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Unilevers tea party may be winding down.

The consumer goods giant has kicked off a strategic review of its global tea business that could lead to the sale of famous brands such as Lipton and PG Tips.

The review comes as consumers brew less black tea which accounts for two-thirds of Unilevers tea segment and drink more herbal varieties instead, company officials said Thursday.

Weve not reached a conclusion and all options remain on the table, Unilever CEO Alan Jope said on a conference call with analysts.

Unilevers US-listed shares rose 3.7 percent, to $59.85 on Thursday.

Unilevers tea segment has seen growth in emerging markets and its premium herbal brand Pukka has performed well, according to the company, which said it has the worlds biggest tea business.

But sales of black tea which generates about $3.3 billion in yearly sales around the world for the company have dropped in developed markets for several years because of changing consumer tastes, Unilever said. The company also owns the Tazo and T2 brands.

We have really seen this trend play out, Jope said. Its not a short-term thing. Its a long-term trend over a decade.

Unilever announced the review despite denying that it was weighing a sale of its tea segment in November after the Telegraph newspaper reported that it would put the business on the auction block.

The company had just launched a review of its portfolio that month and wanted to clamp down on speculation about the future of its tea business, Jope said Thursday. He indicated that the review thats now underway may not necessarily lead to a sale.

When were thinking about these things, well communicate transparently, Jope said.

With Post wires

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Unilever weighs sale of tea brands Lipton and PG Tips - New York Post