Climate change could threaten Britain’s beloved cup of tea, environmental campaigners warn

The familiar comfort of the British cup is under threat as campaigners warn climate change could soon give the nation’s beloved beer a bitterer taste.

Rising global temperatures and increasingly extreme weather conditions will fundamentally change the taste of tea, a new report from charity Christian Aid reveals.

Major tea-producing regions, including Kenya, India and Sri Lanka, face conditions that can lead to harsher and less consistent flavors.

Even UK growers are struggling to maintain desired flavor profiles due to the changing climate. These disruptions in harvests are also predicted to trigger price increases, rising costs and unreliability in essential beverage supplies.

Christian Aid emphasizes that the most serious impact is on small farmers and tea producers in these countries.

Not only are they struggling with the direct effects of climate change, they are also grappling with issues such as rising fertilizer and fuel prices.

The charity is calling for urgent action to support these vulnerable farmers. This includes developing more resilient tea plants, improving irrigation systems and planting shade trees to protect the shrubs.

They also advocate for fair pricing, private financing to help producers adapt to climate change, and strong protections for workers in the industry.

The report warns that tea production depends on stable temperature and rainfall conditions, which are now changing in producing countries, with optimal growth within a relatively narrow temperature range of 13°C to 30°C, and adequate but not excessive rainfall.

Dr Peters, senior climate services scientist at the Met Office and visiting scientist at the University of Leeds. Neha Mittal said: “Tea brands are committed to delivering a consistent and recognizable flavor profile.

“As climate variability increases, this consistency becomes more difficult to achieve.”

According to the report, the aroma and quality of tea depend on the balance of compounds such as catechins, amino acids and polyphenols; however, higher temperatures increase the production of more astringent compounds and reduce sweetness, leading to a more bitter taste.

The report states that irregular rainfall can dilute the compounds that give tea its depth and character, while extreme weather conditions, from droughts to floods, and the worsening of crop pests in warmer conditions, can also put pressure on plants, leading to lower yields, lower quality and more bitter crops.

“The conclusion is a simple but troubling possibility: it is becoming increasingly difficult to guarantee the familiar, smooth, balanced, reliable taste of the British cuppa,” he warns.

Claire Nasike Akello, Christian Aid’s climate adaptation and resilience lead, said: “For generations, consumers have assumed that a cup of tea will taste the same every day.

“But this consistency depends on a stable climate, and this stability is now breaking down.

“What we are seeing is the beginning of a shift towards stronger beer, with the risk that Britain’s favorite drink will become bitterer, more expensive and less reliable.”

And he warned that farmers least responsible for climate change were being pushed to the front lines of the crisis, with fewer resources to adapt.

“Protecting the future of tea means investing in people as well as crops, through fair pricing, targeted adaptation financing and stronger support for farmers and workers,” he insisted.

Reuben Korir, a small-scale tea farmer from Kenya’s Kericho County, said the quality of tea changes when the weather is too dry or unpredictable.

“The leaves are smaller and we believe the taste is not as good as in more stable seasons,” he said.

“Rains no longer come at the expected time and dry spells last longer.

“Harvests are no longer predictable and neither is income.”

Even in the UK they say the changing climate is a problem for tea growers.

Lucy George, who runs Peterston Tea, a small tea farm in south Wales and one of the first commercial tea farms in the UK, said: “Seasons are less predictable with warmer winters, sudden late frosts and erratic rainfall patterns.”

For the farm, warm periods can accelerate growth, while erratic rainfall or cold weather can slow growth and affect leaf structure.

“The balance (sugars, amino acids, polyphenols) that gives tea its depth is closely linked to stable growing conditions.

“When that stability is lost, consistency becomes much more difficult to achieve,” he said.