Glasgow Daily Record – Glasgow, Scotland, UK
EXPERTS TAKE POT SHOTS AT SUPERMARKET TEA
By Paula Murray
WE MAY be a nation of tea drinkers but experts reckon Brits buy some of the world’s worst quality brews.
They slammed the cheapest varieties, such as some supermarket own brands, as little more than dust and powder.
Supermarket cut-price teas – such as Tesco and Asda, whose 80 teabags cost just 29p – were singled out for the most damning verdicts.
Food and drink taster Martin Isark fumed over Asda Smartprice tea: “Cabbage water tastes better.
“Even 29p for these tea bags is outrageous – 1p would be too much.
“It is dust and powder which cannot deliver anything that resembles the taste of tea. It is just the waste from the tea process.
“We may be a nation of tea drinkers, but we drink some of the worst tea in the world.
“Poor quality tea is a rip-off, whatever the price.”
Isark added that the worst tasting tea was disguised by adding milk which overpowers the flavour.
In other countries where they do not add milk, Britain’s cheaper brews would not be tolerated, he claimed.
In his book Supermarket Own Brand Guide, Isark said the main problem is tea drinkers’ impatience.
He explained: “Britons require an instant cuppa, browning quickly and colouring well with milk.
“The best tea at adding colour is the worst quality – dust or powder – and, without milk, the bitter dusty taste is undrinkable.”
Many experts would like to see shoppers treat tea like wine – paying more for better blends.
If 80 teabags cost 29p, their retail value is around £1.20 a kilo while the finest teas trade for £200 a kilo and upwards.
Tea taster and buyer Edward Eisler added: “If tea drinkers are prepared to trade up from the mass produced teas, they will find tea that has similar multi-layered complexity to a fine wine.”
