A Different View with Dave O’Connell

Teetotallers aren’t just good for the lift home from the pub or for keeping their heads when all about are losing theirs; it turns out that steering clear of the sauce also sharpens the mind.

To be pedantic, it’s not just about staying off the drink; it’s more that, when you’re struggling to make those mental connections, a cup of tea might ease the logjam.

Research carried out in China found that a cup of tea can boost creativity and focus the mind. And funnily enough, it wasn’t down to the quantity of Earl Grey or Darjeeling you downed; it was the actual act of drinking it that seems to have made the difference.

And in a world where you can have 47 different kinds of coffee served in a million different ways, it’s almost reassuring to know that the cuppa cha is still the king.

It’s the business first thing in the morning and lovely after a night out even if that seems rather sensible compared to the chance for a small drop of the quare stuff before shuffling off to bed.

Such is our love for tea that many people pack a box of bags in the suitcase before heading off to sunnier climes, because they’re convinced those countries don’t know how to make tea – little realising that this is where it’s grown in the first place.

Because contrary to belief, Barrys don’t grow their tea in Cork no more than Lyons tea isn’t grown in London – and Yorkshire tea would never get out of the ground in Leeds, never mind into the cup.