In 1863, William Sumner published, A Popular Treatise on Tea as a by-product of the first trade missions to China from London.

In 1870, William and his son John, founded a pharmacy/grocery business in Birmingham. William’s grandson, John Summer Jr. (born in 1856), took over the running of the business in the 1900s. Following comments from his sister on the calming effects of tea fannings, in 1903, John Jr. decided to create a new tea that he could sell in his shop.

Sumner set his own criteria for the new brand:

• The name had to be distinctive and unlike others.
• It had to be a name that would trip off the tongue.
• It had to be one that would be protected by registration.

The name Typhoo comes from the Chinese word for “doctor”

Info gleaned from Wikipedia