Britain is facing fears of a tea shortage

For a country that drinks tea morning and evening, even the suggestion of a lack of basic daily needs can cause a nervous gulp.

So it could be that more than a few people were shocked when signs in some Sainsbury's supermarkets this week warned customers that supply problems had affected the 'nationwide' availability of black tea, as Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea delay deliveries caused shipping.

Yorkshire Tea and Tetley Tea, two of Britain's most popular tea companies, said in statements that they were monitoring the situation to ensure they could maintain supplies of black tea, but orders were being fulfilled.

“This is a critical period that requires our continued attention,” Tetley said in a statement. It said it had taken measures in recent months to limit any supply disruptions caused by shipping issues.

Tom Holder, spokesman for the British Retail Consortium, which represents more than 200 retailers in Britain, said the Red Sea attacks had led to some delays but he did not expect them to last long. “It's a mistake,” he said, adding that he expected companies to adjust their orders to account for the longer shipping times. He said the shortages were likely exacerbated by people panic-buying tea, similar to toilet paper shortages at the start of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Retailers assured their customers that stores currently had sufficient stock. Sharon Hall, the chief executive of the UK Tea and Infusions Association, which represents tea companies selling in the country, said they had “good tea supplies”.

Still, thoughts of tea time in danger caused an uproar.

“Britons left 'really distraught' at the prospect of tea shortages,” a headline in the Daily Mail read. “Keep calm,” shoppers shout as major supermarkets warn of tea shortage another in The Sun said.

According to figures, Britons drink around 100 million cups of tea every day the British Tea and Infusions Association. The majority of tea imports to Britain from outside the European Union come from sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Asia and Oceania. according to Statistaa market research agency.

Companies from multiple sectors, including Ikea and British clothing company Next, have reported the potential delays caused by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia's attacks on commercial ships transiting the Red Sea.

The attacks have left long-haul shipping lines with a difficult choice: either divert around Africa, adding two to three weeks to the journey, or continue via the Suez Canal, which handles about 12 percent of world trade, via the Red Sea and deal with the risk to be attacked, as well as additional insurance premiums.

Eirann Carney, 23, a shopper in London who was stocking up for her workplace on Wednesday, said tea was “a polite addiction” for her. She hadn't heard the reports about the potential shortage, she said, and the shelves in front of her held a relatively full variety of tea boxes.

What if there actually is a shortage of tea? “There would be outrage in my office,” she said. “Honestly, I don't think people would go in.”

Tea has long been intertwined with British identity and trade. The drink arrived in Britain in the mid-17th century after Dutch traders began importing it to Europe from China. Expensive to purchase at the time, it became a trendy drink among Britain's wealthy and eventually spread more widely to coffeehouses across the country and then onto supermarket shelves.

Today, people in Britain drink slightly more coffee than tea, a recent survey shows, but tea is still considered an important part of the country's culture. Even the way the drink was supposed to be prepared recently caused a transatlantic brush-off, after an American chemistry professor suggested adding a pinch of salt when brewing a cup. (The U.S. Embassy in London ironically called it an “unthinkable idea.”)