page_title: Tea in the United Kingdom
section_title: Tea today
hierarchical_section_title: Tea in the United Kingdom / History / Tea today
caption_attribution_description: The Willow Tearooms, Glasgow designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in collaboration with Margaret MacDonald for Catherine Cranston. The Gallery. photograph taken on 9 March 2006 by User:Dave souza. Any re-use to contain this licence notice and to attribute the work to w:User:Dave souza at Wikipedia.
context_page_description: Since the eighteenth century, the United Kingdom has been one of the world's largest tea consumers, with an average annual per capita tea supply of 1.9 kg. The British Empire was instrumental in spreading tea from China to India; British interests controlled tea production in the subcontinent. Tea, which was an upper-class drink in continental Europe, became the infusion of every social class in Britain throughout the course of the eighteenth century and has remained so. Tea is a prominent feature of British culture and society.
  In both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the drinking of tea is so varied that it is difficult to generalise. While it is usually served with milk, it is not uncommon to drink it black or with lemon, with sugar being a popular addition to any of the above. Strong ordinary tea, served in a mug with milk and often sugar, is a popular combination known as builder's tea. Tea is often accompanied with sandwiches, crumpets, scones, cake and/or biscuits, with a popular British custom being dunking the biscuit into the tea.
context_section_description: In 2003, DataMonitor reported that regular tea drinking in the United Kingdom was on the decline. There was a 10.25 percent decline in the purchase of normal teabags in Britain between 1997 and 2002. Sales of ground coffee also fell during the same period. Britons were instead drinking health-oriented beverages like fruit or herbal teas, consumption of which increased 50 per cent from 1997 to 2002. A further, unexpected, statistic is that the sales of decaffeinated tea and coffee fell even faster during this period than the sale of the more common varieties. Declining tea sales were matched by an increase in espresso sales. Nevertheless, tea still remains an extremely popular drink and is still ingrained in British culture and society.
  In 1787, Twinings Tea created its logo, still in use today, which is thought to be the world's oldest commercial logo that has been in continuous use since its inception. Under Associated British Foods since 1964, Stephen Twining now represents the company's tenth generation. In 2006, Twinings celebrated its 300th anniversary with a special tea and associated tea caddies. Twining's is a Royal Warrant holder (appointed by HM The Queen).
caption: The Willow Tearooms, Glasgow
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