Personalised Lyons Tea Mugs Going On The Black Market For €500

GARDAÍ are warning tea drinkers over black market Lyons tea mugs which have been traded for up to €500 on the street, with personalised mug touts making hundreds of thousands of euros from the proceeds.

The mugs, which are limited edition and contain the owners’ tea making credentials, were launched only weeks ago, however, opportunistic street entrepreneurs began scooping up as many of the mugs as they could after realising their popularity.

“I bought a ‘David, two sugars and dash of milk’ from a guy in an underground car park,” explained one punter, “my name isn’t even David, and I don’t take sugar, it’s just the mug is really nice and they’re very hard to come by”.

“I plan on eventually changing my name to David by deed poll and try sugar in my tea, it was well worth the 450 euro,” he concluded.

Gardaí are also warning of counterfeit personalised Lyons tea mugs in circulation, and have asked purchasers to check for the official Lyons tea stamp at the base of the mug before buying, and if in doubt to get the mug checked by a professional.

“The poor quality of the counterfeit mugs is a big give away,” Garda Tadhg Roche told WWN, “the name and tea making instructions peel off the dud ones after a few washes and the tea doesn’t taste as good in them”.