We Brits have always been proud of our ability to drink gallons of tea. But it seems that a usurper is in the midst.
A 2016 study found that for every cup of tea we drank outside of our homes, we guzzled two-and-a-half cups of coffee.
Figures released by The NPD Group found that Britons drank just over two billion cups of coffee away from home between 2015-2015. Meanwhile we only drank 874 million cups of tea in the same period, a reduction of 1.8% from the year before.
Since 2010, our tea consumption has decreased by a heartbreaking 19%.
To help fight tea’s worthy cause, here are 12 great reasons to stick two fingers up to coffee and return to the good side.
1. It’s like drinking liquid bliss.
Ahhh.
2. It wakes you up first thing in a lovely kind of way.
Like a warm hug, but in a mug.
3. It makes you look really British.
And maybe even a bit posh, like royalty.
4. It could help you live longer.
A 2015 study found that women in their 70s and 80s lived longer if they had, on average, two cups of tea per day.
5. It’s served in way prettier cups than coffee.
Like Fine China, don’t you know.
6. It goes perfectly with biscuits.
A match made in heaven.
7. It comes in a gazillion flavours.
Peppermint, lemon, peach, berry, you name it. There’s even chocolate-flavoured tea, which is basically two of our favourite things combined.
8. It contains antioxidants.
These help to keep us young and protect us from damage caused by pollution
9. It has less caffeine than coffee so you can drink LOADS of it.
Six cups is nothing.
10. It contains very few calories.
Unless you have sugar. And milk.
11. It helps keep your teeth nice.
A study from Newcastle University found that three cups of tea a day could provide kids with enough fluoride to prevent tooth decay.
12. It can boost your immune system.
Tea contains flavonoids, which boost the immune system by stimulating the production of white blood cells.
