Supermarket own-brand teas have been crowned the UK's best in a Which? taste test, beating household names PG Tips, Yorkshire Tea and Tetley. Sainsbury's Red Label, Waitrose Essential Original Blend and Co-op Fairtrade 99 Tea Blend were the top-scoring Best Buys, all costing around 2p per teabag.
Blind taste test pits brands against supermarket bags
Consumer experts Which? organised a taste test team of 67 tea drinkers and pitted the big brands against supermarket bags, including Asda, Lidl, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Tesco, and more.
Jessica Carson, Which? taste test expert, said: “Given how much many of us drink tea, costs can quickly rack up. Our blind taste test pitted household names against supermarket teabags, with the winning brew coming in at 2p per cup versus 5p for the leading name brand.”
The winning teas and how they scored
Sainsbury's Red Label scored 75%, with almost two thirds of taste testers saying they would happily make it their regular tea. The tea's colour and aroma were highly rated, and more than half said its strength of flavour was perfect. It costs less than half the price of Tetley and Yorkshire.
Waitrose Essential Original Blend also scored 75%. Two-thirds of tasters would be happy to drink it every day, and it was highly rated on mouthfeel. Co-op Fairtrade 99 Tea Blend scored 74%, with three quarters saying they would happily have it daily.
How the other teas scored
Morrisons Everyday Tea scored 73%, Yorkshire Tea (Taylors of Harrogate) scored 72%, and Lidl Knightsbridge Red Label scored 71%. Asda Everyday Tea Bags, PG Tips Original and Tetley Original all scored 70%. M&S Everyday Tea scored 68% and Tesco Original Tea scored 67%.
Yorkshire Tea, at 5p per bag, was the most expensive tea on the list but got the highest scores of the name-brand teas. Lidl Knightsbridge Red Label was the cheapest at 1p per tea bag and was well-liked, proving you don't need to splash out on a big brand to enjoy a decent cuppa.
