Coffee v tea: battle for Britain may have reached tipping point

Tea used to be very expensive in the UK, but that changed with the introduction of rationing during the second world war. (Image: Christopher Furlong / Getty via Bloomberg)

Bloomberg

Tue, 02 Jan 2024

By Howard Chua-EoanThe nearly 100-year-old Tea Building in the London district of Shoreditch is a sentimental symbol of one of Britain’s most venerated commodities. Tea is still served there: at the coffee stations in the offices that occupy the former warehouse for the legendary Lipton company, in tough-to-book restaurant tenants like Brat and Lyle’s, or at the local branch of the Soho House empire that occupies a corner. Otherwise, tea’s just the name on the big sign on the roof; it’s no longer a going enterp...

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