A survey of just over 2,000 UK adults found that taste is the biggest consideration when buying tea, with 60% of them saying it influences their choice - exactly the same proportion as for coffee.
Yet despite the importance placed on taste, tea-buying itself remains heavily driven by habit with 41% of people who buy tea saying they either usually buy the same tea they have always bought or choose the brand they grew up with or their family drank.
The research also found that tea-buying habits become increasingly entrenched with age with 40% of tea-buying over-55s saying they usually buy the same tea they have always bought, compared with 21% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 20% of 25 to 34-year-olds.
Younger tea drinkers are much more likely to inherit their choice of brew with 21% of 18 to 24-year-olds saying they usually buy the brand they grew up with or their family drank, compared with just 6% of over-55s.
Regionally Londoners are the most experimental when buying their tea. Just over a quarter (27%) say they usually buy the same tea they have always bought, compared with 32% nationally and 42% in the East of England.
Just 6% of consumers actively seek out higher-quality tea, while only 2% primarily choose their brew based on where it was grown or produced.
Importantly, consumers are 15% more likely to consider country or region of origin when buying coffee than when buying tea.
However, the research also found that younger adults also appear more willing to experiment. Of tea-buying 25 to 34-year-olds 10% say they regularly try different teas or brands, compared with just 2% of 45 to 54-year-olds.
Interestingly, Londoners are among Britain’s more provenance-conscious tea consumers with 12% considering the country or region of origin when buying tea, compared with 9% nationally, while 15% consider ethical or sustainability credentials, compared with 11% nationally.
Women are more likely than men to consider taste when choosing tea, at 63% versus 57%, and are also more likely to consider ethical credentials, at 16% versus 12%.
Birchall Tea, who conducted the research, are looking to educate consumers and is encouraging more people to think about tea in the same way they think about speciality coffee, by considering where it comes from, how it is grown and why origin matters.
It is launching a planned £1 million marketing investment in its first ever television advert alongside a new series of short films designed to take tea drinkers behind the scenes of one of East Africa’s most celebrated tea-growing regions.
Dan Graham, Founder and Managing Director of Birchall Tea, said: “We want to encourage people to think more about what creates that taste, and to start asking the same questions they ask about coffee: where was it grown, who produced it and what makes it special? Great tea has an incredible story to tell, and we think it’s time more people discovered it.”
He added: “Coffee has transformed over the last decade. People have become fascinated by where it comes from, how it’s grown and what influences its flavour. We’d love to see tea appreciated in the same way.”
