Brits divided on perfect ‘cuppa’, but over three cups a day is the norm for majority   

A third of Brits drink three or more cups of tea a day (35%), and another 20 per cent drink an impressive 5-10 cups a day, but opinions are divided on how to make a proper cup of tea, a new survey has shown.

In an online poll conducted by Product of the Year as part of the Afternoon Tea week (7-11 August), 61 per cent said they drink their tea ‘with milk’, making it the popular choice.

The purists, black tea drinkers, had the lowest numbers with only 5.5 per cent not adding anything at all. Interestingly, alternative milks stirred into tea were voted in by 11 per cent of respondents.

And on the great milk debate – do you add milk before or after pouring in the tea – over 56 per cent said they strongly believe tea before milk is the solution to the perfect cuppa. When asked ‘to dunk or not dunk’, again over half are in fact biscuit ‘dunkers’ (53.8%).

“Our survey reveals that tea and the culture surrounding it is just as important today as it has ever been,” commented Helga Slater, managing director, Product of the Year.

“But what has changed is the way we brew and drink it. Brands tapping into speeding up the brew time, intensifying and diversifying flavours and even simply providing delicious/no-fuss snacks to go with tea… are just some of the ways we’ve seen innovation take hold of this category and breathe new life into an ancient ritual.”