Tea or coffee: which do we love more?

Brits drink a staggering 11 million gallons of tea a day, according to hot-off-the-press research. But other stats suggest coffee is threatening to take the mantle of Britain's 'national drink'.

In the tea corner

Age positive charity WRVS recently conducted a ‘tea survey’ as part of their Great Brew Break, a UK campaign running this week which asks tea lovers to share a cuppa with family and friends, while raising money at the same time.

According to its results, over 14 million Britons can’t function first thing without a brew… and lovefood editor Andrew, who recently attempted a ‘no caffeine food challenge’, is a prime example of that group.

Almost a quarter of Brits drink five or more cups of tea a day, with a national average of 3.5 cups. That’s 166 million cups between us all.

What’s more, most of us like our tea builder’s style. The most popular ‘shade’ of tea selected from this fantastic infographic was a mid-dark brown brew, which was picked by more than a third of respondents. Just 3% chose the milkiest looking shade.

The famed comforting power of tea was also noted, with nearly half (43%) claiming that a cup of tea always makes them feel better – and almost a third said that if a friend receives bad news they would offer them a cuppa straight away.

So over 10 million gallons drunk a day, the kick-start for 14 million of us every morning, and healing powers to boot… can coffee be any kind of match for tea?

In the coffee corner

In a very crude experiment, I asked the receptionist at our Old Street office which hot drink was more popular with visitors – tea or coffee. “Coffee is definitely the favourite,” he said. “I’d say only 30% of people ask for tea.”

Interesting. Especially when Britain is far more synonymous with tea than it is coffee, the latter being more of an American or continental thing. But it seems times are changing, and round this neck of East London you’re far more likely to spot a coffee stall than you are a tea tent.

Ocado agrees. On the same day that WRVS released its tea survey, the online retailer sent us the results of a ‘national coffee survey’ to tie in with UK Coffee Week. Apparently one in 10 of us get through more than five coffees a day, and the average drinker will spend £3,250 a year on the hot stuff.

The Ocado research also found that a quarter of Brits start the day with a cappuccino, and another third kick things off with a latte.

But enough stats. We want to know what you think. Which caffeinated beverage do you love best and why? Vote in the poll below, and share your comments at the foot of the page. 

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