Put the kettle on, I’ve got some bad news. In the latest sign that we are all going to hell in a handcart, that great British stalwart, the cup of tea, is now under threat. It is a problem that has been brewing for some time: sales of ordinary teabags have been falling for the last five years, with a 14% drop between 2013 and 2015. Now, according to the latest market research, teabag sales are due to plummet even further – by 5% this year to £614m.
The problem, say researchers, is being caused by younger people having fewer brews; while a third of 55- to 64-year-olds choose a cuppa more than five times a day, only 16% of 16- to 34-year-olds do the same. And the generational divide doesn’t stop there. Green tea sales have shot up by 39% in the past two years, a trend led by younger drinkers.
But how can a drink that has shaped our national character be in such peril? Mintel researcher Richard Caines says young people are less likely to be loyal to a mug of builder’s, and want to try new products – which, he says, also explains the rise in fruit tea sales. But he thinks health and teeth-staining might also be behind their tea-dodging, too. Mintel’s research showed half the younger age group felt too much tea would stain their teeth, and a quarter thought tea had too much caffeine to drink in the afternoon or evening.
But food futurologist Morgaine Gaye says the reason is more nuanced. She suggests young people – in what she calls the “kidult generation” – are savvy consumers who want to make a statement with their cuppas. “It’s not that they are healthy all the time,” she explains. “They like doughnuts, Percy Pigs and Haribo sweets.” What is different is that food and drink is “about aspiration; showing how healthy, attuned and cool you are”. And the humble cuppa no longer measures up.
“A cup of English breakfast or builder’s tea is only cool when you are slumming it. You might have a cup of tea at your mum’s, but not when you are out or in a cafe because it doesn’t say anything,” she says.
Instead, she points out, younger people are either turning to drinks with supposed added health benefits – such as powdered green matcha tea – or going for childlike fruit teas. “Something like passionfruit, blackberry and rose has a ‘cocktail’ quality; playful and fruity. It’s almost like a Disney drink.” Teatime, it seems, is over.
