The Brits in my office don't seem to have gotten the memo. Not only do they drink lots of tea. The employer also buys a variety of teas...peppermint, green, earl, black, and one that I can't remember.
No rooibos though...pity.
No rooibos though...pity.
Most people in the UK in fact probably drink Tetleys (from Indian giant Tata), "Yorkshire" tea (Taylors of Harrogate), PG Tips (from Unilever), Typhoo (another Indian giant), Lipton (also Unilever), or a generic supermarket brand.
It's a huge hit in our house. My wife actually gave up coffee for it. And she's Colombian.
I still do strong coffee in the morning, but Scottish Breakfast in the afternoon with honey and milk is a great new thing to look forward to. And by new I mean new for the last year or so.
Unless you have a nice coffee machine, you're left to deal with a French press (too much effort, difficult for large rounds), or (gasp) instant coffee.
When out and about, if your drink is being made by a professional, it makes sense to have coffee over tea. Less faffing about removing tea bags, etc.
In the U.S., coffee is essentially a human right. Even the most humble of blue-collar work environments has at least a "Mr. Coffee"-style drip machine, and most white-collar offices these days have a K-cup or other cartridge system that brews in seconds.
It's easy to brew coffee mechanically, because the optimal temperature is well below the boiling point. Whereas most black tea requires the water to be brought to a boil. Even a nice electric kettle takes forever compared to a $15 Mr. Coffee. Also, you need to drink tea right away, whereas coffee can sit on the burner for nearly an hour before non-snobs would think to throw it out.
So in the U.S., tea is more commonly consumed at home or in shops. Coffee is ubiquitous in the workplace, because it's far easier to brew in a hurry with machines (even cheap ones).
Never order tea while out in the US, you'll get a cup of cooling water with a teabag in a paper sachet by the side...