It was once considered so important to the British way of life that the government bought up nearly the entire world’s supply of it. But the humble cup of tea could, once again, be at risk.

Shoppers have been warned there is a “nationwide” shortage of black tea linked to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Sainsbury’s was the first supermarket to warn of the problem. A sign in one store read: “We are experiencing supply issues affecting the nationwide supply of black tea. We apologise for any inconvenience and hope to be back in full supply soon.”

The supermarket later confirmed it was an “industry-wide issue”.

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