What is the national drink of India?

Once upon a time, the national drink of many countries was tea.

Think of those well known phrases   the stereotypical English ‘afternoon tea’, the Chinese phrases ‘for all the tea in China’. India too, has long been known as a predominantly tea-drinking nation and the Indian teas of Darjeeling and Assam are renowned the world over.

However, the coffee news online for India of late has indicated that a change is on the wind.

It seems that the tea and coffee growers in India are battling for the top national drink.

These days, coffee culture is spreading, coffee bars are aplenty and the middle class have been described as having a ‘love affair’ with the latte.

The government is reticent to come down in either the tea or the coffee camp.

Clearly, tea-drinking has a long history and the North Eastern Tea Association has argued that the manufacturing and consumption of tea in the north is about three times greater than coffee.

However, coffee has become increasingly popular, especially in cities.

This trend is not limited to India either.

There has been recent attention in Britain to the fact that coffee is giving tea a run for its money as the top national drink.

Similarly, in China, it has been observed that tea has a coffee competitor, snapping at its heels.