Best-Rated Specialty Tea

See Our Ratings Methodology.

cns-msc-specialty-tea-2023-small

Most Satisfied Customers | Twinings

Aussies have rated Twinings as the top brand in Canstar Blue’s latest speciality tea ratings, with the brand scoring five stars across all categories, including taste, variety & range, packaging convenience, value for money and overall satisfaction.

Fact Checked Fact Checked

How we rate specialty tea

Our review compares specialty tea on customer satisfaction, so you can find out what other Aussies think about the compared brands before you go ahead with a purchase. Think of it as like asking hundreds of your closest mates which specialty tea they think is best!


Canstar Blue surveyed 569 Australians for their feedback on the specialty tea(s) they’ve purchased from a supermarket or grocer and consumed in the last three months.

  • The outcomes reported in these ratings are measured via accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics.


Respondents rate their satisfaction with their specialty tea brand(s) from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
  • Overall satisfaction: measures consumer satisfaction with a specialty tea brand as an individual score NOT a combined total of all criteria.
  • Taste: the tea tasted authentic and matched the flavour description on the packaging (i.e., herbal, oolong, etc.).
  • Variety & range: the tea brand offered a variety of product options.
  • Packaging convenience: the tea packaging made it easy to dispense and store (i.e. came in an easy to open box, etc.).
  • Value for money: the cost is reasonable for the quality and quantity of the tea.

The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.

  • Overall satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
  • When we cannot determine a clear winner from the criteria for the Overall satisfaction rating, we will then look at the other criteria measured in the rating.
    • The brand with the highest number of five-star ratings within the supporting criteria will become the five-star recipient in overall satisfaction, and thus win the award. If a clear leader still cannot be determined from the supporting criteria, joint winners will be declared.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.

  • Twinings
  • T2
  • Dilmah
  • Lipton
  • Coles

Find more detailed information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.


Top Specialty Tea Brand – Twinings

Twinings Specialty Tea

Twinings is often synonymous with tea, with the brand offering no shortage of options for those looking to have a cuppa. In addition to traditional black tea, Twinings also offers peppermint, lemon & ginger, camomile, strawberry & raspberry & loganberry, camomile & spearmint, cranberry & pomegranate, orange & cinnamon, along with plenty of other flavours for those looking for something a bit different. Package sizes will vary between flavours, with packs ranging from 10 to 80, with Twinings available at major supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths.

  • Twinings was rated five stars for taste, variety & range, packaging convenience, value for money and overall satisfaction.

What types of tea are there?

There are many different types of tea out there, with brands getting more experimental by adding in different flavours, fruits and spices to jazz things up a little. Here are the most common types of teas explained.

Black Tea

Black tea is perhaps the most popular of all varieties and is where classic favourites such as English Breakfast and Earl Grey fall under. Black tea is fully oxidised, and is most commonly produced in India. There are three types of black tea produced in India – Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri. Ceylon is another popular variety from Sri Lanka. Even within this category there are many subcategories – ones even the biggest tea buff would have trouble being an expert in. For a classic cuppa out on the deck, you can’t go wrong with black tea.

Green Tea

Black tea is perhaps the most popular of all varieties and is where classic favourites such as English Breakfast and Earl Grey fall under. Black tea is fully oxidised, and is most commonly produced in India. There are three types of black tea produced in India – Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri. Ceylon is another popular variety from Sri Lanka. Even within this category there are many subcategories – ones even the biggest tea buff would have trouble being an expert in. For a classic cuppa out on the deck, you can’t go wrong with black tea.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is perhaps the most complex tea out there to perfect, and there’s a lot of variety. Oolong tea can be very lightly oxidised, or heavily oxidised to give the desired characteristics and profile. Oolong tea generally needs to be steeped multiple times to get the most from it, with aromas and tastes commonly fruity. As a fun fact, ‘oolong’ comes from the term ‘Wu-long’, which is Chinese for ‘black dragon’. So, get some fire in your belly and sip on an oolong.

Herbal Tea

Gaining in popularity in Australia are herbal teas, so what are they? Well, herbal infusions are extra ingredients added to the process other than tea leaves. The technical term for herbal tea is ‘tisane’. Here you’ll find teas such as chamomile, peppermint and lemongrass and ginger among other flavours. Really, the possibilities are endless, with flavours as exotic as rose, liquorice, choc mint and beyond.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is an aromatic Chinese tea made from the same leaves used to create green and black tea, the Camellia sinensis plant, except the leaves are not fully oxidised. In comparison, the leaves for green tea are not oxidised at all, while the leaves for black tea undergo full oxidisation. Oolong tea is ideally brewed with a higher leaf-to-water ratio than other types of tea, which you can easily achieve by adding an extra scoop of loose-leaf tea or steeping the tea bag multiple times.

Tea Bag Reviews

About our consumer experts


Dean Heckscher: Site Editor

This report was written by Canstar Blue’s Site Editor, Dean Heckscher. He’s our resident expert on all things automotive, health & fitness, streaming and more. Dean is also one of Canstar Blue’s customer research report producers, helping to turn complicated subjects into easily-digestible information for our readers. He’s passionate about helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services.

 

Meet the Editorial Team

 

Samantha Howse: Consumer Research Specialist

Sam Howse Research Specialist

Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.

 

Meet the Research Team

Past Ratings

Here are the past winners from Canstar Blue’s specialty tea ratings:

  • 2022: T2
  • 2021: Nerada
  • 2020: Nerada

Related Groceries Articles

Your guide to Easter long weekend trading hours

Your guide to 2024 Easter long weekend trading hours

Aussie families will be out and about for Easter this year, taking advantage of the long weekend and enjoying a break together. With many shops and stores closed over the Easter weekend, it can be …

– Read more
Best Cheap Coffee Machines 2021

The best cheap coffee machines in Australia for 2022

Are you stirring around looking for a budget-friendly coffee machine that will help you make barista-quality cuppas at home? If so, we’ve whipped up a ‘fa-brew-lous’ list of cheap coffee machines worth checking out if …

– Read more
How a simple supermarket switch could save you up to $2,468 a year

How a simple supermarket switch could save you up to $2,468 a year

The average Australian family could save up to $2,468 a year on groceries by shopping at ALDI, according to the budget supermarket’s 2022 Price Report.

The latest findings reveal a price gap of 15.6% between ALDI’s …

– Read more
How to use Woolworths' Scan&Go

How to use Woolworths’ Scan&Go to save time when shopping

Did you know there’s a much faster way to shop and get through checkout queues at Woolworths? 
The Woolies app has a little-known DIY feature − Scan&Go − that allows shoppers to scan grocery barcodes on …

– Read more
Kmart $89 coffee machine review

Are Kmart coffee machines any good? Review

If you love coffee and a bargain, you’ve perhaps pondered snagging the $89 Kmart coffee machine. The cut-price Anko coffee machine has continued to garner plenty of attention since it first hit shelves, with most …

– Read more