THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Earlier this year, the UK Ambassador to the US, Karen Pierce, took to Twitter to show Americans how the British make tea, but according to a recent YouGov poll, you're more likely to be a tea drinker in Germany or Sweden than in the UK.
The poll found that when asked, only 13% of Germans said they didn't drink tea, compared to 19% in Sweden and 22% of Brits. People from France (29%) and Denmark (28%) were the most likely to say they didn't drink a drop of tea.
Delving into the different types of tea consumed across Europe, the poll found that English Breakfast Tea is more likely to be the tea of choice in the UK, with 54% of British respondents saying they enjoy a cup. Only 35% of Swedes drink English Breakfast tea, compared to 22% of Danes, 15% of Germans and just 13% of French people. The survey data also suggests that Britains tend to have a less diverse range of teas to drink, with the most commonly drank blend in the UK after English Breakfast being Earl Grey (18%) and Green tea (18%).
The poll also found that Europeans tend to drink a wider variety of tea blends, with a fifth of the German population enjoying up to seven different teas, including peppermint (50%) and fruit tea (48%).
When it comes to milk and sugar, the poll found that Brits are more likely to prefer milk in their tea, while citizens of Sweden, Germany, Denmark and France mostly opt for no milk. The survey also found that Germans tend to take the most sugar with their tea, with 26% of German respondents taking 1 sugar, 16% with 2 sugars, and 3% with 3 sugars. In the UK, 14% of respondents said they take 1 sugar, 10% say they take 2 sugars, and 2% say they take 3.
So when you next make a British person a cup of tea, don't be surprised if some say they drink no tea at all, and conversely, if you're in Germany, make sure you remember to bring sugar!
The poll's full data can be found at yougov.co.uk/topics/food/articles-reports/2020/11/24/how-do-british-tea-drinking-habits-compare
