Now Gen Z shun cups of tea and say it’s ‘an old person’s drink’ as they opt for trendy matcha and chai

The classic English Breakfast cup of tea is often thought of as a staple of British culture with the power to solve almost any problem. 

But it appears tea is not as hot with younger generations – as Gen Z and millennials appear to be ditching the quintessential brew in favour of coffee, hot chocolate, and trendy matcha and chai lattes. 

Last week, Britain’s oldest tea company Typhoo was narrowly saved from administration following years of declining sales and mounting debts. 

According to government figures, an average family would purchase around 30 tea bags per person each week. In 2023, this had gone down to around 10 per person.

Those aged 18 to 24 would prefer a lemonade, kombucha or juice over a cup of tea when catching up with friends and family, a survey in June 2023 found. 

The hearty beverage has even been referred to by some as an ‘old person’s drink’, with people citing the flavour and its ‘cool factor’ as a reason not to indulge in tea mania. 

Gillie Owen, aged 20, told the BBC: ‘I suppose there’s kind of an association with tea as an old person’s drink.’ He added that he and his friends would tend to opt for water or diet soda. 

And Rebecca Gibbions, 46, owner of jewellery boutique Last Night I Dreamt, told FEMAIL that while she herself is an ‘avid tea drinker’, her teenage children ‘hate’ tea and ‘refuse’ to try it. 

Rebecca said her 17-year-old son Reuben finds tea ‘bland’. He also believes tea is an ‘old person’s’ drink, which he defined as ‘maybe late 20s onwards’. 

Both Reuben and her daughter Beatrice, 14, would prefer a hot chocolate, with Beatrice calling tea ‘disgusting’.

Rebecca added: ‘I do think it’s a generational thing as I have staff members who are under 25 and only one of them drinks tea (though it has to be black). 

‘In the scheme of things it’s not important but because of my positive associations of tea, linked to comfort and soul sharing, I feel like I’ve failed in some way to pass on my love of tea to my children!’

Meanwhile Ruth Chipperfield, 35, a jewellery designer from Birmingham, said: ‘I’ve never liked tea. In fact I recently found out my sister and both my cousins don’t like it either. My husband drinks it and my dad does but not me. 

‘I just find tea doesn’t really taste of much. It’s a sort of ‘nothing’ taste. I like drinking coffee though. I’m sure it’s a drink people might learn to like but it’s not something I would bother putting the kettle on for, in the hope I might like to like it.’

And Danielle Knights, 33, from Reading said: ‘I don’t like hot drinks at all. I don’t drink tea or coffee so if someone invites me out I have a water. 

‘People probably think I’m boring. I’ve tried to have herbal tea to fit in but hot drinks feel weird and not refreshing. I don’t like normal tea at all.’

Twin singers Alex and Gregg, 24, had never tried a cup of tea before and decided to do so on camera for the first time

Sam, from London, said on TikTok that she doesn’t like English breakfast tea but will drink a herbal tea

The classic English Breakfast cup of tea is often thought of as a staple of British culture with the power to solve almost any problem (stock image)

Last week, one of Britain’s oldest tea firms Typhoo collapsed after 121 years – seeming to signal a change in the times. 

It was rescued from administration by vapes and batteries maker Supreme, which said it will pay a total of £10.2 million to buy Typhoo, in a deal which values the brand’s stock and trade debts at £7.5 million.

Typhoo generated revenues of around £20 million for the year to September 30, with a pre-tax loss of around £4.6million.

Tea sales volumes have fallen by 4.3 per cent compared with two years ago, according to analysts at NielsenIQ, while a recent survey by Mintel suggested less than half the nation, 48 per cent, drink tea at least once a day, the BBC reported. 

On TikTok, members of Gen Z have also demonstrated that the love affair for tea may be cooling off. 

Paul Searing, from Maidstone, wrote in one video: ‘Am I the only one that prefers coffee over tea?’ 

Mother of two Rebecca Gibbions (pictured) said that while she’s an ‘avid tea drinker’, her teenage children ‘hate it’

Meanwhile Sam from London, who runs a podcast under the username @samgeorgiaellie, said: ‘It’s not that I don’t like tea. It’s just that I don’t like the OG tea. 

‘So putting tea, milk, having digestives, all of that. I prefer an infusion. 

‘It’s not a very British thing of me to not like English breakfast tea. I’m not a fan of Earl Grey! I’m more of a green tea, chamomile in the night and rooibos.’ 

Twin singers Alex and Gregg, aged 24, are known on TikTok as the ‘New Horizon’ twins. But though they are British, they’d never tried a cup of tea before and decided to do so on camera for the first time.

However they were less than impressed, pulling a revolted face after taking a sip. 

‘What?!’ they said. ‘It’s just watery. That is disgusting. It’s just got nothing to it. It’s water and leaves.’  

Those aged 18 to 24 would prefer a lemonade, kombucha or juice over a cup of tea when catching up with friends and family, a survey in June 2023 revealed. 

Almost half said fizzy iced drinks or juices were preferred to coffee, tea and hot chocolate, the research conducted by The Ice Co, Europe’s leading ice manufacturer showed. 

Ruth Chipperfield, 35, a jewellery designer from Birmingham, says she’s ‘never liked tea’ as it ‘doesn’t taste of much’

Paul Searing, from Maidstone, is one of those who prefers coffee over tea

It demonstrated that 45 per cent of Gen Zs (18-24-year-olds) would choose a cold drink, such as lemonade or juice, to catch-up with friends or family, compared with just 41 per cent who would choose a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. 

Tea first landed on British shores in the 17th century and boomed to become part of people’s everyday life – however in more recent years, its popularity has begun to wane in favour of coffee. 

The ultra-caffeinated hot drink has also been around for hundreds of years, but it’s rocketed in popularity this century due to the success of chains such as Costa and Starbucks.

A survey in 2021 from Statista found coffee and tea to be the UK’s favourite drink in equal measure, with both beverages consumed by 63 per cent of the survey respondents regularly.