FAQ's about Tea

Here are a few answers to some of the most popular questions asked about tea. If your question is not answered here then please contact us with your question.

Q: HOW MANY OF CUPS OF TEA DO THE BRITISH DRINK EACH DAY?

A: Approximately 100 million cups daily, which is almost 36 billion per year [Source: ITC].


Q: ARE WE NOW A COFFEE DRINKING NATION?

A: No, the number of cups of coffee drunk each day is estimated at 70 million.


Q: WHO IS THE LARGEST PER CAPITA TEA DRINKING NATION?

A: Republic of Ireland followed by Britain.


Q: WHO IS THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF TEA IN THE WORLD?

A: China with 2,230,000 tonnes, India is second with 1,191,100 tonnes, Kenya third with 399,210 tonnes (2015 production).



Q: WHAT PERCENTAGE OF TEA IS TAKEN WITH MILK?

A: 57% of tea drinkers add dairy milk, 10% add a plant milk, 27% add sugar and 12% use a low-calorie sweetener.

 


Q: WHAT IS AN ANTIOXIDANT?
A: An antioxidant is a compound, which retards oxidation. In the body antioxidants can 'soak up' free radicals.

Q: WHAT IS A FREE RADICAL?

A: Free radicals are unstable substances which can disrupt biochemical processes in the body and have been implicated in cancer and heart disease.


Q: DOES TEA CONTAIN ANTIOXIDANTS?

A: Tea, like fruit and vegetables is a natural source of polyphenols and flavonoids which have antioxidant activity.


Q: DOES THE ADDITION OF MILK REDUCE THE ANTIOXIDANT VALUE?

A: The addition of milk does not appear to affect the bioavailability of the tea flavonoids


Q: DO GREEN AND BLACK TEAS COME FROM DIFFERENT PLANTS?

A: No, they both come from the same plant known by its botanical name Camellia sinensis.


Q: DOES TEA CONTAIN THE SAME LEVEL OF CAFFEINE AS COFFEE?

A: No, approximately half the level of coffee.


Q: HOW DO YOU PRODUCE DECAFFEINATED TEA?

A: Simply by "washing" the tea leaves towards the end of the production process in an organic solvent. The method is strictly governed by legal limits.


Q: HOW MANY TYPES OF TEA ARE THERE?

A: The UK Tea & Infusions Association estimates about 1,500 cultivars of Camellia sinensis, all offering interesting and varied styles, tastes and colours, depending on how the tea leaves are process.


Q: IS GREEN TEA BETTER FOR YOU THAN BLACK TEA?

A: Both varieties come from the plant Camellia sinensis and both have similar amounts of antioxidants and minerals.


Q: WHY DOES TEA REFRESH YOU IN HOT WEATHER?

A: It simply raises the body temperature momentarily, you perspire and the perspiration on your skin creates a cooling effect. Cold drinks quench your thirst but do not reduce your core temperature.


Q. HOW DO I DISPOSE OF MY TEABAGS?

A. The vast majority of teabags in the UK are made from natural plant fibres. It is true to say that some of these teabags contain a very small amount of plastic, this enables their edges to be heat sealed and stops them falling apart in hot water. If you include the tea, typically about 1% of a tea bag’s total weight is plastic (around 0.04g) - 95% is tea and the rest is natural plant fibres, which are biodegradable.

If used for sealing, the plastic used was typically made of polypropylene (PP) or nylon, but increasingly, polylactic acid (PLA) is used. PLA is a renewable and sustainable bioplastic derived from plants and is biodegradable. In fact, the whole industry is working hard to move over to PLA, which is a non-permanent and fully biodegradable.

‘Fully biodegradable’ differs from ‘garden-compostable’. Although a biodegradable tea bag will eventually break down in compost, it can take a long time. This is because the compost heap is usually not the right temperature or doesn’t have the right mix of microorganisms to do the job.

Some councils have industrial food waste systems (industrial composters) designed to allow the necessary micro-organisms needed to break down biodegradable materials, to thrive. If your local council collects green waste, you can place whole tea bags in the appropriate bin for local council collection and composting.

If you would like to put tea on your garden compost, we recommend that you can speed up the process by ripping open the bags before placing the spent tea leaves on your compost heap and disposing of the teabag paper separately in your bin.

 

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