Brooke Bond

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Brooke Bond was a brand-name tea retailer in the United Kingdom. Brooke Bond & Company was founded by Arthur Brooke who was born at 6 George Street, Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire, England in 1845. He opened his first Tea Shop in Manchester, Lancashire. There was never a "Mr Bond"; Arthur Brooke chose the name simple because it sounded pleasing to his ears. In the 1950s and 1960s, packets of Brooke Bond tea included illustrated tea cards, usually 50 in a series, which were collected by many children. One of the most famous illustrators of these cards was Charles Tunnicliffe, the internationally acclaimed bird painter. Most of the initial series were wildlife-based, including 'British Wild Animals', 'British Wild Flowers', 'African Wild Life', 'Asian Wild Life', and 'Tropical Birds'. From the late 1960s, they included historical subjects, such as 'British Costume', 'History of the Motor Car', and 'Famous Britons'. Complete sets and albums in good condition are now highly sought-after collectors' items.

The most famous brand of Brooke Bond is PG Tips, the number-one-selling tea in the UK.

It is now a part of Unilever. The Brooke Bond name has now been dropped for all external communication and is used only in internal corporate communications.

The Brooke Bond brand is still used in other countries. In Pakistan, Brooke Bond Supreme is the number one selling tea brand. Unilever markets it as a stronger blend suited compared to its Lipton Yellow Label blend.

The Brooke Bond factory is at Trafford Park in Manchester but is not to be confused with factory of Gold Crown Foods Ltd, Liverpool which took over production of Brooke Bond Choicest Blend tea, since when it rapidly gave way in supermarket shelf space to Yorkshire Tea. A few outlets kept the faith, notably Waitrose, but even they had to admit defeat when the Gold Crown Foods factory burnt down late in 2005.