Typhoo was founded by John Sumner, a Birmingham grocer who gave his sister some tea made from finely ground leaves to aid her indigestion. At the time, a larger leaf tea was the more common form, and his sister suggested that he sold more fine-leaf tea in his grocery shop. He chose the name “Typhoo Tips”, the first word being the Chinese word for “doctor”. However, due to a printing error, the tea was sold as “Typhoo Tipps” for many years before it was corrected. At the time, the standard method for selling tea was as loose leaves. Sumner was the first person to sell tea in pre-packaged teabags.

JH