To brew or not to brew – how do you make yours?

Last week was National Tea Day, and as you know, we conducted our very own in-store tea tastings. We wanted to see if people could spot the Yorkshire Tea at first sip (surely any self respecting Yorkshire man or woman could??). We’re pleased to say the vast majority did, earning themselves a free box of tea and – perhaps more importantly – a Yorkshire sticker to proudly display!

We enjoyed it and had a good giggle with our customers in store, chatting about how we like our brews - which is why a survey caught our eye that came out on the same day.

Apparently, according to Clipper Teas, we will each suffer through 9,828 disappointing cups of tea in our lifetime. How upsetting! We each drink on average 28 cups a week (4 cups a day) but at least three each week will fail to hit the spot.

We all have our own way of enjoying a cuppa and it is often a case of personal preference, but there’s some cardinal rules which should never be broken.

Apparently at least half of us have had to complain to a partner, friend or work colleague about their brew making efforts – or lack of them (we’ve all known that one person who never makes a round…)

But some of us are just too nervous to tell our loved ones (or the ones we share an office with all week) that we feel that way, preferring to just turn down the offer, or gulp back the offending item.

So, what were the top 10 complaints of the 2,000 people surveyed?

1.            Too weak – 36%

2.            Luke-warm – 35%

3.            Too milky – 30%

4.            Teabag not in for long enough – 26%

5.            Mug not been washed properly – 25%

6.            Incorrect amount of milk – 21%

7.            Cup is half empty – 20%

8.            Made with poor quality tea – 19%

9.            The cup is half full – 18% (although think that’s the same as half empty – just from the optimists rather than the pessimists)

10.         Too strong – 18%

But with there being a further 10 reasons why your cuppa might not be good enough – including leaving the teabag in too long, the milk was put in first, tea stains down the cup, chipped mugs, wrong type of milk, not enough or too much sugar, or the wrong brand of tea – you can see why tea making is a minefield!

Maybe I’ll just have a coffee…