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9 of the best teas worth sipping, from English Breakfast to Earl Grey
Our experts have rounded up some of the most popular teas on the market to find you a brand worthy of your cup.
There’s something very comforting about a hot cup of tea on a cold, rainy day. It’s like a hug in a mug; the tea's warmth and pleasantly complex taste wonderfully soothing.
Originally, English Breakfast tea was made using Indian and Chinese black tea, however over the years it has evolved into a mix of Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan tea for a smoother drinking experience. Harmonised in flavour, the tea has a richness that comes from its light, floral undertones and earthiness. When blended with milk, it’s not uncommon to pick out the scent of warm toast and honey.
Earl Grey tea, however, is one for those who love floral flavours. It is characteristically a black tea blend with the addition of bergamot oil, which lends itself to a light and sweet orange peel and floral note. Earl Grey can be enjoyed on its own or with a splash of milk, and makes a perfect mid-morning pick-me-up.
Whether you’re enjoying your tea first thing in the morning or as an afternoon treat, it’s important to get it just right. You can add just the right amount of milk, but if you haven’t selected the bag for you, there’ll be no saving your cuppa. Our experts’ pick will help you chose the perfect brew for you.
How we tested
Our experts selected some of the most popular teas on the market and sipped their way through the lot, assessing appearance, aroma, taste and texture to find out which teas makes the grade.
Here are 9 of the best teas to try...
This tea has a well-rounded body that fills the mouth for a smooth drink. We loved its natural honeyed and sweet aroma with notes of wet leaves adding an earthy complexity. The bitter, woody taste combined with the body creates a balanced and comforting drinking experience.
The intoxicating blend of sweet, dried fruity notes with caramel undertones and herbal scents reminded experts of a Rooibos tea. Well harmonised, it has both a woody and herbal flavour profile, with a dried berry taste and balanced bitterness.
Our experts enjoyed the complex aroma of this tea. Its naturally sweet smell has notes of honey, followed by an autumnal, woody scent that comes through in the taste. It also has a slight bitterness, which is enjoyable. A touch of milk elevates the quality of the tea, enhancing the sweetness in the aroma whilst deepening the earthy taste and creating a smoother body.
You’ll be impressed by the well-rounded and smooth body of this tea. It’s slightly herbaceous in scent with a sweet, caramel quality. The sweetness in the flavour is further developed by milk, which gives it fruity characteristics that reminded our experts of dried strawberries. A light earthiness adds balance to the sweet taste and complements the slight bitterness and rich, herby flavour.
There’s something very inviting about the sweet, caramel scent of this tea, its woody undertones creating an interesting complexity. It has an earthy taste and s strong bitterness that is cut through by the milk to leave a woodiness. Sadly, the enjoyable flavour is short-lived but what is left is a really smooth-bodied tea.
This Earl Grey tea has a delicately floral aroma with a hint of milky sweetness. We love the slight perfumed flavour that the bergamot adds, perfectly complimenting the hint of bitterness.
This tea has a well-balanced and heady floral aroma with roasted notes. It is gently bitter and on the stronger floral side, making for a richly comforting cup of tea.
Fresh with subtle citrus notes, this tea's floral flavour is balanced, while the lemon adds a refreshing and light taste.
Loved for its balanced autumnal flavour of wet earth and gentle bitterness. This smooth-bodied tea has an enticing and sweet aroma with subtle floral notes and a rich earthiness.
Janet Leigh is the acting food testing manager at the GHI. From Easter in January to Christmas in July (and all that falls in-between), she leads the taste test team as they munch their way through sample after sample trying to find you the best products on the market. Whether it’s the latest trending foods or your cupboard staples, she covers it all. She now writes for Digital Spy
Mel is the Senior Food & Drink Writer for Good Housekeeping UK, covering all the delicious new product launches that come her way, writing about food and drink topics, and curating gift guides for the best foodie products to buy. Alongside that, she can be found developing and creating cocktails for GH and holds her WSET Level 2 in Wine and Spirits. She was part of the Good Housekeeping Institute food testing team for over four years before moving over to the digital side, so knows a thing or two about great food products. You'll find her scouring the supermarket shelves in her spare time for new and exciting ingredients to experiment with in her kitchen.
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