Coffee appears to be the United Kingdom's new hot beverage favorite, surpassing tea in popularity for the first time, according to market research firm Statista.
Statista’s Consumer Insights data released in August found that 63% of Britons say they regularly drink hot coffee, whereas just 59% say they regularly drink hot tea. The 2023 survey polled 24,000 U.K. residents who responded to hundreds of questions about their preferences.
“Coffee is nudging tea aside in the U.K.’s affections,” reports The Guardian.
Nespresso U.K. CEO Anna Lundstrom told the Daily Mail, “The U.K.’s coffee scene is one of the world’s most dynamic and exciting – this is a nation of coffee lovers.”
Britons consume about 98 million cups of coffee daily, up from 70 million fifteen years ago (2008), according to the British Coffee Association. Instant is the best-selling coffee product, and 80% of U.K. households buy it. But coffee pods are growing the fastest among all segments.
There were 7,736 cafes and coffee shops in the U.K. in 2023, up slightly from 2022, according to IBISWorld. According to Mintel market research, coffee shops generated $4.9 billion in sales in 2020.
Kantar point-of-sale research showed that supermarkets sold 533 million packs of coffee from January through March 2023. During the same period, UK consumers purchased 287 million packets of tea, according to The Sunday Times.
In the United States, coffee is more widely consumed than tea, with 64% of American adults drinking at least one cup daily, according to the National Coffee Association, which reports that 37% prefer tea.
In the U.K., most people drink three or more cups of tea daily. Some 20% report drinking five to ten cups daily, according to the 2023 Product of the Year consumer survey. The survey queries 10,000 U.K. shoppers every year.
Helga Slater, a Product of the Year spokesperson, said, “Our survey reveals that tea and the culture surrounding it is just as important today as it has ever been.”
“What has changed is the way we brew and drink it. Brands tapping into speeding up the brew time and intensifying and diversifying flavors… are just some ways we’ve seen innovation take hold of this category and breathe new life into an ancient ritual.”
In Europe, 56% of adults prefer coffee, while 27% prefer tea. In Asia, tea is the overwhelming favorite. In India, for example, 79% of adults say they prefer tea compared to 19% who choose coffee.