Perfidious Albion: British Become Nation of Latte Drinkers as Tea Sales Plunge

Lest we forget, as Rudyard Kipling was wont to say, there was a time when tea at 4 and Britain's glory were indistinguishable.

It is a sign of how radically things have changed that recent data reveal a seismic shift in consumer preferences once thought immutable: Brits have dumped the majestic tea tradition and embraced the ever-so-fashionable half-caff-decaf-soy-latte-macchiato modern mode.

This could be an amusing  and very minor data point in the contemporary rush to categorize all of the many ways in which culture and behavior have been altered by technology and globalization. But as so often happens, seemingly insignificant changes often reflect larger truths about socio-economic developments.

Most tea-drinking cultures embrace ritual. It is a sign not so much of the importance of the beverage as of a way of life. There were never that many people who could afford to take formal tea in the late afternoon in the UK, but the drink itself was a sort of cultural heritage, reminiscent of empire and frankly, an inexpensive stimulant once thought exotic. It devolved into a legacy, a societal comfort-drink whose medicinal qualities may or may not have been real but whose psychological benefits often were.

For the past 30 years, Britain has endured a series of shocks to its system, designed by everyone from Margaret Thatcher to David Cameron to jolt it back into the competitive mainstream of global commerce. The benefits of this self-medication have been and are debatable, but there is no doubt as to the changes that have been wrought. Though some may bridle at the shift from a 'British' tradition like tea to a 'foreign' one like coffee, tea itself was an import. And just as pizza and tacos are currently the most popular 'American' foods, so curry is consistently ranked as latter-day Britain's favorite. Coffee is symptomatic of that global shift.

The consumer data on the switch from tea to coffee are comprehensive and overwhelming. They appear to be secular, not cyclical and comprise a broad segment of the populace. This may well reflect the increased tempo and stress of that competitive compulsion, with all that it implies about the nature of contemporary life. JL

Steve Hawkes reports in The Telegraph:

New figures reveal tea sales have fallen by more than 6 per cent in the past year as Briton's swap a traditional cuppa for a cappuccino

Britain is falling out of love with the cuppa after a dramatic fall in sales of tea bags.

New figures today revealed that volume sales of tea are down by more than 6 per cent in the past 12 months, almost double a 3 per cent fall in the previous year.

Experts said it appeared Britons were ditching the traditional cuppa for the more fashionable cappuccino given staggering sales growth at high street chains such as Costa Coffee and the success of coffee makers such as Nespresso.

Industry magazine The Grocer said sales of Tetley Round tea bags were down 17.3 per cent in the past year, while PG Tips Pyramid sales were 6.4 per cent lower. Typhoo sales were up a mere 1.2 per cent.

At the same time, sales of Nescafe are up in supermarkets by more than 6.3 per cent. And high street chains such as Costa are reporting staggering growth as they role out more espresso bars across the UK.

Last week Costa Coffee said sales in the past three months were 20 per cent up on the same period a year ago.

Nigel Travis, chief executive of Dunkin Brands, owner of Dunkin Donuts, yesterday said coffee appeared to be far more popular than Britain's traditional favourite. He said: "If you look over the past year, coffee sales in restaurants are about two-and-half-times higher than tea."
Mintel, the market research specialist, added that coffee sales in high street stores hit the £1 billion mark in 2013, more than twice the level of tea bags, £480 million.
Adam Leyland, editor at the Grocer, said: "This year's tea sales mark a significant acceleration in the long-term decline of tea. In 2012, volume sales fell 3.3 per cent. In 2011, they fell 1.7 per cent. So it's basically doubled and doubled again.
"There have been some gains for Yorkshire Gold, but we are now a nation of coffee drinkers."
Andrew Pearl, Tetley customer marketing director, said there were signs tea drinkers were switching to green teas or "infusions".
But he added: "The number one thing is to address the decline in everytea tea which makes up 75 per cent of the category. Buying everyday tea is a very dull shopping experience."