Best English Breakfast tea UK: bags and loose leaf

The best English Breakfast tea in the UK depends on what you want from your morning cup: the lowest price per bag, a big-name blend you can find anywhere, or whole-leaf pyramids and loose leaf for a fuller brew. We’ve compared six options on blend, format and price, with every price checked on 3 Oct 2026 at the retailer named. We haven’t tested this in person. This guide is built from brand product pages and UK retailer listings. Read how we compare.

If you’d rather compare everyday black teas, green, herbal and decaf side by side, our tea comparison page covers the wider range.

What “English Breakfast” actually means

English Breakfast isn’t a single tea. It’s a style: a blend of black teas built to stand up to milk. Each brand picks its own mix, and the product pages show how much they differ:

Twinings says it uses Assam picked in the summer months, African teas and high-grown Ceylon.
Teapigs uses Assam, Ceylon and Rwandan leaves, and notes its English Breakfast was previously called “everyday brew”.
Whittard blends Sri Lankan, Kenyan and Assam tea for its teabags, but sources its loose-leaf English Breakfast from West Java, Indonesia.
Jeeves & Jericho adds Darjeeling to Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan teas.

So two English Breakfast teas can taste quite different. Assam is the one most brands lean on for a malty base.

The best English Breakfast tea bags in the UK

Best value: Morrisons The Best English Breakfast

£2.75 for 100 bags at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026, which works out at 2.75p a bag. It’s the cheapest per bag of the six here, and it’s Morrisons’ own premium range. The listing doesn’t name the origins, so you’re taking the blend on trust. See it at Morrisons

Who it isn’t for: anyone who doesn’t shop at Morrisons. It’s an own-label range, so you won’t find it elsewhere.

Big-name blend pick: Twinings English Breakfast

£5.79 for 120 bags at Twinings UK, checked 3 Oct 2026 (about 4.8p a bag), or £5.75 for the same pack at Morrisons. Smaller packs cost more per bag: check price at Morrisons for the 40-bag pack. Twinings also sells a Strong English Breakfast at £5.79 for 80 bags. See it at Twinings UK

Who it isn’t for: anyone after whole-leaf tea. These are standard bags.

Tea-shop pick: Whittard English Breakfast Teabags

£7.95 for 50 teabags at Whittard, checked 3 Oct 2026, or 15.9p a bag. Whittard suggests brewing for three to five minutes and says it holds up well to milk. There’s also a decaffeinated version at the same price. See it at Whittard

Who it isn’t for: anyone drinking five cups a day on a budget. It’s more than five times the price per bag of the Morrisons pack.

Whole-leaf pyramid pick: Teapigs English Breakfast

£4.99 for 15 tea temples at Teapigs, checked 3 Oct 2026, or about 33p a bag. Bigger packs are on the same page. Teapigs recommends one temple per person in boiling water for at least three minutes, and says whole leaves take a little longer to brew. See it at Teapigs

Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a strong cup in 60 seconds. Whole leaf needs the extra time.

Also worth a look: Jeeves & Jericho English Breakfast

£5.99 for 15 pyramid bags at Jeeves & Jericho, checked 3 Oct 2026 (about 40p a bag). The brand gives the most precise brewing guide of the group: one pyramid per 200ml at 98°C for three minutes. See it at Jeeves & Jericho

Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants to grab a box with the weekly shop. It’s sold online by the brand.

The best loose-leaf English Breakfast tea

Twinings English Breakfast loose leaf is the budget pick: £2.50 for 125g at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026 (£2.00 per 100g), or £2.95 at Twinings UK. See it at Morrisons

Whittard English Breakfast loose leaf costs £10.95 for a 100g pouch or £14.95 for a 140g caddy at Whittard, checked 3 Oct 2026. Its single-region West Java leaf makes it unusual for a breakfast blend. See it at Whittard

Jeeves & Jericho sells its blend loose at £6.99 for 90g, checked 3 Oct 2026, and suggests 3.5g per 200ml.

Loose leaf needs an infuser, a teapot with a strainer or a filter. Our guide to the best tea infusers compares the options.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who hates rinsing out leaves every morning.

How to brew English Breakfast tea

Brand guidance is fairly consistent: freshly boiled water, then three to five minutes depending on the tea and how strong you like it. Whole-leaf pyramids and loose leaf sit at the longer end.

If your tea looks dull or leaves a film on top, your water may be the cause rather than the tea. Our guide to the best tea for hard water explains why. A kettle you descale regularly helps too; see our kettles guide.

Downsides to bear in mind

Blends change. Teapigs renamed and reworked its blend, so older reviews may describe a different tea.
Per-bag prices vary hugely by pack size. The 40-bag Twinings pack costs more per bag than the 120.
Prices change. Supermarket tea prices move often, so check them on the day you buy.

Where to go next

Comparing the two big supermarket names? See Twinings vs Yorkshire Tea and PG Tips vs Tetley.
For the full range of teas we compare, see our tea page.

FAQ

What’s the cheapest good English Breakfast tea in the UK? Of the teas we compared, Morrisons The Best English Breakfast was the lowest per bag at 2.75p (£2.75 for 100 at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026).

Is English Breakfast the same as builder’s tea? Not officially, but the two overlap. English Breakfast is the name brands give their black tea blends, and Teapigs lists “builder’s brew” among the nicknames for its English Breakfast.

Is there a decaf English Breakfast? Yes. Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated was £5.90 for 80 bags at Morrisons, and Whittard’s decaf teabags were £7.95 for 50 at Whittard, both checked 3 Oct 2026.

Is Yorkshire Tea an English Breakfast tea? Yorkshire Tea isn’t sold under the English Breakfast name, though it’s a black tea blend made for milk. We compare it with Twinings in Twinings vs Yorkshire Tea.