As the saying goes, ‘There’s nothing that a cup of tea can’t fix’, but with so many brands available on the market, it can be difficult to know whether you’re buying the best one. However a new survey claims to have solved the problem once and for all, revealing which brand of tea tastes the best.
A study carried out by Choice pitted 16 teabags against each other, from well-known brands like Twinings and Tetleys, to supermarket own brand offerings. The products, which varied not only in taste and texture but also in price, were then blind taste-tested by more than 60 volunteers.
The results may come as no surprise to any Poms out there as English favourite Taylor’s of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea (Proper Black Tea) came out on top as the best tasting brew, beating more pricey options like Madura English Breakfast and T2 English Breakfast.
While the teabags may not be the cheapest option on the market, costing $0.05 per bag on average, Yorkshire Tea scored 80 per cent overall and emerged as one of the brands people would be most likely to swap their existing favourite tea for.
One satisfied reviewer said: “I’d love to know what it actually was so that I can buy it.” While another described Yorkshire Tea as “very pleasant and smooth”.
Hot on the heels of Yorkshire Tea though was Aussie classic Bushell’s Blue Label, with an overall score of 77 per cent. Costing just 4 cents a bag, Bushell’s was described by taste testers as “calming, pleasant and earthy”. Interestingly, Bushell’s has supported the Driver Reviver road safety program across Australia for over 15 years.
Three brands tied for third place with Madura Premium Blend, Lipton Breakfast Tea and Tetley’s all bagging scores of 76 per cent. However, while consumers liked the taste equally, the prices vary drastically across these products. Tetley’s comes in at just $0.03 per teabag, while Lipton is slightly higher at $0.05 and Madura will set you back $0.08 per bag.
As part of the survey, each participant was randomly assigned tea samples that had been de-identified. They were then instructed to prepare each sample in the same way as they would normally drink their tea and complete a short taste test survey.
Participants were then asked to give an overall rating for each tea sample on a seven-point scale ranging from ‘terrible’ to ‘excellent’, which was then converted into an overall percentage score.
The priciest tea in the survey was T2’s English Breakfast which costs a whopping $0.48 per individual teabag, however despite it’s high price point it scored just 72 per cent and was described as
Home brand teabags from Coles, Aldi and Woolworths were the cheapest options in the test, all costing an average of $0.02 per teabag. While Coles and Aldi scored 72 per cent and 73 per cent respectively, Woolworths Essentials 100 Black Teabags came in last with a score of just 70 per cent.
Earlier this year, Choice revealed which instant coffee was the nation’s favourite in a similar test, with Coles Fairtrade Freeze Dried Coffee coming out on top, beating out pricier rivals such as Moccona and Nescafe.