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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