Tea Bags

Twinings serves up the perfect cuppa for Aussies

There’s nothing like a nice wind down to the day with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. Whether you’re more of an English Breakfast tea drinker that enjoys some jam on toast on the side, or you prefer the fruity herbal types infused with a medley of flavours, tea is as diverse as we are. While tea is no longer used as currency, you may still find yourself paying premium price for it. Does a high-end price mean better quality? Our annual review will get to the bottom of it.

To find out which tea brands are rated highest in Australia, we’ve surveyed almost 2,000 consumers and asked about their personal preferences, with brands rated on factors including taste, variety, value for money and overall satisfaction. There were 11 leading brands that received the minimum sample size to be included in the ratings, but only one brand achieved a five-star rating for overall satisfaction in 2018 – Twinings.

When it comes to tea, it seems that many Aussies are tough critics, with top marks hard to come by for the majority of brands. And you thought we were a nation of coffee snobs? However, there were some standout performers.

• Along with Twinings, both Nerada and T2 rated five stars for taste.
• T2 was the only brand to receive five stars for packaging appeal and variety/range.
• ALDI Diplomat was the only brand to score five stars in terms of value for money.
• Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths scored just three stars for overall satisfaction, taste, packaging and variety, but notably received four stars in regards to value for money.

So it would seem that some of the more premium brands offer the teas to beat, but your choice could in the end come down to which type of tea you prefer. These ratings include all products that broadly fall under the banner of ‘tea’, from your herbal teas to the more traditional English Breakfasts and Earl/Lady Greys. Tea is a broad spectrum. And those surveyed tea enthusiasts were pretty hard to please – only seven top ratings were given out across the board, from a possible 55.

Different types of tea explained

There are many different types of tea out there, with many brands getting ever more experimental by adding in different flavours, fruits and spices to jazz things up a little. It is perhaps noteworthy then that two of the top performers in 2018 – Twinings and T2 – are known for their expansive range of products. But here are the most common types of tea 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 and comes 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

Green tea is – as you guessed it – green in colour, which is because it does not go through an oxidisation process. To get the most out of green tea you have to pay more attention to the brewing process, often letting it brew for quite a while to get the full flavour. Specific profiles of green tea rely on the tea’s origin, time of harvest and various processing methods. Green tea is often used as a soothing remedy or as a calming beverage before bed.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is perhaps the most complex tea out there to perfect, and there is a lot of variety. Oolong tea can be very lightly oxidised, or heavily oxidised to give desired characteristics and profile. Oolong tea generally needs to be steeped multiple times to get the most from it, and aromas and tastes are 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.

Herbals

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 ‘lisane’. 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.

Whichever type of cuppa tickles your fancy, tea is a great alternative beverage to coffee and soft drink, and can be a relaxing way to start or end your day, or enjoy as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. We hope you find our ratings helpful.

About the winner – Twinings

Twinings has over 500 varieties of teas that are cherished all over the world. It offers both black and green tea along with an herbal range. The core black tea assortment has over 10 different blends from English breakfast to Australian afternoon. Twinings Infusions teas feature a particular ‘Sleep’ tea that includes a mix of camomile, orange blossom and honey, while its ‘Digest’ tea is made with peppermint, liquorice and lemon balm. You’ll find a few variations in the Twinings green tea section as well. The standard packaging size is packs of 10, 40, 50 & 100 tea bags. Certain tea blends in the Twinings Infusions range can also be found in packs of 18 & 80 tea bags while its pyramid bags range comes in packs of 15.

You may also be interested in our ratings for:

• Food Dips
• Long Life Milk
• Fresh Milk
• Yoghurt

And before your grocery list gets too long, why not check out customer ratings for online grocery shopping websites:

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