Swiss consumers are drinking more tea and coffee, a market research study based on the retail trade has found.

While coffee consumption was up three per cent, tea drinkers sipped eight per cent more of the beverage in the year from September 2007 to September 2008.

The study, published by market researchers ACNielsen, excludes sales through specialised outlets, service stations and restaurants.

Four out of five Swiss homes are equipped with a coffee machine, according to the survey. Sales of capsule coffee surged 25 per cent, while coffee beans and ground coffee were slightly less popular.

Although tea was bought by three-quarters of Swiss households, black tea represented just a quarter of that amount, with herbal teas the clear favourite. Green tea, which accounts for eight per cent of tea sales, saw a jump in sales of 39 per cent.

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