Strong builder's brew revealed as Britain's favourite tea - but where does yours rank?

27 October 2021, 12:51

Expert claims you should add milk first when making tea

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

A strong ‘builders brew’ is how Brits prefer their tea according to a new survey.

A strong ‘builders brew’ has been rated as the most-loved tea by Brits.

This means most of us like our cuppas with just a splash of milk, a hot steeped teabag and no sugar.

The news was revealed in a survey by Tetley tea, who asked 2,000 adults who drink tea about their habits.

As well as liking a dark brew, the poll also found English Breakfast is still most popular, followed by a black cuppa.

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Green tea and herbal varieties are also growing in popularity, with mint, lemon and ginger flavours being the most popular.

Elsewhere in the questionnaire, 59 per cent of participants have no sugar, while 43 per cent have theirs ‘not very milky’ brew and only 13 per cent choose very white.

Almost half of the people asked said they can’t start their day until they’ve had a mug of tea, with the first cup enjoyed between seven and nine in the morning.

The average tea bag is brewed for around 70 seconds, while the typical tea drinker has three cups a day.

As part of a new campaign celebrating Britain’s love of a brew, Tetley also created a map of the UK which reveals drinking habits in different areas.

According to the map, those in London and Northern Ireland add an average of one and a half sugars to their brew.

While those in the South West take the least milky tea.

The most popular order to make a tea was revealed as teabag first, then water and finally milk.

But one in 10 people put the water first followed by the tea bag and milk.

Tetley’s Master Blender, Sebastian Michaelis, opened up about the perfect way to make a tea, saying he always puts the milk in after the water.

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“It’s always milk after water for me because milk before water can reduce its temperature, thus hindering the all-important infusion process,” he said.

“Everyday tea should be as close to boiling point as possible but never use boiling water for green tea – leave the kettle for a couple of minutes to avoid a bitter taste.

“As for brewing time, be patient and leave black tea bags in the water for 2-3 minutes; green tea bags for 1-2 minutes; fruit and herbal infusions for 3-5 minutes.”