A word from of sponsor:
"All my life, I have worked for this moment. To stand here, before this assembled crowd, on the floor of this historic tea factory, where so many blends have come and gone. Yet the industry perseveres. And not only that; it grows. Grows beyond our wildest dreams, every single day. With every birth comes a new tea drinker into the world, and these emerald isles lead the way in producing the finest tea the world has to offer. Where else to live?
And so, on this historic day in 2009 when Louis releases his new tea chart, I would like to affirm my links to this proud institution. The chart has been going for years now, and the industry continues to sit up and take notice every time it changes. So, with that, I shall hand you over to Louis to present his chart. Good luck to everyone, may the best tea win!"
Mr. Craig Laycock
Tea Connoisseur
As insiders already know and analysts suspected, this year's tea chart comes with an additional statistic. For the entirety of 2008, every cup of tea consumed was accurately recorded for future prosperity (refills excluded).
This total equates to:
1192 cups
That's a little over 3.2 cups per day and approximately 104 imperial gallons of tea. Allow me to put that into perspective; If cars ran on tea instead of petroleum, you would be able to make 8 round trips from Morecambe Bay to Amsterdam in a Vauxhall Astra (weather and traffic permitting). Further more, you would still have enough milage leftover for several day trips to The Magical Kingdom of Camelot Theme Park.
The tea chart is as follows:
1. Make Mine a Builders
(+1)
2. Ooi Ocha, Itoen.
(New Entry)
3. Hazelmere Special House Tea
(New Entry)
4. Redbush, Tetley
(New Entry)
5. Ringtons
6. Yorkshire Tea
(-1)
7. Sencha, Ujinotsuyu Co. Ltd.
(-6)
8. PG Tips
Who knows what's in store for 2009. The tea industry has already proven that it isn't immune to the credit crisis. Just recently the renowned tea chain Whittard's of Chelsea entered into administration.
