Black tea shortage expected in UK with Red Sea conflict
Black tea shortage looms across the UK / Credit: Pixabay
Tea lovers have received a warning of a black tea shortage across the UK.
The retail chain, Sainsbury’s, has told customers they should expect a lack of black tea due to issues impacting availability.
Sainsbury’s turned down a request for comment.
It is reported that the impact on trade is related to the conflict with the Houthis by the Red Sea.
Shipments from Asia and the east coast of Africa have faced disruption with tea shipments since the attacks in the area began.
A tea shop chain, Whittard of Chelsea confirmed that customers will have nothing to worry about when it comes to their shop.
The shop has a location in Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow.
“We can confirm that we are fully stocked with your favourite black tea blends,” said Whittard of Chelsea’s Senior Tea Buyer, Angela Pryce. “We are working closely with our trusted suppliers, and we can confidently state that there is no danger of our tea running dry. If you’re after a delicious brew, you know what to do.”
Whittard of Chelsea offers four must-try black teas: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Covent Garden, and Darjeeling.
According to a report by SaveOnEnergy from 2020, 13% of Scots drink black tea. Compared to the population in Scotland as of 2022 being over 5mil, there are approximately over 700k that drink black tea.
Samantha Vega-Torres is a master’s student at Glasgow Caledonian University enrolled in the multimedia journalism program. She received her bachelor’s in communications with a concentration in journalism and media writing from Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts, USA.
