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Why is there no instant tea in stores, although there is instant coffee? – Russia today Publication in CHAT: Russia Supermarket. You walk past the endless shelves of drinks and find a whole section dedicated to instant coffee. Cans, bags, sticks – you name it! Now try to find instant tea. It doesn’t work, does it? And it’s no coincidence. Instant tea doesn’t really sell, although it would seem, why? After all, tea is no less popular than coffee, and there are certainly no fewer lovers of a quick cup of aromatic drink. Let’s find out where instant tea went. Maybe it just never got around to it because of technological difficulties? Or maybe the ropes strangled it in the cradle? What if it’s a conspiracy of coffee magnates? Spoiler: the truth, as always, turned out to be much more prosaic and interesting. Get ready for an amazing journey through centuries and continents. We will follow the twists and turns of instant tea, learn about its unexpected fans and no less unexpected competitors. And, of course, we will find out why in the end this seemingly promising product was never able to conquer the world. History of Instant Tea You will be surprised, but the history of instant tea began long before the advent of instant coffee. Imagine ancient China in the 12th century – an era when tea culture had already reached incredible heights. It was then that the resourceful Chinese first came up with something like instant tea. Of course, their technology was far from perfect and monstrously ineffective by modern standards, but the fact itself is amazing. produce instant tea on an industrial scale. It was a real hit! Just think – long before people started to indulge themselves with instant coffee, they could already enjoy instant tea. So there is clearly no shortage of technology. Humanity has long learned to turn aromatic tea leaves into a powder that immediately dissolves in hot water. But if everything is so simple, then why hasn’t instant tea become as popular as its coffee counterpart? Imagine Britain in the late 19th century – a country where tea was not just a drink, but a real national idea. It was here that instant tea first gained short-lived but explosive popularity. The main fans of this innovation were... dockers! Yes, yes, ordinary port workers appreciated the benefits of instant tea. They did this by adding triple the norm to a mug - the result was a strong, invigorating drink, somewhat reminiscent of Russian cipher. This practice did not become more widespread at that time due to the extreme conservatism of the British - and since the production technology was patented, it could not become more widespread. With its appearance at the beginning of the 20th century, the tea epic stopped for a while. But do not think that instant tea gave up without a fight, coffee was cheaper, produced all over the world and had a better invigorating effect! Practice ... The second wave of popularity swept the world in the 30-50s of the 20th century. This was the time of madness of the "food of the future" - canned food, semi-finished products and, of course, instant drinks. People dreamed of food in tablets and dreamed of giving up tedious cooking. Instant tea fits perfectly into this concept. But, alas, fashion is a capricious lady. By the 1970s, interest in instant tea began to fade. In the USSR, it took a little longer - production began in the late 60s and finally ended only in the early 2010s. At the same time, the decline of the instant tea era is not only a Russian story. This process took place all over the world, with the exception of perhaps North and Latin America. Moreover, instant tea still retains its niche status and continues to be produced there. But why has the rest of the world practically abandoned it? The fact is that instant tea is facing serious competition. On the one hand, it has been pushed out by traditional loose-leaf tea, which many consider more “correct” and tasty. On the other hand, new, more convenient ways to quickly prepare tea have appeared, which we will talk about a little later. Why instant tea has not gained popularity on the world market. Imagine: you come home after a hard day at work and want to drink a cup of an invigorating drink. What is easier – to brew tea or to make coffee? The answer is obvious: tea is much easier to make. And this simplicity is one of the main reasons for the failure of instant tea. Brewing coffee is a whole ritual that requires time and special equipment. You have to constantly boil water, monitor the process, or even get a coffee machine. What about tea? Throw a bag in a mug, pour boiling water over it – and that’s it! The difference of a few minutes between making regular and instant tea turned out to be too insignificant to justify the higher price of the latter. In addition, the invention of tea bags dealt a serious blow to the position of instant tea. Why buy expensive powder if you can just throw a bag of crushed leaves into a cup? It was convenient, fast, and much closer to the traditional taste. Of course, there were situations when instant tea could be useful. For example, on a hike, where every extra minute counts around the campfire. Or in the office, where there is no way to boil water. Indeed, the popularity of the drink was supported “at the core”, recalling the same porters, but here too a substitute for instant tea was found… Bottled tea: an unexpected competitor The main blow to instant tea was dealt by an unexpected enemy – bottled tea. This invention, deserving a separate article, literally turned the tea market upside down. The appearance of bottled tea in the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century was a real revolution. Imagine: a hot summer day, you are in a hurry to do something and suddenly feel thirsty. What is easier: to find hot water and brew tea or just buy a bottle of ready-made drink at the nearest store? No hassle with brewing, no tea bags or powders – just open and drink. Sounds tempting, right? That’s exactly what millions of consumers around the world thought. The secret to the success of bottled tea is simple: tea extract, citric acid and a generous portion of sweeteners. Cheap, cheerful and incredibly convenient. Why do anything if you can just take a ready-made drink from the shelf. It is interesting that coffee has not undergone such a transformation? Attempts to create delicious coffee in bottles have been made more than once, but they all ended in failure. Apparently, this noble drink is too capricious and does not tolerate such treatment. But tea turned out to be much kinder. And right from the moment of the mass distribution of bottled tea, the popularity of the instant version began to fall rapidly. After all, to quickly quench the tea, you did not even need to dilute the powder - just open the bottle, which is why instant tea has not completely disappeared in some places. First of all, these "places", as already mentioned, are the USA, Latin America and, suddenly, Turkey. In addition, the reasons for the preservation of instant tea in these countries are radically different: in some regions of the USA, which in the late 19th - early 20th centuries were considered a "hole of the world", instant tea remained a cultural tradition. – in those years, regular tea did not reach them (it was soggy or spoiled), and if it did, it was too expensive, and instant tea was the only option – today it is more about customs and a tribute to the past. In Latin America, everything is simple and prosaic: due to the extreme underdevelopment of the transport infrastructure, it is impossible to deliver bottled tea there, tea is unprofitable – therefore, instant tea occupies the same niche as half a century ago, when teas learned to be processed into a soluble form that cannot be stored for a long time in leaves – for example, tea with eucalyptus, orange tea and other products containing perishable substances or saturated with essential oils. There it is sold as “powdered tea” and occupies the same niche as “Yuppie” bags in Russia at the end of the last millennium, perhaps a little more noble. So it is somewhat premature to talk about the final death of instant tea. concept – generally speaking – but it’s no longer to be found on supermarket shelves in most countries around the world Conclusion: Why Instant Tea Fails So why has instant tea, despite its long history and apparent appeal, failed to become a mass product? The answer is simple: it turned out to be… unnecessary.* For those who value tradition and are willing to spend a few minutes preparing a drink, there is loose leaf tea.* For those who like quick solutions – Here We Come. at the top is bagged tea, which is almost as fast as instant tea, but cheaper and tastier.* And for those who value maximum speed and convenience, there is bottled tea – which basically takes the benefits of both and adds even…