Supermarket tea vs speciality tea
The gap is real and it is not where most people think. It is almost entirely about leaf grade and freshness rather than about origin or price alone.
tea
What is being compared
Why these get confused
Price is a poor proxy. An expensive supermarket blend is still CTC; an inexpensive single-origin orthodox tea is not.
Point by point
| Aspect | CTC black tea | Assam golden tips |
|---|---|---|
| Leaf | Small-particle CTC, manufactured for fast total extraction. | Whole orthodox leaf, twisted and intact. |
| What you can taste | Strength and colour. Origin is largely invisible. | Garden, flush and grade, because extraction is gradual. |
| Freshness | Often over a year old by purchase, and rarely dated. | Usually dated, and the date usually matters. |
| Cost per cup | Very low. | Higher, though less than people expect once infusions are counted. |
| What it is good at | Being reliable, strong and cheap, with milk. | Being interesting, and much less forgiving of neglect. |
The short answer
Supermarket tea is not badly made. It is made to a different brief — strength and consistency at low cost — and it does that well. What it cannot do is taste of anywhere.
Not a ranking. TeaHQ publishes no ratings and does not know your occasion.