A good English breakfast brew, it would be hard to overstate the national importance of it.
Reporter Rafi loves a steaming cup of tea like many of us – but which type of tea is best?
No matter where you are, at home, or on the move, there’s just something about the sweet and milky aroma of tea that makes you feel zen.
In this respect, the English are a parody of ourselves, and fiercely brand loyal when it comes to our favorite cuppa.
To find out, he picked up four of the most popular brands from Sainsbury’s, Yorkshire Tea, PG Tips, Twinings, and Clipper.
A recently written article about a professional tea taster judges each cup against four categories. These are Zing, Sparkle, Color and Body.
To imitate this test, each tea was brewed at 100C, left for exactly 3 minutes, and perfected with a splash of milk.
Tea 1
On first sips, this was not a very rich-bodied cuppa. It tasted quite delicate, but did have a sort of ‘sparkle’. Interestingly, although he dismissed it to start with, it was the one he most wanted to come back to.
Rating: 8/10
Brand guess: PG tips
Tea 2
This one had a thin, herbal-y scent. Flat, with not a lot of zing to it, but quite strong.
Rating: 7/10
Brand guess: Clippers
Tea 3
A full-bodied cup with a darker colour, he was sure he recognised this as his favourite Yorkshire Tea brew. It had a well-rounded flavour, with a lot “going on”.
Rating: 9/10
Brand guess: Yorkshire Tea
Tea 4
Rich, but lacking a bit of punch – not high on the sparkle scale. At this point, he did think that maybe he wasn’t cut out for a life of amateur tea-tasting, as they began to taste quite similar.
Rating: 7/10
Brand guess: Twinings
Here are the correct answers to his blind guesses.
Tea 1: Clippers. This one surprised him: once he knew it was Clippers. With its higher price point and organic, biodegradable teabags, he instantly warmed to it.
Tea 2: PG tips. he was expecting to find PG Tips the most ‘inferior’ cup, as (for whatever reason) he rated it the least. So the fact he gave it a high 7 just shows what part preconceptions play in our day-to-day tasting lives.
Tea 3: Twinings. The highest scorer was not his beloved Yorkshire Tea! But will he be changing his usual shop? Probably not.
Tea 4: Yorkshire Tea. So instilled in him is the slogan that Yorkshire Tea equals a ‘proper brew’ he can’t believe he didn’t recognize it when he drank it.