Row breaks out among tea purists after PG tips spends £50m on teabag that brews in 60 seconds
14 September 2023, 21:56
Tea purists are upset after PG Tips spent £50million on a new teabag design that means it brews in just 60 seconds.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Tea lovers are advised to let their tea bags brew for at least three minutes for the best results.
But a study by the tea company found the majority of people leave the teabag in their cup for less than a minute.
It has taken PG Tips two years - and cost them £50million - to come up with the new teabag design.
Its new design has the "perfect particle size", making it brew much faster.
Some tea purists, though, are up in arms, claiming it was an unnecessary.
Read more: Japanese man who spent £12,000 to look like a Collie now looking for 'Lassie to love'
Jane Pettigrew, course director at the UK Tea Academy, told The Times the creation is "abhorrent".
“We relish the three or four minutes it takes to brew a real cup of tea and benefit from the zen-like spirit of tea – the slow brewing of tea creates a magical few minutes in a busy, sometimes frantic day," she said.
“I really abhor this kind of ‘innovation’. It is not progress but a massive retrograde step backwards in what tea should be.”
Liam McNamara, PG Tips General Manager, UK and Ireland told the Mail: “We are immensely proud of the fact that British tea drinkers already enjoy five billion cups of PG Tips every year.
“However, our tea-drinking habits and tastes are evolving.
“With that in mind, our expert tea blenders have spent two years developing a new and better blend that delivers high quality taste to tea lovers.
"Our new PG Tips blend means consumers can expect a quicker infusion and a brighter, smoother, more consistent cup of tea that is full of flavour every single time, even for the nation’s impatient tea drinkers.”
