PG Tips facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
PG Tips

Product type	Tea
Owner	Lipton Teas and Infusions
Country	United Kingdom
Introduced	1930; 95 years ago (1930)

PG Tips is a popular brand of tea in the United Kingdom. It is made by a company called Lipton Teas and Infusions.

What's in a Name?

PG Tips started in the 1930s. It was first called "Pre-Gestee." This name came from "Digestive Tea." It suggested the tea could help with digestion before eating. Shopkeepers and salespeople often shortened the name to "PG."

After the Second World War, rules about what companies could say about their products changed. Tea could no longer be advertised as helping digestion. So, by 1950, the name "PG" was officially adopted. The company then added "Tips." This part of the name refers to how the tea is made. Only the very best parts of the tea plant are used: the top two leaves and the bud. These are called the "tips."

Tea Products

Today, the name "Brooke Bond" is no longer on the packaging. The product is simply known as PG Tips. You can buy it as loose tea, in tea bags, and in special packs for vending machines. There is also a "Special Blend" tea. This blend was first made for the brand's 75th anniversary. It is only sold in tea bag form.

The tea leaves for PG Tips come from tea farms all over the world. They are brought to the Trafford Park factory in Greater Manchester. Here, expert tea tasters mix them in exact amounts. This creates a special blend called "blend 777." This blend can have anywhere from 12 to 35 different types of tea, depending on the time of year.

PG Tags, which are tea bags with a string, were first sold in 1985. In 1996, PG Tips introduced tea bags shaped like a pyramid. These were called "Pyramid Bags." The pyramid shape was designed to give the tea leaves more space to move around. This is similar to how loose tea moves in a teapot. The idea was that this would make a better-tasting cup of tea.

In 2011, PG Tips claimed that their pyramid tea bags gave the leaves 50% more room than flat tea bags. They said this helped release all the freshness for the best taste. Later, these pyramid bags were made with a "freeflow" material. This allowed the tea to infuse even better.

Special Blends for Different Places

In Scotland, Lipton Teas and Infusions sells a special PG Tips blend called Scottish Blend. This tea is made to taste best with the soft water found in Scotland.

In Ireland, the company sells tea under the Lyons brand instead of PG Tips.

In 2011, PG Tips launched a "Special Moments" range. These teas were made by pressing the leaves at different stages. In 2014, new fruit, herbal, and green teas were added to the PG Tips brand.

In 2023, PG Tips announced a new quick-brew tea bag. It can make a cup of tea in just 60 seconds. These new tea bags are square, which meant the pyramid bags were no longer made.

Advertising Through the Years

From the start, PG Tips understood how important advertising was. They used slogans like, "Good tea unites good company, exhilarates the spirits, banishes restraint from conversation and promotes the happiest purposes of social intercourse."

The Tipps Family (1956–2002)

In 1956, PG Tips started using chimpanzees in their TV adverts. These chimpanzees were dressed in human clothes. They were known as the "Tipps family." Famous people like Peter Sellers and Bob Monkhouse often provided their voices. By 1958, PG Tips became the most popular tea brand in Britain. The chimpanzees came from Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire.

These adverts were stopped in the 1970s because some animal rights groups complained. However, sales dropped, so the chimpanzees returned 18 months later. The last "Tipps family" advert was shown in January 2002. The PG Tips chimpanzees became very popular. They even had their own trading cards and figurines.

One famous advert from 1988 showed Mr. Shifter moving a piano. The voices were by Michael Robbins and Irene Handl. In 2014, Twycross Zoo reported that Choppers, aged 42, was the last surviving PG Tips chimp. Her friend Louis, who played Mr. Shifter, had passed away the year before.

The T-Birds (2002–2005)

In January 2002, the "Tipps family" was replaced by a group of claymation birds called the T-Birds. These characters were Tom the owl, Maggie the pigeon, Pete the starling, and Holly the blue tit. They were animated by Aardman, the company that made Wallace and Gromit.

PG Tips worked with the movie Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which came out in October 2005. PG Tips offered Gromit mugs with their tea packs. This promotion was very successful, and PG Tips sales increased a lot.

In 2005, PG Tips celebrated its 75th anniversary. They released special packs, including a limited-edition Golden pack. They also created a very expensive, one-of-a-kind Diamond tea bag. It cost £7,500 and was made with rare tea and jewels.

Monkey (2007–2024, 2025–)

In January 2007, PG Tips brought back the character Monkey from ITV Digital adverts. Johnny Vegas played his human friend, Al. Monkey was voiced by Ben Miller. In the first advert, Monkey returned to Al's house after five years. Monkey made sure to tell everyone he was a monkey, not a chimpanzee, which was a fun nod to the earlier adverts.

One advert was a funny version of a scene from the movie When Harry Met Sally.... Monkey described the taste of PG Tips by saying "Oh Yes" many times. Another advert showed Monkey and Al playing characters from the TV show Dad's Army. This advert promoted the natural theanine in PG Tips.

When the "Special Moments" range was released, an advert showed Monkey and Al out walking. Monkey wanted a cup of the "Fresh" tea. Al took so long to describe the taste that Monkey was carried away by an eagle! This advert was later changed to show Monkey in the eagle's nest with the different tea flavors.

In 2015, PG Tips showed its Monkey character under a rainbow flag to support same-sex marriage. This caused some discussion. Later that year, new adverts showed Monkey seeing strange things and deciding to "Keep it tea."

In 2017, PG Tips worked with a software company to create a Facebook Messenger chatbot for Monkey. This was for the Red Nose Day charity. People could chat with Monkey and he would send them a joke every day to raise money for Comic Relief.

In May 2024, PG Tips announced that Monkey was retiring. However, in May 2025, Monkey returned to the adverts. He was now voiced by Ivo Graham and was married to a woman named Alice, played by Emily Atack.

A Tale of Two Continents

A short film called A Tale of Two Continents was released in March 2008. It was an adventure film parody starring Monkey. The film was about Monkey wanting to "change the world one tea at a time." It was shown in cinemas before family films like The Spiderwick Chronicles.

The film was also given away for free with special limited edition PG Tips packs in early 2008. It came on an EcoDisc, which is a thin, flexible type of DVD. The special pack also included a tea towel with the film's cover.

PG Tips and Public Campaigns

In May 2007, Unilever, the company that owns PG Tips, promised to get all its tea in a way that helps the environment. They asked the Rainforest Alliance, an international group that protects nature, to check and approve tea farms in East Africa. Since April 2012, all the tea used in PG Tips has been certified by the Rainforest Alliance.

In February 2011, PG Tips also said they would stop testing their teas on animals.

Slogans

• "Live life one tea at a time" (Monkey)
• "Keep it tea" (Monkey)
• "You, me and a cup of PG" (Al and Monkey)
• "How would you describe the taste?" (Al and Monkey)
• "Do your bit, put the kettle on" (Al and Monkey)
• "We All Need a PG Moment" (used during the T-Birds era)
• "There's no other tea to beat PG" (later chimpanzee ads), followed by "It's the taste!" spoken by a chimpanzee
• "Dad, do you know the piano's on my foot?" Mr Shifter: You hum it son, I'll play it!
• "Avez-vous un cuppa?" (Tour De France)
• "It's the Tea you can really Taste" (Earlier chimpanzee ads)

See also

• Lipton