Supermarket tea bags costing 2p a cup beat big brands in blind taste test

Tea gulpers and slurpers put 12 brands of tea bags to the test, including supermarket lines and well-known names.

Marking each cuppa on flavour, appearance, aroma and 'mouthfeel', 79 regular tea drinkers were served each tea black, made to on-pack instructions.

They were then able to add their preferred amount of milk and sugar to ensure the tea was always made to their liking.

Beating hot drink giants Tetley, PG Tips and even Yorkshire Tea and Twinings, Asda's Everyday tea bags came out top with a 72% satisfaction rating.

It won big on aroma and appearance, and the majority thought the bitter flavour was spot on.

At just £1.20 for 80 tea bags, each cup costs less than 2p to make. Its 240-bag pack is even cheaper at £3.20 - just over 1p each.

In joint second place, PG Tips, Sainsbury's Red Label and Tetley Original scored 71%.

While the Sainsbury's option works out at 2p a bag (£1.25 for 80), PG Tips and Tetley are both 4p a cup, costing £3 for 80 bags.

Close behind, another four brands hit 70% satisfaction - Aldi, Co-op, Waitrose and Yorkshire Tea.

A bag of 80 Yorkshire Tea bags is about £3.30 depending on where you shop - working out at just over 4p a cup. That's something to think about as it scored the same as Aldi's Diplomat Red Label which costs £1.85 for 160 tea bags - about 1p a drink.

Revered tea makers Twinings finished last in the blind taste test, scoring 67%. Less than half of tasters approved of the flavour, despite an 80-bag box costing £4.80 (6p a tea bag).

Members of the public were selected by Which? to make up the demographic profile of the UK.

Which? said: "Switching to our Best Buy Asda tea from a big brand will halve your costs. But if you can't let go of your favourite brew, make sure you shop smart for it.

"Most big brands are sold in a range of pack sizes and cycle on and off special offers, so make a habit of swinging by the tea aisle - even if you haven't run out yet - so you can pick up deals when they're about.

"Make sure to double check it's a good deal. Usually bigger packs are better value, but not always, so check the unit price before you commit."

Is it cheaper to boil water for tea with a gas hob or an electric kettle?

If you're a chronic tea drinker, you might be looking for ways to cut down the cost of a cuppa.

We looked at whether it was cheaper to boil water with a gas hob or an electric kettle.

While gas is a lot cheaper than electricity, that doesn't necessarily mean it's cheaper to use the hob to boil water.

We timed how long it takes to boil water in an electric kettle and on a gas hob, then calculated the cost of the electricity or gas that was used over each time period.

We ran the experiment twice—once with enough water for one standard cup of tea and once with enough water for three cups of tea.

For one cup of tea, the cost was 0.5p/cup on the gas hob and 1.2p/cup with the electric kettle.

For larger volumes of water, the electric kettle became more efficient, although gas was still cheaper.

However, there are a few reasons you might want to stick to your kettle, which we explain in the full research, here.

Tea bags rated, according to Which? blind taste test:

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