Despite the growing popularity of coffee, new research reveals the good old cup of tea still fuels the British workforce. The cuppa remains the number one drink for workers who consume the equivalent of nearly 200,000 baths a week. The research by recruitment agency Pertemps questioned staff from lorry drivers to office workers on their choice of drinks during the working day. It found that 59 per cent drink tea regularly and 51 per cent prefer it to coffee.

Fifty three per cent of tea drinkers questioned have one or two cups a day, 40 per cent have up to five and seven per cent up to eight. Consumption of the traditional brew at work is increasing. One third of respondents said they drank more tea now than they used to, with 56 per cent drinking one or two cups more and the rest three cups more.

Most workers said they relied on tea to get them though the day. Fifty one per cent said it helped wake them up and give them energy, and 53 per cent felt they worked harder after a cupper. Other reasons for brewing up were to have a break from work (23 per cent), to calm down (17 per cent), and to quench thirst (9 per cent).

When asked who makes or fetches the tea or coffee, 25 per cent of workers complained that it was always the same people. This was a source of resentment among a third of respondents who felt that colleagues who did not take their turn were selfish. The research also found that the kitchen, water dispenser or drinks machine were the place to catch up on gossip in 41 per cent of companies.

Tea breaks originated approximately 200 years ago. They began when people started work at five or six in the morning and employers allowed a break for food and tea mid morning. Between 1741 and 1820 industrialists, landowners and clerics tried to stop tea breaks claiming they made workers lazy. The workers made a stand and the break remains today.