Around 300 liters of tea per year per East Frisian – that’s enough to set a world record. Nowhere is more tea drunk than in northwest Germany.
Ihlow – The East Frisians have long been considered the world champions in tea drinking – now the preference is officially recognized as a record. The record institute for Germany has determined that the East Frisians drink an average of 300 liters of tea per capita per year.
Projected it is around 14 million liters per year, said record judge Rolf Allerdissen. As a national average, a mere 28 liters per capita and year are drunk.
At the center of East Frisia in Ihlow and at the medieval meeting place of the East Frisians on Upstalsboom (both Aurich district), Allerdissen presented two certificates – one in High German and one in Low German – to the President of the Regional Association of East Frisian Landscape, Rico Mecklenburg. He accepted the award on behalf of all East Frisians. The award confirms what the East Frisians always knew, according to Mecklenburg. “475,000 people live this cultural asset by drinking a lot of tea every day.”
Tea culture goes back to the 17th century
The East Frisian tea culture goes back to the 17th century and is firmly rooted in the region in the far northwest of Lower Saxony. Up to six tea times (in Low German: “Teetied”) are part of everyday life for many East Frisians. The East Frisian tea culture has been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by Unesco since 2016.
The record institute evaluated figures from the British statistical authority, the German Federal Statistical Office and the German Tea and Herbal Tea Association for the recognition of the achievement. Accordingly, with their annual consumption of 300 liters, the East Frisians also outperform tea nations such as Libya (287 liters) and Turkey (277 liters). dpa
