We blind taste test and compare 32 supermarket black tea bags from brands including Lipton, Twinings, T2, Dilmah and more to find out which ones taste best.

• Discover the top-rated black tea bags by CHOICE experts.
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• Get your free guide to all our taste test winners.

We’ve also partnered with Shop Ethical on this review to show the ratings the Ethical Consumer Group gives to each company (not product).

Products

We tested 32 black tea bags that are available nationally in major supermarket chains. We did not test green, oolong, white, chai, fruit or herbal teas, or tea blends (such as Earl Grey) or decaffeinated tea.

Tasting

This was a blind taste test where four expert judges were randomly assigned the tea samples. The total volume of boiled water used with each tea bag was 180mL and each tea was tasted black (without milk).

The CHOICE Expert Rating was determined by assessing colour, aroma, overall flavour, aftertaste and mouthfeel. Each tea was also given a rating to score its intensity, however this did not form part of the CHOICE Expert Rating. The judges also described the flavour notes of the tea, with profiles including floral, fruity, earthy, vegetal, umami, nutty, sweet, smoky and fire. Most of these also had subcategory profiles. The judges were asked to name the top three flavours they could taste (if any), as well as any other flavour profiles they detected.

Scores

We recommend any tea bag with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 70% or above.