friends—with most of the principals of most of America's major tea concerns. And this is one matter on which nobody disagrees.
–James Norwood Pratt
Mike Spillane Bio
To talk about Michael Spillane means to talk about The G.S. Haly Co. as their histories and lives are intertwined. Founded in 1889 in San Francisco, The G.S. Haly Co. is one of the oldest US tea companies. And from the 1930’s a member of the Spillane family has run it.
Having literally learned tea at his mother’s knee, Michael quickly became known as one of this country’s outstanding tea palates. From 1977, Michael has worked to keep The G.S. Haly Co. legacy for trust and honor alive in every action.
Michael has been a tireless supporter of anyone interested in learning about premium tea and has become a respected voice in the tea industry. Like his father, Michael served on the United States Tea Board of Experts as its chairman, and in 1994 he started the American Premium Tea Institute, which went on to become the Specialty Tea Institute (STI). In 1997 he was called “America’s Master Tea Trader” by Tea Trade magazine. Mike has served on the STI advisory board, is a specialty tea guest lecturer / event speaker, provides tea knowledge for media interviews and creates tea education tools.
Michael enjoys sharing his life with his wife Debbie, and their three children, Michelle, Brian and David. His favorite pastimes are taking care of his Cedar tree farm and going hunting with his black lab Sadie.
Michael more than cares for tea, he loves and has deep respect for it. “We love our product; we love the tea for what it is and for what it stands for over the years. It’s amazing, it’s traded like a commodity but it’s not a commodity at all, it’s a rare product.” He enjoys the many life-long friendships developed with his fellow specialty tea contemporaries and can be always be counted on for some helpful advice, being a dependable man of his word and never too busy for a good conversation. “What’s enamored me to this business is the unquestionable trust we enjoy with the people we work with. Its fun to be in a business, where sure, everybody has to make money, but its working with honest people trying to make something bigger happen, and that’s great.”