Whatever happened to sugar lumps?

[CanIRetirePlease]

I was trying to explain the idea of sugar lumps to my slightly baffled kids. Why did sugar lumps disappear? I have not seen one in over a decade

I saw them recently somewhere fancy and I can't remember where... they had little silver tongs for lifting them and they were in a covered bowl that flipped open. It was quite a delightful little ceremony

We buy them from Tate & Lyle…. Can stand the granulated stuff

Thank you everyone! I have been out today so just catching up on this thread.

I remember my gran asking if I’d like “one lump or two” and those cute little wrapped packs.

I also remember my mum scolding me for putting a pack of two sugar lumps in my full-sugar Coca Cola as a child. I loved to watch the fizzing! Crikey it’s a wonder I have any teeth left.

I’m glad the sugar lump isn’t entirely extinct - perhaps it will have a revival and return to the science labs of Great Britain one day

You can still buy sugar lumps. We use them for events as they're less messy than loose sugar and less packaging than sachets, which some people have a tendency to nick!

They haven’t disappeared have they? I bought a box of sugar cubes from Tesco a few weeks ago for the builders doing our reno. Saves the mess!

I have had boxes of brown and white for years - champagne cocktails for the brown, general pretentiousness for the white. I haven't managed to get through the boxes in over a decade.

Aww I remember the sugar shortage too. I remember sometimes sugar cubes were all you could get because the ordinary sugar was sold out. Memories of trying to crush up sugar cubes to go on my cornflakes!

We have them in the staff kitchen at work! A lovely kilner jar of mixed white & brown ones. They are sort of ‘rustic’ looking, slightly misshapen, with round corners - rather than perfectly square ones. They give me a minute of joy every morning.

Sugar cubes! Not lumps! What is a sugar lump?! 😆

I work in a supermarket, people buy them all the time.

I buy them for builders - they tend to take sugar for the energy and lumps/cubes are much less messy than a sugar bowl if multiple people are using it.

Also use them in champagne cocktails.

I get them from Ocado but have also seen them for sale in my local Co-op.

You can buy cubes and lumps.

I really want some brown and white sugar cubes now!
I don't even take sugar in tea or coffee .

Recently had two cubes in paper when we went out for a coffee. It was in Belgium though…

You still get the ‘artisanal’ type ones in skme coffee shops but not the old Tate and Lyle cubes of old.

In the 60’s my mum used to let us take a few when we walked up to see the donkeys.

We had a box of them not individually wrapped

I buy the brown ones - they’re called la Perruche. They’re rough chunks and sometimes I have a problem finding the right sized one as I only take half a spoonful of sugar in my coffee.

We get lumps (la Perruche) and cubes (Tate & Lyle) and DH has them at his corporate workplace. He went out & bought sugar tongs for work, and now tong-envy abounds!

I work for an airline and we still use sugar cubes in first class (brown sugar comes in lumps though) We serve them with the little tongs

We buy sugar lumps!

Also referred to as lumps as in 'One lump or two?'. Nobody ever said 'One cube or two?'.

You still get them in some hotels and restaurants.

I buy them for builders or other factotems. Also useful to drop into a stew etc

I had some Algerian friends at that time who were used to very sweet hot drinks. They used to chew toffees and drink their tea through them.

You can still buy them! Fond memories of sneaking to my grandparents kitchen and eating sugar lumps with my cousin