In Britain, tea is widely considered a staple drink and is deeply ingrained in the country's culture and history. The British culture of drinking tea is a long-standing tradition that dates back to the 17th century.
The act of drinking tea is seen as a way to unwind and socialise, and is traditionally served with milk and sugar and accompanied by biscuits, scones or cakes. But you'd be surprised to know that the age-old tradition of dipping a biscuit into a cup of tea might become a thing of the past. A recent survey has revealed that youngsters in Britain are now ditching biscuits in favour of savoury snacks like samosas to enjoy with their tea.
According to a survey of 1,000 people by the United Kingdom Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA), granola bars are the favourite tea-time snack of one in ten people between the ages of 18 and 29. In second place was samosa, with some eight percent of youngsters surveyed preferring the savoury Indian snack with their tea - but no one over 65 did.
"I think granola bars are probably also quite filling, so maybe people are having that as a snack with their tea to fill them up," Dr Sharon Hall, the chief executive of the UKTIA, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper. "They may be looking for something a little bit more substantial. The same would apply to a samosa," she said.
Halls suggested youngsters likely preferred "nutty or spicy flavours" as they evoked memories of dishes eaten on gap years while travelling around the world. She further added, "One thing that we are interested to find out more about is maybe such food reminds them of recent travels they have taken and a cuppa with a samosa takes them back to that memory. We know from the data that a cuppa (tea) triggers many sorts of positive emotions, and that's something that really cuts across all age groups."
According to a further survey conducted by market research firm Mintel, those between the ages of 16 and 24 are around half as likely to prefer a sweet biscuit with their tea as those over the age of 55. After surveying 2,000 tea drinkers between August and October last year, Mintel warned that "future sales of sweet biscuits are at risk if the younger generation does not establish the hot drink with biscuits habit".
