Supermarket green tea bags put to the test: the best and the worst rated

My mother-in-law owns a mug that says: “By swapping your morning coffee for green tea, you can lose up to 87% of the little joy you still have left in your life.” Plenty of people will never warm to green tea, while others may simply have encountered poor-quality, over-brewed bags made from the dust and fannings left behind after whole-leaf tea production. Only one of the teas tested here uses whole leaves, and the difference is striking, though the cheaper bags are not necessarily unpleasant. Some are single-origin or organic and вполне satisfactory, provided they are brewed well.

Because these finely broken leaves have so much surface area, they need careful brewing. For the best chance of a decent cup, use water at about 80C: quarter-fill a cup with cold water, top it up with just-boiled water and leave it to steep for around 90 seconds. The result should be a sweeter brew, with subtle notes of kelp, edamame and toasted straw, though those flavours are admittedly an acquired taste.

The best supermarket green teabags

Best overall:
Clearspring organic Japanese sencha

★★★★☆

Small, individually wrapped bags containing green fannings and brown stems, with a classic umami, earthy aroma. The cup is chamomile-yellow, with a clearly savoury scent and a sweet, brothy note. Fairly astringent, so a shorter brew is advisable. The bags are free from plastic.

Best bargain:
Duchy Organic green tea

★★★☆☆

Dark green dust fannings and brown stems with a seaweed-like aroma, sourced from a single estate, Korakundah in the Nilgiri mountains of southern India. It makes a clear buttercup-yellow infusion with a bright, complex flavour: sweet at first, then astringent at the finish, with a full mouthfeel. Organic and Fairtrade.

And the rest …

Pukka organic supreme matcha green tea

★★★★☆

A small, individually wrapped bag of organic dark green fannings and brown stems, blended from sencha, Vietnamese and Indian green teas, plus 2% South Korean matcha. It has a sweet, oceanic aroma, a golden-yellow colour and a honeyed, floral, grassy flavour with citrus notes. Bright and sharp, with gentle astringency.

Teapigs Mao Feng green tea

★★★★☆

The only whole tea leaf in the tasting comes in a plant-starch pyramid bag filled with large, broken dark green leaves and a kelp-like scent. The liquor is a light, clear green-lemon colour, with a complex brothy, seaweed aroma. It tastes bright and crisp, with earthy umami depth, a fruity edge and mild astringency. It also won one star at the Great Taste awards and comes in industrially compostable bags, making it the week’s best splurge.

Tesco green tea

★★★☆☆

Dark green fannings with brown flecks produce a chamomile-yellow cup with good clarity, a toasted-straw aroma, vegetal notes and a strong astringent finish. The tannic structure is solid too. Rainforest Alliance certified, with plant-based compostable bags.

Co-op Fairtrade green tea infusion

★★★☆☆

Faded green fannings and brown stems make a sienna-coloured cup with a toasted-straw aroma, a savoury toasted-rice broth flavour and an astringent finish. Fairtrade, and the bags can go in food or garden waste bins.

M&S pure green tea

★★★☆☆

Green fannings and brown stems with an umami, seaweed aroma. The yellow-ochre cup has a sweet, toasty scent of autumn leaves, a savoury broth flavour with a hint of jasmine and a rounded texture. Fairtrade.

Diplomat pure green tea

★★☆☆☆

Khaki and brown stem dust, plus low-grade fannings, producing a clear yellow-ochre cup. The aroma suggests roasted twigs, and the flavour is sweet but sharp, tannic, textural and full-bodied. The pack carries the Rainforest Alliance logo.

Knightsbridge green tea

★★☆☆☆

Faded olive-green and brown fannings create a bright amber cup with good clarity and a straw-like, umami aroma. The flavour is deep, with a sweet grassy edge, hints of seaweed and an astringent finish. The texture is smooth and satisfying. The pack carries the Rainforest Alliance logo, and the bags are biodegradable, made from plant-based fibres.

Sainsbury’s green tea

★★☆☆☆

Dark green fannings with some brown stems make a sienna-coloured cup with clarity and an aroma of toasted rice and kelp. It is astringent yet sweet, with a spinach-broth character and a faint floral note. Rainforest Alliance certified, with compostable bags.

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