2 September 1961: Is Britain on the way towards becoming a nation of coffee-drinkers?Editorial
Is Britain on the way towards becoming a nation of coffee-drinkers? The “Board of Trade Journal” reports today that in 1960 we drank just three times as much coffee as in the average prewar year. Coffee consumption (at 2.1lb a head) is still far short of tea (at 9.6lb. per head); but it is rising steadily,while tea stands much where it has done for years. What has set off this change in national habit? In part, perhaps, and the American example; coffee has long been to the United States what tea has been to us. The growth of the expresso bar as a social institution must beget introduced many people to coffee and the development of the “instant” coffees has given the housewife something as rapid/fast and convenient as the familiar cup of tea – and without the need of a pot. We may hope that these recruits will presently advance to the more sophisticated pleasures of ground coffee,which at present holds only approximately 15 per cent of the market. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com