Hint: It’s not Lipton.
Being fancy is fun, but when you drink tea as much as I do, you also need some good every-day teabag options. If you don’t want to get out all the accessories to brew loose leaf tea for your daily (or several times daily) tea fix, try the best basic bagged tea. The best basic bagged teas are my favorite teas that are flavorful, cost-effective, and conveniently available in tea bags.
Tetley – British Blend Black Tea
The age-old debate among tea drinkers from the British Commonwealth countries – PG Tips, Tetley, or Red Rose. Me – I’m a Tetley girl.
This is a great simple, balanced black tea for everyday drinking. The flavor is strong enough that you only need one tea bag per cup (unlike Lipton). You can add your own tea masala or whatever milk products your like. Whether it’s whole milk, condensed milk, powdered milk, evaporated milk, whatever – this is a blank canvas. Tetley tea is ready to absorb your mix-ins, without diluting it’s flavor.
Tea India – Cardamom Chai
This tea is super-fragrant. Just open the box and sniff! This is perfect is you love cardamom/elaichi chai so much that you would drink it every day, but aren’t going to crush up some cardamom pods.
The elaichi makes it feel like you’re at an Indian party but the tea bag reminds you, you’re making this cup in the safety of your own home. No aunties can hurt you here.
Ahmad Tea – Decaf Earl Grey
Ahmad Tea has tons of great flavors! Their packaging even feels very luxurious for a tea bag. My favorite is their Decaf Earl Grey. Of course it comes in regular Caffeinated Earl Grey as well, but I switched to decaf since I drink so much of it.
This is also very fragrant and the bergamot really comes through, but is balanced with the black tea. However, this is not a great tea to add milk or spices to. The color will look thin and diluted if you add milk.
Freshpak – Rooibos Tea
If you’re going to drink Rooibos tea, drink a South African brand. Rooibos is a bush indigenous to South Africa, and South Africans have been brewing its leaves long before it was popular in America. Many American tea brands make Rooibos blends rather than 100% Rooibos tea. Freshpak is my favorite brand because it contains nothing but pure Rooibos leaves has such consistency of flavor, you always know what you’re getting.
Rooibos is naturally caffeine-free, so it’s the perfect sick tea – just add lemon slices and honey. You can drink large quantities to sooth your throat and not mess up your sleep schedule!
Bigelow – Cozy Chamomile
This is going to seem like a SUPER basic choice, but I really like Bigelow’s Cozy Chamomile. Yes, there are better, fancier ways to make chamomile tea. But this is tasty enough and easy to make when you have a good book to TV show to get back to. You get a solid chamomile flavor without being it bitter or overly herbaceous.
It’s also perfect if you’re like me and sometimes makes a cup of tea just to warm your hands and only end up finishing half the cup.
If you liked this list, check out our list of Honeybush teas. Happy steeping!
3 responses to “The 5 Best Basic Bagged Tea”
I drink a lot of tea as well. I enjoy many flavors including Celestial Seasonings Pumpkin and Dandelion tea.
I’ll have to try it! I like their Sleepytime tea as well ?
You should! Yes, Sleepytime is so relaxing. Every time I go somewhere new, I have to check out their tea selection. I have tried a chocolate type of tea and didn’t like it though.