Typhoo Tea

Typhoo is one of the oldest names in British tea, and it started with an unusual idea. In 1903 the Birmingham grocer John Sumner created Typhoo Tipps, milled from the smaller leaf for what he claimed was a gentler cup, and crucially sold it pre-packed and branded nationally at a time when almost all tea was weighed out loose by the grocer. That made Typhoo a genuine pioneer of consistent, brand-name packaged tea, part of the shift that turned tea into something you asked for by name. For over a century it has been a fixture of the British cupboard, strong and brisk in the classic Midlands style.

The range is the expected spread, Original, a stronger version, decaf, green and a fruit and herbal line, kept firmly in the affordable everyday tier, with packaging moving to recyclable cartons and lower-plastic bags. For our shelf Typhoo is a dependable, value-first strong black tea with real heritage behind it. It competes with Tetley and the supermarket own-labels and earns its place by being honest about exactly what it is. This was never a tasting tea and has never claimed to be one. It is a strong, milk-friendly, fairly priced everyday cup from a brand that helped invent the idea of branded packaged tea in this country, and on that basis it remains a sensible, unpretentious buy for households that drink tea by the pot rather than fuss over it by the cup.

Key facts