BRITISH WORKFORCE STILL FUELLED BY TEA

Despite the growing popularity of coffee, new research reveals the good old cup of tea still fuels the British workforce. The cuppa remains the number one drink for workers who consume the equivalent of nearly 200,000 baths a week.

The research by recruitment agency Pertemps questioned staff from lorry drivers to office workers on their choice of drinks during the working day. It found that 59 per cent drink tea regularly and 51 per cent prefer it to coffee. Sixty per cent think Britain is a nation of tea drinkers.

Fifty three per cent of tea drinkers questioned have one or two cups a day, 40 per cent have up to five and seven per cent up to eight.

Consumption of the traditional brew at work is increasing. One third of respondents said they drank more tea now than they used to, with 56 per cent drinking one or two cups more and the rest three cups more.

Most workers said they relied on tea to get them though the day. Fifty one per cent said it helped wake them up and give them energy, and 53 per cent felt they worked harder after a cupper.

Other reasons for brewing up were to have a break from work (23 per cent), to calm down (17 per cent), and to quench thirst (9 per cent).

When asked who makes or fetches the tea or coffee, 25 per cent of workers complained that it was always the same people. This was a source of resentment among a third of respondents who felt that colleagues who did not take their turn were selfish.

The research also found that the kitchen, water dispenser or drinks machine were the place to catch up on gossip in 41 per cent of companies.

Tim Watts, chairman of Pertemps, said: "Many of the work places in this country still run on tea and it triumphs over other drinks in the popularity stakes. It's not seen as outdated and is drunk by young old alike.

However, tea making can be a source of tension at work and many people believe it should be a task shared by everyone, rather than shouldered by a few."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Tea facts

* Tea was discovered in 2737BC by a Chinese emperor when leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water.

* Tea breaks originated approximately 200 years ago. They began when people started work at five or six in the morning and employers allowed a break for food and tea mid morning. Between 1741 and 1820 industrialists, landowners and clerics tried to stop tea breaks claiming they made workers lazy. The workers made a stand and the break remains today.

* The average weekly consumption of tea has fallen from 46 grams per person in 1989 to 32 grams in 1999. This is attributed to a reduction in usage at breakfast. (Mintel)

* Total annual consumption of tea is down from 130,500 tons in 1997 to an estimated 123,600 tons in 2000. The figure is expected to fall another 6.180 tons a year by 2005. (Mintel)

* The Tetley tea folk have been made redundant as they are seen as insulting to northerners and unappealing to affluent young southerners. They have been replaced by a new slogan 'You are the champions and this is your cup'.

* A cup of coffee has between 100 and 250mg of caffeine. A cup of tea has 40 to 100mg of caffeine.

* Drinking two cups of tea a day may halve the risk of getting heart disease. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

* Tea contains 25% of the recommended daily requirement for vitamin B2, 16 % for calcium, 10% for zinc and folic acid, 9% for vitamin B1 and 6% for vitamin B6. (Tea Council)

* Tea bags were first developed in America for iced tea and they were origionally made of silk.