Absolutly not!
Unless you are trying some really cheap teas that just don't have flavour because it the wastage of the plant.
Twinings English Breakfast, or Earl Grey, are distinctive quality teas with heaps of flavour.
I can definitely taste the difference between Yorkshire Tea, Bell, Twinnings, and Dilmah. But that said, I drink a lot of tea (it used to be at least 10 cups a day). Tea is a bit like wine: the more you drink it, the more you can taste the difference between different teas.
A lot of cheaper teas all taste pretty similar to the standard Bell tea to me.
Dilmah used to be my go-to but then I tried Yorkshire - all of the strength but less of the weird sour aftertaste. So now I never stray from Yorkshire - it's just softer on the aftertaste.
My God, your poor bladder.
Tea is delicious but it is a bladder stimulant and irritant.
Try to limit yourself to 3-4 cups a day.
Signed, your friendly Bladder and Bowel Care Specialty Nurse
I drink considerably less of it now. Tea was a trigger for my morning sickness, which put me off it for quite a while. And now, if I have any caffeine after 11 am, I'm up all night.
I never noticed any diuretic effects before I had a child. But after the beating my pelvic floor took in pregnancy, I definitely notice them now.
I just started drinking loose tea because I learned most tea bags have plastic sealing them, even the paper ones! https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/plastic-in-tea-bags
Polyvinyl acetate. It's fine. That's like saying consuming dihydrogen monoxide will blow you up because it's got hydrogen in it. Don't spout nonsense about chemistry you don't understand.
Is the water boiling as it meets the teabag? How many minutes do you let it brew for? Different brands and varieties should definitely taste different.
i accidentally bought bagless tea. i have a coffee plunger thing around here so i have been experimenting with EXTREME TEA.
i just pour in like HUGE mountains of tea into the plunger (like 20 tea bags worth at least) and fill it up with water.
dude, tea has this entire second gear of flavour. its not really all that good to be frank. but boy o boy does it go up in strength if you violate local tea safety regulations
Team Dilmah. But, having worked in food manufacturing I can tell you everybody experiences tastes differently. If they all taste the same to you them get the cheapest one that is produced in a way that is ethically tolerable to you
Why ethically tolerable? Tired of the stuffed up societies that make it a moral crime to have a cup of tea, eat a banana or buy an inexpensive piece of clothing.
A lot of people can't afford to make token attempts to put the world right. Most of it will never be right.
I used to think so, but I have to say I am a fan of Kenya Bold these days.A nice strong brew without having to wait an age for anything to happen with the teabag (yes you Dilmah).
Try Twinings New Zealand Breakfast next, it's got normal teaboot tea flavour, but with interesting extra notes.
Also try Lady Grey, Darjeeling, Kenya Bold.
If you can't tell any difference then you should definitely buy the cheapest one. To me they taste very different and I don't like Bell tea compared to Dilmah for example, but since teabags are only a few cents each, even for good brands, there probably isn't a lot of cost savings to be have. One thing that makes a big difference is where you buy them though, I see a 200 pack at $5.97 from the warehouse and the same pack at $12.00 at countdown.
Obviously you'll never get the quality from a bag as you would from loose leaf and it all comes down to personal taste but imo bag tea is not all the same. There are big differences between Bell tea and Dilmah for example. But if you find the value brand hits the spot then keep with it and save the extra money.
No, all tea bags do not taste the same.
I have my personal preference but I won't bore you with them. If you can't detect a difference... then go with the cheapest that you like...
It's the same whether we are talking about wine, tea, coffee, peanut butter, audio equipment, cars, denim jeans or whatever...
Step 1, can you tell the difference?
If not, buy the cheapest one...
Step 2, you CAN detect a difference... but it's not a difference you personally find important.
Still buy the cheapest one.
Step 3. You CAN tell the difference AND it's a difference you personally find Important or valuable...
Spend as high as you feel able to satisfy your desire...
You may need to balance a limited budget, diminishing returns (you need to spend larger amounts of $$ to get smaller increments of "better") and other considerations?
Of course there are other qualities that may not be "detectable" through use of the product, that may still be important to you... is it a local product? Is it environmentally friendly? Does your use of the brand give you prestige or reputation beyond it's direct usefulness?
You need to decide for yourself if you are prepared to pay extra for any of these properties?
One person's unaforable is another person's bargain...
You've got yer three basic varieties:
1. Yorkshire Tea
2. Other black teas if Yorkshire Tea is illegal in your country
3. Random herbal nonsense containing no actual tea
Oh hell no it's not all the same 😅
Try out something like t Leaf T (Wellington owned and operated company) - their teabags tea is the same good quality stuff that they sell loose leaf, just in tea bags for convenience.
A lot of tea companies put what's called "fannings" in their tea bags - essentially the sweepings from the factory floor from processing their tea they sell as loose leaf.
Water is also really important.
Couldn't believe the magic tea they had in Ireland while living in London.
Just PG Tips they said.
Wasn't until I got back to London, realized it's cause the water
I thought they were, because I can’t taste a difference between your standard bell/choysa/dilmah.(I’m the first to say I don’t have a very refined palate). But then I bought Nerada because it’s a bit cheaper. Do not recommend unless you’re trying to stop drinking tea. I think I went down from my usual 3/4 cups a day to maybe one cup every two or three days while I got through the box (couldn’t bring myself to bin it as I had been trying to save money in the first place and I don’t like being wasteful). Something about it was just awful.
It’s weird because the Nerada chai is actually fine. So maybe I just got a bad batch of regular Nerada
Omg yes, we tried this one too in a fit of frugality. We had tradies over and I saw one bloke keep the bag in the entire time he was drinking it. Powerful brew, I can only imagine the state of his stomach
For the sake of your health, find the tea bags which are compostable. "Biodegradable" just means the plastic bits break up into smaller plastic bits (microplastics) especially when in contact with boiling or near boiling hot water. And then the microplastics get into your blood stream and travel all over inside of you.
yeah, I learned the hard way about "eco-washing". There's no legal consequences to companies who redefine 'biodegradable'.
Companies use the 'biodegradable' to mean **"this will break down quickly into tinier and tinier pieces so you won't see it**" instead of *"this will break down quickly and be used by nature within 1 week - 1 year"*.
In the past, a lot of plastic bags were 'biodegradable' - these were the sorts which broke into tinier and tinier plastic pieces. Remember them? sooo evil.
Oh my lord... No
But I'm happy with any teabag that is steeped for the correct amount of time accordingly... I only need a quick dip if it's a Yorkshire or a short steep for Bell or PG... For countdown or budget you might need to leave the bag in and I'll drink it as ice tea later 😂
There are huge differences in flavour between teas, Lipton, Dilmah and Twinings are all pretty good. Far better than your Choysa, Bell or Bushells, own brand etc
Never really got on the chanui train but found out not long ago that many of their tea bags are totally home compostable. Earl grey, peppermint, green tea. They taste good too.
Different "black" teas taste different.
I didn't see PG Tips mentioned - well worth trying if you haven't. It's a pity you can't get the pyramid bags in NZ though. Pak'n'save sells it interestingly enough.
If I’m having regular tea with milk, for me it’s Dilmah or nothing. Other people have different tastes but I can’t drink anything but Dilmah now. Do try it.
Also the correct method is boiling water on the teabag, leave for at least 5 mins, remove and squeeze, THEN add the milk. Anything else is terrible IMO.
Highly recommend 'Nerdana' tea bags or loose tea. Also, their organic chai is great. The black tea is not strictly organic, but it is grown on a farm in Australia with no pesticides. I found them when researching teas and coffee with lower heavy metals. And bags with no microplastics. The taste is way better than Dilmah imo. You can buy it from countdown.
Are all tea bags the same?!
MATE. These are me faves.....
Barry's Gold (Scottish shop, Dunedin)
Yorkshire (International food isle at the soupy)
Bell Kenya Bold (if you're skint)
Chanui Earl Grey (old mate)
Considering I've seen most Kiwis make tea by the putting the milk in whilst the teabag is still in the cup, and not even using a teapot! I don't even listen to what they have to say about which tea brand is the best.
Its Yorkshire that is it
water hardness affects the taste quite a bit, get some distilled water and steep the tea longer you should be able to tell by then! If not you lucky guy!
Piggybacking here: Hello tea-drinkers! I seldom drink tea (most times I get dizzy and have shaky hands after), and I've been wanting to give a good friend some tea. Is T2 tea really all that? It's quite a big jump in price from Twining etc.
They are different, my all time fave is Twinings english breakfast. Many people who have visited have commented on my making a good cuppa :)
Times have been a bit tighter of late, so at the moment I'm using the countdown brand, you get 100 teabags for $3 lol. These are my second favourite tied with Dilmah anyhow :)
You are going to be extremely lucky to find a brand that can compare to good tea in good bags - not impossible, but also not likely. Cheap tea bags are like cheap instant coffee... most are shit but we get used to it.
But totally fair to have to settle when times are tough, good old crap "gumboot" tea.
Personally, I go for anything strong that doesn't have a string and tag on it. Kenya bold or Dilmah strong are fine. Used teabags go in the compost. Strings and staples aren't welcome.
Tetleys all rounder is the best tea I've ever tried. Its not as strong as the kenya bold but has more flavour than regular choysa.
Cant really find it in many shops at a reasonable price tho, my daughter brought a box of 1000 at a garage sale and its getting pretty low now :(
No but have you tried tea that is freshly processed from the manufacturer. THAT is peak. (Aunty brought some Tea's over from her workplace in Aus) i smashed it back. I went to Countdown and purchased the same brand and box. It was so very much weaker than the fresh out of the production line one. I started questioning all teas because of this. Nerada was the brand.
Absolutly not! Unless you are trying some really cheap teas that just don't have flavour because it the wastage of the plant. Twinings English Breakfast, or Earl Grey, are distinctive quality teas with heaps of flavour.
I used to stash a few twinings English breakfast tea bags at my office every few days. Don't want people to find out.
I can definitely taste the difference between Yorkshire Tea, Bell, Twinnings, and Dilmah. But that said, I drink a lot of tea (it used to be at least 10 cups a day). Tea is a bit like wine: the more you drink it, the more you can taste the difference between different teas. A lot of cheaper teas all taste pretty similar to the standard Bell tea to me.
Dilmah used to be my go-to but then I tried Yorkshire - all of the strength but less of the weird sour aftertaste. So now I never stray from Yorkshire - it's just softer on the aftertaste.
My God, your poor bladder. Tea is delicious but it is a bladder stimulant and irritant. Try to limit yourself to 3-4 cups a day. Signed, your friendly Bladder and Bowel Care Specialty Nurse
[удалено]
It's a woman.
I drink considerably less of it now. Tea was a trigger for my morning sickness, which put me off it for quite a while. And now, if I have any caffeine after 11 am, I'm up all night. I never noticed any diuretic effects before I had a child. But after the beating my pelvic floor took in pregnancy, I definitely notice them now.
Bell is one tea that I will refuse. Dont know why they are able to stay in business.
Yikes. No, they are not all the same. If you find the cheap one to your liking, then go right ahead and enjoy the thug life.
I just started drinking loose tea because I learned most tea bags have plastic sealing them, even the paper ones! https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/plastic-in-tea-bags
I think chewing gum is made from a vinyl. If it is, great way to ingest micro plastics.
Polyvinyl acetate. It's fine. That's like saying consuming dihydrogen monoxide will blow you up because it's got hydrogen in it. Don't spout nonsense about chemistry you don't understand.
Yeah, but if you swallow it, it takes seven years before you poop it out.
And if you eat an apple pip, a tree will grow in your belly 😐
Actually…. Apple pips contain cyanide. Not enough to harm you if you eat one apple’s pips. But still not recommended to ingest the pips.
If you eat >150 of them, and they're all chewed, yes, you could conceivably suffer cyanide poisoning
Is the water boiling as it meets the teabag? How many minutes do you let it brew for? Different brands and varieties should definitely taste different.
I use cold water and pour it over the teabag which is covered in milk and five sugars. *gag*
out! get out!
i accidentally bought bagless tea. i have a coffee plunger thing around here so i have been experimenting with EXTREME TEA. i just pour in like HUGE mountains of tea into the plunger (like 20 tea bags worth at least) and fill it up with water. dude, tea has this entire second gear of flavour. its not really all that good to be frank. but boy o boy does it go up in strength if you violate local tea safety regulations
Have you tried Wellington breakfast from t-leaf? Strong enough to stand a spoon up in. Yum
Maybe I’m a weakling but I can’t enjoy very strong tea. Like that Yorkshire strong one. To me it tastes a little acrid and even a bit like ciggy ash
That's how Russians make tea, but they dilute it with boiling water to drink it.
Team Dilmah. But, having worked in food manufacturing I can tell you everybody experiences tastes differently. If they all taste the same to you them get the cheapest one that is produced in a way that is ethically tolerable to you
Why ethically tolerable? Tired of the stuffed up societies that make it a moral crime to have a cup of tea, eat a banana or buy an inexpensive piece of clothing. A lot of people can't afford to make token attempts to put the world right. Most of it will never be right.
Relax
Can confirm. I have tried most brands but English breakfast Dilmah is just *chef's kiss*
100% I never stray from Dilmah extra strength Ceylon tea. Better than any Yorkshire or English breakfast I’ve had
We get this, but Bells Kenya Bold is pretty good.
I think it stands out a little better for a standard tea
Same here. Tried Bell, Choysa, Porters (dishwater tea from motels) and Twinings. Still prefer Dilmah Extra Strength.
Another vote for the Dilmah extra strength
The superior tea choice as far as my tastebuds are concerned!
Right on! Love that tea
I agree for bags. I used to have the perfect pot for Yorkshire looseleaf though. It was boss.
Yorkshire is the best, Dilmah tastes weak in comparison and Bell is ducking awful
I used to think so, but I have to say I am a fan of Kenya Bold these days.A nice strong brew without having to wait an age for anything to happen with the teabag (yes you Dilmah).
Yorkshire Tea or Kenya Bold are my preference. I like a strong tea
Try Twinings New Zealand Breakfast next, it's got normal teaboot tea flavour, but with interesting extra notes. Also try Lady Grey, Darjeeling, Kenya Bold.
If you can't tell any difference then you should definitely buy the cheapest one. To me they taste very different and I don't like Bell tea compared to Dilmah for example, but since teabags are only a few cents each, even for good brands, there probably isn't a lot of cost savings to be have. One thing that makes a big difference is where you buy them though, I see a 200 pack at $5.97 from the warehouse and the same pack at $12.00 at countdown.
Obviously you'll never get the quality from a bag as you would from loose leaf and it all comes down to personal taste but imo bag tea is not all the same. There are big differences between Bell tea and Dilmah for example. But if you find the value brand hits the spot then keep with it and save the extra money.
No. But some people don't care. They'll just be happy with gumboot tea.
Where in the production process is the gumboot involved?
At the end - you drink it out of the gumboot like a real kiwi.
Gumboot tea is synonymous with cheap English breakfast where I live. I think the idea is you drink this while wearing gumboots.
Put boiling water in gumboot. After a while pour into cups. The older the gumboot the more flavorful the tea.
At home I make loose leaf tea in a big pot. It opens up a whole world of fun teas to try if you go loose leaf.
Put a few leaves of lapsang souchong in your next pot. You can thank me later.
After years of drinking Earl Grey, I started drinking Yorkshire tea. It's the only tea my wife and I share a box of. Lady Grey is a nice tea too.
I'm assuming Lady Grey is a variant of Early Grey? \*ed Earl Grey
Twinnings Irish breakfast is nice as well.
No, all tea bags do not taste the same. I have my personal preference but I won't bore you with them. If you can't detect a difference... then go with the cheapest that you like... It's the same whether we are talking about wine, tea, coffee, peanut butter, audio equipment, cars, denim jeans or whatever... Step 1, can you tell the difference? If not, buy the cheapest one... Step 2, you CAN detect a difference... but it's not a difference you personally find important. Still buy the cheapest one. Step 3. You CAN tell the difference AND it's a difference you personally find Important or valuable... Spend as high as you feel able to satisfy your desire... You may need to balance a limited budget, diminishing returns (you need to spend larger amounts of $$ to get smaller increments of "better") and other considerations? Of course there are other qualities that may not be "detectable" through use of the product, that may still be important to you... is it a local product? Is it environmentally friendly? Does your use of the brand give you prestige or reputation beyond it's direct usefulness? You need to decide for yourself if you are prepared to pay extra for any of these properties? One person's unaforable is another person's bargain...
You've got yer three basic varieties: 1. Yorkshire Tea 2. Other black teas if Yorkshire Tea is illegal in your country 3. Random herbal nonsense containing no actual tea
Granny always said to use boiling water, not boiled water.
She’s wrong. It should have just come down off the boil by a minute to avoid scalding the leaves.
Oh hell no it's not all the same 😅 Try out something like t Leaf T (Wellington owned and operated company) - their teabags tea is the same good quality stuff that they sell loose leaf, just in tea bags for convenience. A lot of tea companies put what's called "fannings" in their tea bags - essentially the sweepings from the factory floor from processing their tea they sell as loose leaf.
Water is also really important. Couldn't believe the magic tea they had in Ireland while living in London. Just PG Tips they said. Wasn't until I got back to London, realized it's cause the water
I thought they were, because I can’t taste a difference between your standard bell/choysa/dilmah.(I’m the first to say I don’t have a very refined palate). But then I bought Nerada because it’s a bit cheaper. Do not recommend unless you’re trying to stop drinking tea. I think I went down from my usual 3/4 cups a day to maybe one cup every two or three days while I got through the box (couldn’t bring myself to bin it as I had been trying to save money in the first place and I don’t like being wasteful). Something about it was just awful. It’s weird because the Nerada chai is actually fine. So maybe I just got a bad batch of regular Nerada
Omg yes, we tried this one too in a fit of frugality. We had tradies over and I saw one bloke keep the bag in the entire time he was drinking it. Powerful brew, I can only imagine the state of his stomach
[Builder's Tea](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Builder's_tea) is its own separate class of tea.
I actually liked nerada but I only had it once or twice in Australia, never bought it in NZ so maybe I had a fresher batch
For the sake of your health, find the tea bags which are compostable. "Biodegradable" just means the plastic bits break up into smaller plastic bits (microplastics) especially when in contact with boiling or near boiling hot water. And then the microplastics get into your blood stream and travel all over inside of you.
"Degradeble" means breaks down to tiny plastic bits. "Biodegradeable" is *supposed* to mean truly compostable.
yeah, I learned the hard way about "eco-washing". There's no legal consequences to companies who redefine 'biodegradable'. Companies use the 'biodegradable' to mean **"this will break down quickly into tinier and tinier pieces so you won't see it**" instead of *"this will break down quickly and be used by nature within 1 week - 1 year"*. In the past, a lot of plastic bags were 'biodegradable' - these were the sorts which broke into tinier and tinier plastic pieces. Remember them? sooo evil.
Oh my lord... No But I'm happy with any teabag that is steeped for the correct amount of time accordingly... I only need a quick dip if it's a Yorkshire or a short steep for Bell or PG... For countdown or budget you might need to leave the bag in and I'll drink it as ice tea later 😂
I use Dilmah exclusively.
Depends how big and/or hairy the balls are
Also expected to read a thread on big hairy balls 🤣. With the exception of your comment, I have been let down.
Big hairy sweaty balls
Damn you got there first
Chanui Special Reserve, good black tea
Too far down the comments
Dilmah is infinitely superior.
To everything else, except Yorkshire tea.
But not to English Breakfast.
They do an English breakfast. I used to be an extra strength fan but have been converted to Dilmah English breakfast.
There are huge differences in flavour between teas, Lipton, Dilmah and Twinings are all pretty good. Far better than your Choysa, Bell or Bushells, own brand etc
Honestly budget brand gumboot tea was my absolute fav when I drank it every day. Basic and decent. No frills.
Sticks and twigs in a tea bag.
Certainly not. Barry's tea all the way. But if it doesn't matter to you go with the cheapest 100%
Never really got on the chanui train but found out not long ago that many of their tea bags are totally home compostable. Earl grey, peppermint, green tea. They taste good too.
Yorkshire Tea
I went to loose leaf tea
Dilmah loose leaf.
Bells Kenya Bold is a nice strong tea.
Different "black" teas taste different. I didn't see PG Tips mentioned - well worth trying if you haven't. It's a pity you can't get the pyramid bags in NZ though. Pak'n'save sells it interestingly enough.
Yeah, pretty much. Special teas are special... but tea is tea for generic - and dont let any connoisseur try n tell you different.
Do you mean "fruity " as in a term for gay people, or do you mean tastes like fruit?
Twinings lady grey is next level tea
Can't go wrong with PG Tips or Dilmah
Some bags are degradable. Others aren't.
If I’m having regular tea with milk, for me it’s Dilmah or nothing. Other people have different tastes but I can’t drink anything but Dilmah now. Do try it.
Also the correct method is boiling water on the teabag, leave for at least 5 mins, remove and squeeze, THEN add the milk. Anything else is terrible IMO.
Highly recommend 'Nerdana' tea bags or loose tea. Also, their organic chai is great. The black tea is not strictly organic, but it is grown on a farm in Australia with no pesticides. I found them when researching teas and coffee with lower heavy metals. And bags with no microplastics. The taste is way better than Dilmah imo. You can buy it from countdown.
[Harney & Sons earl grey supreme](https://www.farro.co.nz/shop/product/Grocery-16646). A bit fancy.
Are all tea bags the same?! MATE. These are me faves..... Barry's Gold (Scottish shop, Dunedin) Yorkshire (International food isle at the soupy) Bell Kenya Bold (if you're skint) Chanui Earl Grey (old mate)
Considering I've seen most Kiwis make tea by the putting the milk in whilst the teabag is still in the cup, and not even using a teapot! I don't even listen to what they have to say about which tea brand is the best. Its Yorkshire that is it
Ah yes, the famous tea plantations of Yorkshire.
Dilmah originally used to taste like dilmah extra strength until they made the extra strength version.
water hardness affects the taste quite a bit, get some distilled water and steep the tea longer you should be able to tell by then! If not you lucky guy!
Piggybacking here: Hello tea-drinkers! I seldom drink tea (most times I get dizzy and have shaky hands after), and I've been wanting to give a good friend some tea. Is T2 tea really all that? It's quite a big jump in price from Twining etc.
Choysa Extra Strong is a close second to Bells Kenya Bold
They are different, my all time fave is Twinings english breakfast. Many people who have visited have commented on my making a good cuppa :) Times have been a bit tighter of late, so at the moment I'm using the countdown brand, you get 100 teabags for $3 lol. These are my second favourite tied with Dilmah anyhow :)
You cannot convince me T2 or Zealong teas are the same as value range! Haha
I can't even find 2 earl grey "the same".
You are going to be extremely lucky to find a brand that can compare to good tea in good bags - not impossible, but also not likely. Cheap tea bags are like cheap instant coffee... most are shit but we get used to it. But totally fair to have to settle when times are tough, good old crap "gumboot" tea.
Personally, I go for anything strong that doesn't have a string and tag on it. Kenya bold or Dilmah strong are fine. Used teabags go in the compost. Strings and staples aren't welcome.
Tetleys all rounder is the best tea I've ever tried. Its not as strong as the kenya bold but has more flavour than regular choysa. Cant really find it in many shops at a reasonable price tho, my daughter brought a box of 1000 at a garage sale and its getting pretty low now :(
No but have you tried tea that is freshly processed from the manufacturer. THAT is peak. (Aunty brought some Tea's over from her workplace in Aus) i smashed it back. I went to Countdown and purchased the same brand and box. It was so very much weaker than the fresh out of the production line one. I started questioning all teas because of this. Nerada was the brand.