The tea brand encourages the catering industry to get its standard tea right following new consumer research which shows that tea out of home lacks taste and strength

For many years, the words “We want a proper brew” have been silently spoken by customers drinking tea out of home. But now the public has spoken loud and clear in new research which shows that tea drinkers feel disappointed by the standard of the tea they are served when out and about. Yorkshire Tea is launching its Campaign for a Proper Brew to help cafés and restaurants bring happiness back to consumers and, importantly, to increase out of home businesses’ trade and loyalty.

The Campaign for a Proper Brew highlights consumer dissatisfaction with tea out of home, often due to cafés and restaurants using One Cup teabags, which contain less tea than standard-sized teabags and, consequently, make weaker tea. But it also reveals the proper profits that can be made by getting tea right.

The Yorkshire Tea survey, conducted in partnership with YouGov, surveyed over 2,000 people across the UK. Key findings from the report include:

  • 44% of respondents named tea as their preferred hot drink at home, with just 31% opting for coffee. In contrast, when out of home, only 15% opt for tea the most, with 49% choosing to drink coffee instead
  • 40% of tea drinkers said that the last cup of tea they drank out of home was worse than the tea they generally drink at home, with 13% saying that it was much worse
  • 28% of those who have drunk tea out of home were not satisfied with the last cup of tea they were served in this setting
  • Of those that rated their last cup of tea at an out of home establishment as worse than the tea they drink at home:
    • 53% said it didn’t taste as good
    • 49% said it was weaker than they would like it to be
    • 22% said they did not have access to their preferred tea brand

In response to the research findings, Yorkshire Tea is encouraging out of home businesses to join its campaign and is helping them to serve a proper brew. Yorkshire Tea is currently the only major
standard black tea brand to offer the same strength across all its products, regardless of where a consumer drinks their brew, following a move last year to increase the teabag weight of its
One Cup lines to match its retail offering. The brand increased the teabag weight of the Yorkshire Tea One Cup bags from 2.5g to 3.125g, in a move aimed at guaranteeing a proper, consistent brew for all customers both in and out of home, in line with consumer demand for taste and quality. It also removed the One Cup wording from its packaging.

Natalie Cross, Out of Home Manager at Taylors of Harrogate, said: “Our research clearly shows that consumers are disappointed by the tea they drink in cafés and restaurants around the UK and that the industry needs to act to make sure that they are delivering what their customers want. Black tea with milk is still the preferred tea option out of home with 61% regularly consuming this brew** and so caterers need to get their standard tea right. 41% of tea drinkers in our poll drink Yorkshire Tea at home, giving them a high expectation for a proper brew.

“We believe that out of home businesses and their customers deserve the same taste and quality no matter where they are enjoying their brew, hence our move to offer the same strength of Yorkshire Tea across all our products, whether drunk at home or out and about. Our Campaign for a Proper Brew reflects our brand belief in everything done proper. We’re encouraging and supporting out of home establishments to serve a proper brew, and in doing so, helping them to generate more trade and loyalty from consumers.”

Yorkshire Tea’s research also highlights how serving poor tea can affect a café or restaurant’s reputation and, ultimately, balance sheet. 42% of Brits who have ever drunk tea out of home said their opinion of the establishment had been affected by the quality of the tea they were served and 48% of all tea drinkers would be more likely to visit an out of home outlet if it served good quality tea – meaning those cafés and restaurants that serve One Cup teabags risk losing out on customers and repeat visits and attracting negative criticism. Customers are also likely to pay more for a good quality cup of tea; while the average price of a cup of tea is £1.92**, almost a fifth of tea drinkers (19%) said they would be willing to pay up to 20p more than this for a proper brew.

The proof is in the tasting as Yorkshire Tea customer, Rebecca Di Mambro, Head of Marketing at LEON, commented:

“We love a proper brew at LEON. When choosing Yorkshire Tea, we did a comprehensive taste test of all the teas on the market, blind sipping brews to find our favourite. Yorkshire was our hands-down winner.”

Yorkshire farm shop and café, Fodder, has benefitted from moving from One Cup teabags to standard strength tea. Euan Ritchie, Café Manager at Fodder, said: “We don’t compromise on the quality of the products we offer – and that includes the tea we serve. Yorkshire Tea has been a trusted supplier from day one and its move last year to ensure all of its products are the same strength is testament to its commitment to doing things properly. We serve our tea in single-user teapots and so a standard Yorkshire Tea bag is ideal to provide our customers with a proper brew that really delivers on both strength and taste, every time.”

For customers who wish to support the campaign and highlight the fact they serve a proper brew, Yorkshire Tea has created a host of POS resources, which are available to order free of charge through its website. These include Yorkshire Tea bunting, mini campaign banners, strut cards, window and till stickers and wipe-clean ‘How to make a proper brew’ posters. taylorsoutofhome.co.uk

For more information and high-res product images, please contact Matt Thompson or Emily Jacklin at Finn on emily.jacklin@finncomms.com or 0113 887 3873.