As of: February 8, 2024, 7:11 a.m
By: Natascha Berger
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Nowhere in the world is so much tea drunk as in East Frisia.
Although tea consumption has increased nationwide since the pandemic, the difference is still huge.
Aurich – Anyone who has ever drunk tea in East Frisia knows: In the region in Lower Saxony, there is much more to the drink than just steeping a tea bag in boiling water.
From porcelain to “Kluntje”, rock candy, to proper stirring – tea time in Northern Germany has special features and, above all, a lot of tradition.
East Frisian tea culture is a UNESCO cultural heritage – and is breaking records
While the East Frisian tea culture has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO since 2016, it has been clear since 2021 at the latest how much tea is actually drunk on the North Sea coast: East Frisians drink almost a liter of tea a day.
So around 300 liters per person per year, extrapolated to a whopping 14 million liters.
The East Frisians drink more tea than the rest of the world - and have made it into the Guinness Book of Records.
Recently, the world tea drinking champions set another record.
The East Frisians are the world champions in tea drinking with 300 liters per capita per year.
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
In this context, the comparison with the whole of Germany is particularly astonishing: Despite the tea world champions in East Frisia, only just under 29 liters per capita are drunk per year nationwide.
After the pandemic, an increase of one liter per capita per year was recorded nationwide, but northern Germans still drink more than ten times as much tea as the average German.
Up to 300 liters of tea a year: East Frisians leave even Great Britain far behind
With their high tea consumption, East Frisians are not only behind the Turks with around 285 liters and the Irish with 228 liters per year, but also the nation with the greatest reputation as tea lovers.
The British are far behind compared to the East Frisians, with 169 liters per capita per year.
The passion for tea, which is often touted as healthy, and the traditions that go with it go back to the 17th century.
At that time, the first tea was brought to Leer by the Dutch.
Even today, the East Frisian proverb “Three cups are East Frisian law” (“Three is Oostfresen Recht”) shows how deeply tea is anchored in everyday life.
The traditional tea ceremony includes Dresden porcelain, rock candy “Kluntje”, cream and a mixture of black teas.
The spoon is not intended for stirring - but placed in the cup symbolizes the end of the "teetied", i.e. tea time.