Introduction:
　Ireland has the highest per capita tea consumption in the world at 3.2 kg (71b) per head per year.
　The quality of tea drunk in Ireland is also the highest in the world and is still rising. The Irish public is certainly the most discerning when it come to tea; in fact, with regard to taste and leaf appearance, quality is an obsession, and low quality tea does not sell at any price.
　Prior to World War II, most of the tea consumed in Ireland was purchased in the U.K., either in the London Auction or privately. But the war changed all that.

War and Rationing:
　At the outbreak of war, the British Ministry of Food took total control of tea from September 1939 until the rationing of tea came to an end in 1952. Tea was price controlled and was allocated to the Irish wholesalers in proportion to the amount of tea they had purchased between January 1, 1936 and June 30, 1939. Initially, the allocation was 100% of this 'datum' quantity, but as the war took its toll on merchant shipping, the amount was steadily reduced. However, in the early stages of the war, Ireland still received the same ration per capita as the U.K. This did not last for long. Ireland declared neutrality and refused to allow British troops to control its ports or warships to use its harbors. In retaliation, in 1941, the tea quota for Ireland was reduced to almost nothing − half an ounce of tea per head − while the ration in the U.K. was 2.5 ounces.
　The Irish government decided to take action. On July 8,1941,it set up a private limited company, Tea Importers (Eire) Ltd., in order to start purchasing tea direct from country of origin. This company was sponsored and backed by the government. Throughout the war years, tea shipments were accomplished with great difficulty as Ireland had no merchant shipping fleet of its own, although this was addressed by the government as soon as it became apparent that Ireland needed such a fleet. Tea shipments were predominantly from India, whose teas were the basis of all Irish blends at that time.
　The government vowed never again to be dependent on the U.K. for its tea supplies and, until Ireland joined the European Community in 1973, it was illegal for any Irish company to import tea except direct from the country of production. If any transshipment was necessary in another country, the tea still had to be shipped on a through bill of lading to Dublin.