Number of sugars people put in their tea relates to social and economic status, research suggests

People in the lowest income bracket are twice as likely to take two or more sugars in their tea than those on highest incomes

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The way people take their tea says a lot about their personal taste, but now new research suggests that the amount of sugar a person puts in their brew belies their social and economic status.

Data collected by The Grocer suggests that the more sugar a person puts in their tea, the lower their income.

The research found that people in the ‘DE’ socio-economic bracket, which is classed as “semi-skilled and unskilled manual occupations, unemployed and lowest grade occupations,” are twice as likely to put two or more sugars in their tea than those in the ‘AB’ category, which is classed as those in “higher and intermediate managerial, administrative, professional occupations”.

More than a third of people in the DE bracket take sugar in their tea overall, while only 26 per cent of people on the highest incomes have sugar in their brew, the Grocer found.

Yorkshire is the area of the UK with the highest amount of tea drinkers who take milk but shun sugar with 42 per cent, while the north east was found to be the hotbed of sugar-takers with 21 per cent of people admitting to putting milk with two or more sugars in their tea.

But despite the varying tea preferences across the country, tea is still the most popular hot drink in the UK, with 44 per cent of people admitting to drinking it more than any other.