A Review of the Best Black Tea Bags You Can Buy

August 23, 2020 // 12 minute read

Brew Dog Metrics is independent: we research, test, and rate the top products to help you make the right buying choice. We sometimes use affiliate links and may receive a small commission on your purchase at no added cost to you. Learn more...

If you’re a regular user of social media, you have probably run across several healthcare professionals and fitness enthusiasts who swear by black tea and ask you to fit it into your daily diet plan. Black tea is considered to be one of the healthiest beverages you can drink and include in your daily plan to lead a better life.

Black tea has a lot of known benefits. It can be used to improve both the mental and physical aspects of your health.

Mental benefits include alertness, improvements in learning and increased memory, and better information processing skills. Physical benefits of black tea include weight loss, lowered blood pressure and improved blood flow, better bone density, and reduced chances of ovarian cancer.

Tea bags are easily available and a convenient way to make black tea, and all you need is hot water and you’re good to go. But when it comes to getting the right choice for you, there are too many choices available. So, for your benefit, we have outlined a comprehensive review of the six best black tea bags available today.

Six Of The Best Black Tea Bags Available Today:

1. Twinings of London, Earl Grey Tea Bags

Twinings of London, Earl Grey Tea Bags

This tea bag is an Earl Grey blend, which is fresh and flavored with notes of citrus and bergamot. Twinings Tea has a long and interesting history, and the first tea sold by them was back in 1706. With a rich 300-year culture of making some of the best tea in the world, Twinings Tea is available in more than 100 countries.

The ingredients used in this tea are completely natural. The tea is made from the finest leaves and cultivated with care. This Earl Grey tea comes with a distinctive taste and aroma and should be steeped for three minutes to make it just right.

Specifications

  • Item count — 20 tea bags x 6 packets (120 bags)
  • Flavor — Earl Grey
  • Strength — 2 out of 4
  • Undertones — Fragrant, floral, citrusy

What’s Good

  • Has a caffeine component to it, so it will boost your energy
  • Enhances digestion and promotes better health
  • This tea is known to boost immunity and fight against common infections like the common cold
  • Stress buster
  • Comes in a large pack that can last you a couple of months at two cups a day

What’s Bad

  • Aroma might not be as strong as it comes with tea made from loose leaves
  • If you prefer strong teas, this might not be an everyday tea for you
Twinings of London, Earl Grey Tea Bags
Six boxes of 20 Earl Grey tea bags. Brighten up your day with the distinctive taste and aroma of this classic tea. Steep for three minutes for the perfect cup of earl grey tea.

2. Twinings of London, English Breakfast Tea Bags

Twinings of London, English Breakfast Tea Bags

The English Breakfast Tea from Twinings of London is a complex and full-bodied flavor, made with the finest leaves from five different regions. Each of these leaves has its own unique taste profile, which results in the distinguished taste for this classic tea.

Twinings claims that English Breakfast is their most popular tea, with leaves sourced from Kenya, Malawi, Assam, China, and Indonesia. The English Breakfast Tea is a strong tea and comes with a caffeine kick as well. Though the name of the tea has the word “breakfast” in it, it can really be consumed at any time of day.

The steeping time for this stronger blend of tea is four minutes. You can steep it for any time between two to five minutes depending on your preference though.

Specifications

  • Item count — 20 tea bags x 6 packets (120 bags)
  • Flavor — English Breakfast
  • Strength — 3 out of 4
  • Undertones — Smooth, flavorful, robust

What’s Good

  • Strong black tea with a 3 out of 4 strength rating, which delivers both a robust taste and a caffeine kick
  • Almost no calories (nor sugar), which makes it great for people with diabetes or for people who are trying to watch their weight and calorie intake
  • Rich in Vitamin B
  • Contains antioxidants

What’s Bad

  • The strong profile might not be suitable for people who are just starting out on consuming this beverage
  • If you prefer a sweet taste with aromatic undertones, this might not be the best tea for you.
Twinings of London, English Breakfast Tea Bags
Expert blenders source only the finest leaves cultivated to our exacting standards by trusted growers around the world. From these tea gardens we hand-select the leaves that will shape your next Twining’s moment. Vegan Product

3. Twinings of London, Irish Breakfast Tea Bags

Twinings of London, Irish Breakfast Tea Bags

The Irish Breakfast Tea from Twinings comes with a full-bodied, thick, and malty taste. Irish Breakfast Tea is the strongest tea offered by Twinings, with a strength rating of four out of four. This means that the tea will be dark, strong, bitter, and will pack a serious caffeine punch.

The leaves used for making this tea are ensured to be of the best quality and are picked from four different regions in the world to give it its distinctive taste. The leaves come from Assam, Kenya, Indonesia, and China.

This tea bag is supposed to be steeped for four minutes, but you can steep it from anywhere between three to five minutes for the perfect taste (according to your preference). The longer you steep it, the stronger it will taste.

Specifications

  • Item count — 20 tea bags x 6 packets (120 bags)
  • Flavor — Irish Breakfast
  • Strength — 4 out of 4
  • Undertones — Thick, malty, full-bodied

What’s Good

  • The strongest tea offered by Twinings, comes with a serious punch
  • If you’re a seasoned tea drinker and you don’t need any kind of a sweetener for your beverages, this malty tea is the drink for you
  • The tea has dental benefits and helps reduce the buildup of plaque on your teeth
  • Mental benefits include increased concentration and alertness because of the caffeine
  • It acts as an antioxidant

What’s Bad

  • Very strong, and not suggested for beginners
  • The high strength and amount of caffeine makes this unsuitable for pregnant women
Twinings of London, Irish Breakfast Tea Bags
Six boxes of 20 Irish Breakfast black tea bags. A fine black tea with a full-bodied, thick, and malty taste. Steep for four minutes for the perfect cup of Irish breakfast black tea.

4. Taylors of Harrogate, Earl Grey Tea Bags

Taylors of Harrogate, Earl Grey Tea Bags

The Earl Grey Tea bags of Taylors of Harrogate contain the fragrance of the bergamot fruit. This fragrance gives the tea its famous earl grey flavor. This particular flavor comes with blended Chinese teas and is packed in England.

Taylors of Harrogate has been a UK based company for more than 130 years, and the recipes for their teas have gone through assured quality checks to ensure a smooth and perfect taste.

This tea is supposed to be made in a warmed teapot and steeped for five to six minutes before serving and can be enjoyed by itself or with lemon or milk.

Specifications

  • Item count — 50 bags
  • Flavor — Earl Grey
  • Strength — 3 out of 4
  • Undertones — Bergamot, Citrusy

What’s Good

  • Good mixture of strength and taste for a balanced flavor profile
  • Energy booster because of the presence of caffeine
  • Contains natural oil of bergamot for the original taste
  • Improves digestion and overall health
  • Boosts immunity against common infections

What’s Bad

  • Too much bergamot oil might cause muscle cramps and blurred vision
  • The aroma from tea made from tea bags might not be the same as tea made from loose leaves
Taylors of Harrogate, Earl Grey Tea Bags
The elegant fragrance of the bergamot fruit gives Earl Grey its famous flavour. Ours balances this beautiful Sicilian citrus with light and delicate teas from Indonesia and high-altitude teas from the Blue Mountains in southern India.

5. Lipton, Decaffeinated Black Tea Bags

Lipton, Decaffeinated Black Tea Bags

Lipton’s Black Tea Bags are a great choice for someone who’s looking for the benefits of healthy tea along with the taste without the caffeine kick. These black tea bags are made from a carefully selected collection of fresh-pressed tea leaves to capture as much as taste as possible, resulting in a rich taste, intense dark color, and great aroma.

Another good thing about these decaf tea bags is that the tea made from these can be served either hot or iced. The bags are compressed in a way that helps the tea inside them preserve their taste. The tea is a blend of orange pekoe and pekoe cut black tea.

For a great-tasting cup of Lipton Decaffeinated Black Tea, steep the tea bags in hot water for three to five minutes. If you like your tea creamy and chai-like, you can serve it with milk as well.

Specifications

  • Item count — 144 tea bags x 2 packets (288 bags)
  • Flavor — Black
  • Strength — 1 or 2 out of 4
  • Undertones — Orange pekoe

What’s Good

  • Decaf nature of these black tea bags means that you can consume this any time of the day without the caffeine kick or jitters
  • Very versatile, and can be served black, iced, or with milk according to your preference
  • Rich with antioxidants that help keep you healthy and slow down the aging process
  • Naturally tasty and refreshing nature of the tea can make it a good accompaniment with any meal at any time of the day

What’s Bad

  • No caffeine means that no energy boost when you wake up or you’re feeling lazy
  • Not the strongest tea bag on the list, and might come off as mild to people who are used to stronger and more bitter teas
Sale
Lipton, Decaffeinated Black Tea Bags
Lipton Black decaf Tea Bags have a rich taste, intense color and invigorating aroma. Carefully selected and fresh-pressed tea leaves, capture as much natural tea taste as possible

6. Bigelow, Earl Grey Tea Bags

Bigelow, Earl Grey Tea Bags

Another addition to the earl grey tea bags on this list comes from Bigelow, with a classic combination of bold black tea and bergamot oil. The oil used in this tea is rich and citrusy and is sourced from Calabria, Italy. This full-bodied tea comes with a decent caffeine punch along with its taste and can be an excellent replacement for coffee in the morning.

Bigelow’s tea bags contain a unique blend of herbs, fruits, flowers, and spices, mixed together in a way that ensures good taste and quality above everything else. Steep a tea bag in freshly boiled water for three to five minutes to get a hot cup of Earl Grey tea.

Specifications

  • Item count — 20 tea bags x 6 packets (120 bags)
  • Flavor — Earl Grey
  • Strength — 3 out of 4
  • Undertones — Bergamot, Citrusy

What’s Good

  • Earl Grey tea brings you a good mixture of strength and flavor for a refreshing experience
  • The combination of herbs, fruits, flowers, and spices is good for your overall body health and boosts your immunity
  • Helps boost your dental hygiene
  • Bergamot oil in this tea gives it a rich citrusy taste that helps give it a certain character

What’s Bad

  • Experienced tea drinkers and connoisseurs claim that earl grey tea tastes better when made from loose leaves than with tea bags
  • Drink this tea in moderation, as a combination of caffeine and bergamot oil in excess (more than four or five cups a day is too much anyways) might give you jitters, or cause dehydration, headaches, and muscle cramps
Bigelow, Earl Grey Tea Bags
Earl Grey Tea is a classic combination of bold black tea and rich citrusy Pure bergamot oil from Calabria, Italy. This full-bodied tea makes a great morning cup as an alternative to coffee, it is perfect hot or iced

Buyer’s Guide

We’re sure that the reviews above gave you a general idea of what to expect from these tea bags, but personal preferences often dictate which of these will be the best black tea bags for you. For your benefit, we have also curated a condensed buyer’s guide for the best picks according to what you’re looking for.

  • Strength — If you’re someone who needs no added sweeteners or excessive flavors in your tea, and just wants the black tea taste with its caffeine kick, the Twinings of London Irish Breakfast Tea Bags will pack quite a punch.
  • Decaf — Not a fan of how caffeine makes you feel? The Lipton Decaffeinated Black Tea Bags may be the right choice for you.
  • Popularity and the best of all worlds — If you’re new to the tea-drinking world and are looking to try something new, why not go for something that is by far the most popular tea in the whole world? The Twinings of London English Breakfast Tea Bags are the ones to look out for.
  • Balance — If you’re looking for an option that is neither too strong nor too mellow, packs some amount of caffeine, and also comes with great undertones for your palette, earl grey options like Bigelow Earl Grey Tea Bags, Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey Tea Bags, or Twinings of London Earl Grey Tea Bags are all excellent picks for you.

Summary

There’s a reason that tea is the most popular beverage in the world (yes, even more so than coffee!) It can get difficult to choose the best black tea bags given the number of choices, but hopefully, this review has helped you pick out the best options for you.

If you’re interested, feel free to check out our other similar articles as well. Happy brewing!


Product Advertising API - Last Updated on 2024-04-23. DISCLAIMER: Some or all of the product links on this page are affiliate links. The operator of this website received a small commission if you purchase products through these links, HOWEVER, there is no added cost to you. These commissions help to fund the operation of this BDMetrics.com

Related Articles

Subscribe to the Brew Dog Newsletter

DISCLAIMER

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Brew Dog Metrics also participates in affiliate programs with Clickbank and other sites.Brew Dog Metrics is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies at no cost to you.

Share via
Copy link