Tea consumption in the UK has fallen steadily since 1974. By the 1980s, tea consumption per person fell by 20% and by 2014 by 63% (via Washington Post.). Industry research groups speculated at the time that the reason was that adolescent consumers had image problems with time-honored black tea, the kind consumed during a proper English afternoon tea. Consider this the brand’s growth thanks to sitcoms like “Friends” that have turned coffee shops into fun places to stop and relax with friends. Not to mention that in 1994, Starbucks launched 425 stores across the United States, and in less than a decade it became a global brand, with 10,241 stores worldwide by 2005 (via Bloomberg). Bougie coffee blends, enhanced by foam, caramel swirls and milky, floating patterns, have won the hearts of a up-to-date generation of scorching drink consumers.
But tea won’t go down without a fight. According to a tea and coffee industry news site Stirtea brands are repositioning themselves by introducing up-to-date flavors such as green tea and matcha. “Fresh mint tea is having a moment,” Molly Hunter told her Today show colleagues. These more intense flavors can lend a hand revive interest in tea, although although coffee outsells tea, reviving it can be a pain.
