A NICE CUP OF TEA

Worker shortages and the pandemic have left our supermarket shelves emptier than usual. What will it mean if supplies of our favourite drink start to dwindle?

- ALEKS KROTOSKI

In 1942, in the midst of WWII, the British government procured what you might expect: bullets, artillery shells, bombs. These were the ingredients for battle, purchased to protect the population from physical harm. But they were also thinking about hearts and minds – the other battle on the home front – and what they needed to do to ensure that the country had the resilience to keep calm and carry on. So to tackle that psychological battle, they bought all the tea in the world. And by golly, we won.