• PG Tips is a well known tea brand.tea image by Horticulture from Fotolia.com
  
  A distinctive brand offering a variety of tea selections, PG Tips is owned by Unilever in the United Kingdom. Thirty-five million cups of PG Tips tea are consumed daily in the United Kingdom. With roots going back to 1869, PG Tips has seen its moments of innovation and demonstrations of social conscience.
  
  

Early History of PG Tips

• Proprietor Arthur Brooke opened a tea shop in Manchester, England in 1869, and he became well known for his teas, receiving his first wholesale order in 1870. Brooke began to use the name "Pre-Gest-Tee" to market his teas in the 1930s because he said that the tea could aid in digestion when consumed prior to a meal. Grocers abbreviated the name to PG. "Tips" was later added by the company, referring to the top two leaves and the bud which are used to make the tea.
  
  

Introduction of the Tea Bag

• The company introduced the teabag in 1960. This was revolutionary, and teabags soon began to outsell loose leaf tea. The company began producing the pyramid teabag in 1996, and they claim that this teabag design functions like a miniature teapot, giving the tea leaves room to move while brewing.
  
  

Sustainability

• In 2008, PG Tips, in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance, made a commitment that all of its teabags would meet the Alliance's sustainability standards by 2010. The company indeed met those standards in 2010, meaning that the tea leaves themselves are grown according to sustainable standards. The individuals who harvest the tea also are earning a better living than they had previously.