Row breaks out among tea purists after PG tips spends £50m on teabag that brews in 60 seconds

14 September 2023, 21:56

How long do you brew your teabag for?
How long do you brew your teabag for? Picture: Getty
Kieran Kelly

By Kieran Kelly

Tea purists are upset after PG Tips spent £50million on a new teabag design that means it brews in just 60 seconds.

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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.

A fresh brew of tea
A fresh brew of tea. Picture: Alamy

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.

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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.”

PG Tips teabags are changing
PG Tips teabags are changing. Picture: Alamy

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.”

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