Thursday 15 January 2015

Is Britain's Taste In Tea Changing?

(Northern Tea's Keemun black tea brewing nicely)


There are many things that the British are well known for. Our love for dogs is one.  Another is our love of talking - and complaining about - the weather. And then there is our love, adoration even, of tea.  We are a nation of tea drinkers.  And I believe we always will be.

But is our relationship with tea changing? Are we satisfied with the beautifully simple black tea, Or are we looking towards new horizons? And indeed have we lost the precious art of using loose tea, instead opting for the ease of using teabags?

In the weeks since New Year my inbox has been inundated with emails from tea companies all over the world, all with tea to sell. There has been the healthy green tea sales pitch. The exotic herbal and infusion emails. Want to de-tox for the New Year? Well, there's a tea for that! Every possible taste is catered for.  And one would have to be a millionaire to afford everything that is on offer. 

There was, however, a distinct lack of advertising for the humble but glorious black tea. Where were the special deals? Why were tea companies opting to ignore black tea and hard sell speciality teas? 

James Pogson from Northern Tea Merchants explained his views on speciality teas.  "We have seen a huge rise in our sales of speciality and green teas, and also herbal infusions. Market leader, Tea Pigs (owned by Tetley, or Tata Global Beverages), have done much to bring the idea of speciality tea into the minds of the marketplace". 

Upon asking Mr Pogson why he feels that speciality tea sales have risen, he replied "The cause of the increase in sales of speciality teas is twofold. Firstly, people are more and more health conscious, and many people are switching to green tea because they think it is better for you than black tea. Some people are drinking it additionally and reducing their intake of coffee, but are still drinking black tea. There are many urban myths relating to green tea that I hear on a regular basis – for instance, I have been asked if green tea is really caffeine free (!), I’ve been told that black tea is bad for you, I’ve been told that green tea cures cancer, makes weight fall off you, and all sorts of ridiculous ideas that people come up with in what seems to be a nationwide game of Chinese Whispers!

Secondly, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 saw an enormous boom in the whole lifestyle, dinner-party, cup-cake, afternoon tea scene, and that has also grown the demand for speciality tea both in and out of home."

So, it seems, that as we grow ever more concerned about beating ill health and staying well we are making deliberate choices that will help to keep us healthy. But does that mean we are turning our backs on black tea or are we willing to drink it in conjunction with other teas to keep ourselves as healthy as possible?

When I asked Mr Pogson about the proportion of black tea sales over speciality teas (which include green tea, herbal teas) his reply was interesting, and for me, encouraging. "Black Tea in Tea Bags accounts for 96% of all the tea that is drunk in the UK – The proportional weight of Speciality Tea that we sell to that of Black Tea in tea bags is approx. 10%".

I requested some sales figures from Twinings to see how they feel about the nation's willingness to experiment with speciality teas. They reported a decline in sales of black tea with the sales dropping from 80% to 72% and a sharp rise of sales in green tea which are just over 16%.

Even with the decline in sales that Twinings reported, I do not think that those of us who love black tea have much to worry about. With black tea in bags taking a whopping 96% of tea sales in the UK we can rest easy that black tea is still the star of the tea show!

But what kind of black tea do we enjoy as a whole in Britain? I asked Mr Pogson what Northern Tea Merchants best sellers where. His reply delighted me as it's a personal favourite of mine. " My best selling black teas are our ‘Gourmet’ blend, which is right in line, quality-wise, with the brand leaders (Taylors Yorkshire, Tetley, PG Tips etc.), and our Small Leaf English Breakfast blend, which is a better quality blend of character, flavour and strength."

I have to say I do agree with James on his Gourmet tea - it's simply, sublime.

As regular readers will know, I love nothing more than a nice sturdy black tea but with the added edge of flavouring. Are flavoured tea's popular? James told me "Flavoured teas have gone in and out of fashion two or three times in my 26 years in the tea trade. Twinings introduced a range of flavoured iced teas in the early 90’s, but sadly they never caught on in the UK, and similar attempts by other companies relating to flavoured teas have come and gone. However, the current upsurge of public interest in tea has driven people to search for teas using tools that were not as readily available before (i.e. the internet), and find ‘unique’ teas that fit their persona and mood. Also, a tea bag machine called a ‘Fuso’ from Japan (launched in 2006) has allowed manufacturers to produce speciality ‘Pyramid’ tea bags at relatively high speeds, making speciality teas in bags a more viable option for many people."

Although it seems the British are remaining rock steady for their love for black tea how we have drunk it has changed significantly. Once a day to day staple, loose tea is now considered a luxury to be enjoyed when you have the time to prepare it. 

Teabags were introduced into the UK in the early 1970's and their popularity soared. Never before was it easier to make tea. No mess, no fuss.  Just pop the bag into the cup, add hot water and you're off! James explained to me how the trend for teabags took off "We sell far more tea bags (approx. 100 million per year) than we do leaf tea, and have done since 1972, when they started to become popular in the UK. One of the original advertising slogans for tea bags in the late 60’s / early 70’s was ‘No leaves in the sink, no leaves when you drink’, and the British Public quickly switched over about 5 years or so to using tea bags almost entirely. Our packing Supervisor for the tea room, Sue Porter, has been with us for 26 years and has made in excess of 2 billion tea bags during her time here!"

However, in recent years the trend for afternoon tea, home baking and pretty much everything vintage in the kitchen has contributed to a raise in the sales of loose tea, teapots and infusers.  And that's really lovely to hear as there is nothing nicer then having a high quality tea, brewing it in a pot and sharing it with friends!

It's good to know that the British still love the reliable black tea but that we have also embraced the exotic green tea, herbal teas and various infusions that are available in stores and online nowadays. Variety is the spice of life after all!

But, if I'm honest, as much as I love green tea and get absolutely excited at the prospect of trying new types and flavours, (and there is something lovely and refreshing about green tea) black tea does hold a special place in my heart, and, I'm glad to say, it seems that it's as popular as ever. 

Although it seemed, at the start of the year, that speciality teas were the thing to publicise, already I've noticed that black tea is starting, once again, to creep into the email's. It seems that even though we as a country are willing to try new things, and we temporarily ignore black tea for the exotic alternatives, we never forget the friend we have in the humble black tea.  Because there really isn't else quite like it!

Authors note: I would like to personally thanks James Pogson from Northern Tea for his extensive help in the production of this blog post. And also, to Leigh-Anne from Twinings who helped gather their statistics which are included in the post. 


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