Britons get through enough tea bags a year to cover almost 31,000 football pitches, survey claims

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Britons get through 61 billion tea bags a year, enough to cover almost 31,000 football pitches.

A poll of 2,000 tea drinkers found they each use an average of four tea bags a day for their cups of tea. This is a total of 1,460 each year.

Across the UK, this means almost 167 million tea bags are binned or composted every day.

It also emerged one third of tea drinkers turn to a brew when they want some comfort, while more than one in 20 put the kettle on to help them in a crisis.

As a result, lockdown has seen 27 per cent drinking more tea since March 2020.  

But the survey, commissioned by tea brand, JING Tea, revealed that despite being a nation of tea lovers, the UK population is quite traditional in their drinking.

More than one in three admitted they aren’t adventurous when it comes to the drink, while one third have enjoyed their tea the same way all through life.

And one in five simply drink it the same way as their parents.

In comparison 58 per cent would happily experiment with different types and formats of coffee, with more than half drinking freshly ground.

The study also found that for many taste is the top priority when it comes to choosing their type of tea, followed by cost, and sustainability.

But since the start of the lockdown, almost half said taste has become very important when choosing teas, sustainability and whether or not the tea is organic is also important for drinkers.

Almost a quarter have also increased the amount of loose leaf tea they have consumed since lockdown, and 22 per cent expect to drink more loose leaf in the next year.

This was revealed after a third of those surveyed via OnePoll said they would switch from tea bags to loose leaf tea if they knew it was better for the environment, with 29 per cent believing it is more sustainable.

But of those who don’t drink loose leaf tea, half consider it to be messy and one in five think it’s difficult to make.

Ed Eisler, founder of JING Tea, which is served in leading hotels and restaurants including The Savoy, said: “Britain is known as a nation of tea drinkers, but we’ve traditionally been very unadventurous in our drinking.

“Given how many teabags we get through, it is great to see more people exploring the world of loose leaf teas, particularly since the lockdowns began.

“It’s a simple switch that is better for you and better for the planet.”

SWNS