A SUPERMARKET’s tea bags have been named better than big brands including Yorkshire Tea and Twinings – which cost double the price.
New analysis from consumer website Which? has revealed the nation’s favourite cup of tea.
It asked a panel of 79 experienced tea drinkers to blind-taste 12 teas from supermarkets including Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco and big brands including PG Tips and Tetley.
Competition was fierce and there was barely anything separating the score of the winner from those at the bottom of the list.
Asda’s Everyday Tea Bags nabbed the top spot despite being just £1.20 for 80 bags.
The supermarket tea bags were awarded an impressive score of 72%, which earned them Which?’s Best Buy and Great Value endorsement.
The panel also scored them highly for smell and appearance, while more than two thirds said their colour was spot-on.
Flavour-wise, around half of the judges said it was just right.
Aldi and Lidl usually score highly in these types of tests but both supermarkets failed to beat the competition this time.
Aldi’s Diplomat Red Label tea bags are £1.85 for 160 and scored 70% in the test.
Meanwhile, Lidl’s Knightsbridge Red Label tea bags were scored 69% by the judges.
In close second were PG Tips Original, despite being more than double the cost of the Asda equivalent, at £3 for 80 bags.
Judges awarded the brand a score of 71%, narrowly missing the top spot.
But more than two thirds said their colour was just how a cup of tea should look, while a similar proportion were satisfied with how bitter the taste was.
Tetley Original also scored 71% as tasters thought the tea looked good, had a pleasant feel in the mouth and enticing smell.
But nearly half said that it had poor strength of flavour and a quarter reported that it was too bitter for their taste.
Meanwhile, at £2.50 for 80 bags they are £1.30 more expensive than their Asda equivalent.
Despite being half the price, Sainsbury’s Red Label received the same score as Tetley Original.
How to save on your supermarket shop
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
More than 75% of the panel liked the colour of this cup of tea and it scored highly on both smell and mouthfeel.
Tied at the bottom of the table were Twinings Everyday and Tesco Original Tea, which both scored just 67%.
At £4.80 per 80 bags, Twinings costs four times the price of Asda’s winning cuppa.
More than 60% of judges liked the colour and bitterness level of Twinings but fewer than half said they were satisfied with the brew’s strength of flavour.
Meanwhile, two thirds of the panel enjoyed the bitterness level of Tesco Original but a third said it was too dark while a further third said it was not strong enough.
Natalie Hitchins, Head of Home Products and Services at Which?, said: “A cup of tea is a daily essential for millions.
“Our results show that the bigger and more expensive brands aren’t necessarily the best for taste – with a supermarket own-brand costing less than 2p per cup emerging ahead of rivals costing up to four times as much.”
Meanwhile the Sun Money team have taste tested the new McDonald’s Twix latte and viral Grimace Shake.
The best brews ranked by Which?
- Asda Everyday Tea Bags – 72%
- PG Tips Original – 71%
- Sainsbury’s Red Label – 71%
- Tetley Original – 71%
- Aldi Diplomat Red Label – 70%
- Co-op 99 Blend Fairtrade Tea – 70%
- Waitrose Essential Original Blend Tea Bags – 70%
- Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea – 70%
- Lidl Knightsbridge Red Label Tea Bags – 69%
- Morrisons Everyday Tea – 68%
- Tesco Original Tea – 67%
- Twinings Everyday – 67%
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