The leaf takes on the bean

Published on Monday 23 March 2009 19:35

LIKE cats v dogs, Rangers v Celtic or blondes v brunettes, the merits of tea versus coffee are the subject of continuing debate. Ever since the mid-1990s, when our TV screens introduced us to six quirky American twentysomethings who gathered on mismatched sofas to sip coffee while they comically dissected life and love, coffee has tended to come out ahead as the beverage de nos jours.

However, as the financial going gets tough and we increasingly turn to home-made comfort foods for a sense of familiarity and reassurance, tea seems to be enjoying a surge in popularity. A recent upturn in UK sales -- after a decade in which coffee and soft drinks enjoyed a boom -- suggest it may just be vying for position as our preferred "third space" on the high street (as the marketing people say).

Other developments supplement the theory. Over the past six months, even with the economy in dramatic decline, three trendy "tea boutiques" have set up shop up in Scotland. Loopy Lorna's opened in Morningside in October, while Brewhaha opened its doors in Glasgow's Buchanan Galleries shopping centre just before Christmas, and last week saw the launch of Eteaket in Edinburgh's New Town.

On Thursday evening, gentle jazz music drifted out of Eteaket, where Edinburgh's fashion-conscious set were enjoying hot tea "cocktails" (the tearoom does not include alcohol on its regular menu), as well as some more traditional cuppas, served in quirkily mismatched bone china cups.

Canaps came in the form of mini scones, topped with jam and clotted cream, perched on elegant tiered cakestands. The guests then queued with their empty cups to have their tea-leaves read by a fortune teller. The feeling is that of a modern twist on the traditional, cosy tea house.

"The market has become saturated with coffee, and I think people have been looking for a change," says Eteaket's owner, Erica Moore, who is resplendent in a retro-style afternoon tea-dress. "There's a real sense of ceremony (that comes] with tea, and it feels very social; more so than coffee, perhaps."

Where the coffee boom seemed representative of our fast-paced modern lifestyle – where we regularly spent the best part of a fiver on a cardboard bucket of caffeine to knock back as we scurried to work – the emergence of tea boutiques is perhaps indicative of a return to a slower pace of life.

Joanne McLeod, the owner of Brewhaha, says: "It's the most bizarre thing, but recession or no, things have been going like the fair here. Consumers are looking for something homely just now, and there's that sense that a nice cup of tea will make things seem better. We're next door to a Costa Coffee and we've got a Starbucks above us, but we get customers in here saying, 'Thank God it's tea!' They seem to find the change refreshing."

The coffee world is fighting back, creating new niches for itself. Starbucks, for example (which has closed 1,000 stores worldwide since the credit crunch started to bite), announced in November that by the end of 2009, all its espresso coffee will be Fairtrade-certified. The chain is also launching an instant coffee, Starbucks VIA Ready Brew, which will be available in selected branches from tomorrow.

In the meantime, tea is proving particularly popular, with afternoon tea becoming a favourite ritual among younger consumers. Afternoon tea at the Balmoral in Edinburgh – where 130 afternoon teas were served on Sunday for Mother's Day – was named by www.1000things.com as one of 1,000 things to do before you die (the list of experiences is being turned into a book, due out next year) and at 21 a head, it's a relatively affordable indulgence.

Harry Fernandes, resident manager at The Balmoral, says: "People like that afternoon tea isn't a rushed experience. It allows you to go at your own pace, slow down and while away an afternoon.

"It's been really popular lately, particularly with young women. I think it's sort of an antidote to a rushed lunch. It feels calm, intimate, and time becomes a part of the experience."

As we all learn to slow down, enjoy our creature comforts and revert to a more traditional way of life, the tea boutique may be set to take over from the coffee house as our "drinking out" destination of choice. Lately, it appears, we've all got a bit more time for tea.