Our Pick: PG Tips
Check price →PG Tips vs Yorkshire Tea: The Honest Verdict (2026)
Two cupboard staples, one builder's-brew rivalry. I drank both daily for weeks — here's which mug I'd actually reach for.
By Justin Park · ~7 min read · Updated 2026-06-28
Our top picks
Best PG Tips Overall
PG Tips Original Pyramid Tea BagsPG Tips
The brisk, quick-brewing builder's brew — bright and malty in three minutes flat.
$10–$16 (160 ct)
Check price →Read review ↓Best Yorkshire Tea Overall
Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire TeaYorkshire Tea
The fuller, rounder 'proper' cup — bold, maltier, and unbeatable with milk.
$11–$15 (100 ct)
Check price →Read review ↓Short version: these are the two best mainstream British black teas you can buy, and you won't be disappointed by either. But they aren't the same cup. PG Tips brews brisker and faster out of its pyramid bag — bright, malty, ready in three minutes. Yorkshire Tea brews fuller, rounder and a touch maltier, the kind of cup that wants a proper five-minute steep and a generous splash of milk.
If you want a quick, dependable everyday brew and you like saving a few cents a cup, get PG Tips. If you want a richer, more robust 'proper' cup — and especially if you live in a hard-water area — get Yorkshire Tea. That's the whole argument; the rest is detail.
The short version
- PG Tips' pyramid bag extracts faster and brews a brisker, brighter cup — great when you don't want to wait around.
- Yorkshire Tea drinks fuller and rounder, with a maltier body that holds up to a heavy hand on the milk.
- Both are best with milk; tasted neat, each reads a little one-note — that's the builder's-brew category, not a flaw.
- Yorkshire Tea makes a separate 'for Hard Water' blend — a genuine edge if your kettle furs up and your usual cuppa tastes thin.
- Both are Rainforest Alliance Certified and land at roughly the same few-cents-per-cup value; price rarely decides this one.
| PG Tips | Yorkshire Tea | |
|---|---|---|
| Style | Brisk, bright, malty pyramid brew | Fuller, rounder, maltier 'proper' cup |
| Best for | A fast, dependable everyday cuppa | A richer, robust brew (and hard-water areas) |
| Strength | Strong and brisk; quick to extract | Strong and full-bodied; rewards a longer steep |
| Approx. price | $10–$16 (160 ct) | $11–$15 (100 ct) |
PG Tips vs Yorkshire Tea at a glance — both excellent, but built for slightly different cups.
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PG Tips' pyramid bag extracts faster and brews a brisker, brighter cup — great when you don't want to wait around.
01 · Best PG Tips Overall
PG Tips Original Pyramid Tea Bags
The brisk, quick-brewing builder's brew — bright and malty in three minutes flat.
Origin & grade: Rainforest Alliance Certified estates; biodegradable pyramid bags
This is the heart of the brand and the blend I'd put in front of almost anyone. The PG Tips Original Pyramid Tea Bags brew a deep amber cup with a brisk, malty backbone and just enough tannic grip to stand up to a generous splash of milk. It's the classic British 'builder's brew' — strong, reliable and uncomplicated — and against Yorkshire it reads as the brighter, livelier of the two.
The pyramid bag is the real story in this matchup. The three-dimensional shape gives the leaves room to swirl and unfurl, so you get a fuller, faster extraction than a flat bag — which is why PG Tips hits full strength quicker than Yorkshire does. Brew it 3–4 minutes for a standard cup, or push to 5 if you like it dark. It's not a nuanced, single-origin sipping tea — it's a dependable everyday cup, and on that count it's about as good as bagged black tea gets.
- Type
- Black tea (Assam/Ceylon/Kenyan blend)
- Format
- Pyramid tea bags
- Caffeine
- Full caffeine (~40–50mg/cup)
- Sizes
- 40, 80, 160, 240 ct
- Sourcing
- Rainforest Alliance Certified
What we like
- Brisk, bright, malty cup
- Extracts fast — strong in 3 minutes
- Excellent value per cup
- Biodegradable pyramid bags
Worth noting
- Lighter in body than Yorkshire
- Best with milk; plain it reads brisk
Who should buy it: Anyone who wants one strong, dependable, milk-friendly black tea that's ready fast — and great value by the box.
What we don't like: Brisk rather than rounded; next to Yorkshire it can read a touch lighter in body, and tasted neat it's plain.
Bottom line: Pick this if you want a fast, bright, no-fuss everyday cup. The pyramid bag does the work, so a short steep still gives you real strength.
02 · Best Yorkshire Tea Overall
Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea
The fuller, rounder 'proper' cup — bold, maltier, and unbeatable with milk.
Origin & grade: Rainforest Alliance Certified sourcing; blended in Harrogate, North Yorkshire since 1977.
This is the blend that does the heavy lifting. The standard Yorkshire Tea (Red) is a robust assembly of black teas built to deliver the same brisk, malty cup every single time — and against PG Tips it comes out fuller and rounder, with a bit more malt sitting under the brightness. In my side-by-side it was the most milk-tolerant brew on the table: a splash of milk rounds it out instead of washing it away, which is where cheaper supermarket bags collapse.
Steep it 3–5 minutes for a proper strong cup; unlike the quick-hitting PG Tips pyramid, this one rewards the longer end of that window. It's caffeinated, so it's a morning and afternoon workhorse rather than a wind-down. The string-and-tag 100-count box is the format I'd buy on Amazon for the best price-per-bag.
- Type
- Black tea blend
- Form
- String & tagged bags / loose available
- Caffeine
- Full caffeine
- Origin
- Blend (Rainforest Alliance Certified)
- Best size
- 100 ct
What we like
- Bold, full-bodied, malty cup
- Most milk-tolerant brew tested
- Separate Hard Water blend available
- Great value per bag
Worth noting
- Slower to extract than a pyramid bag
- A little flat tasted without milk
Who should buy it: Anyone who wants a reliable, strong, full-bodied daily black tea — and anyone battling hard water, thanks to the dedicated blend.
What we don't like: It's a commodity blend by design — no delicate single-origin nuance — and tasted neat (no milk) it can read a touch one-note.
Bottom line: Pick this if you want a richer, more robust brew. It's the most milk-tolerant cup on the table and the one to buy if your water is hard.
Questions, answered
Is PG Tips or Yorkshire Tea stronger?
Both are strong builder's-brew black teas, but the strength reads differently. PG Tips is brisker and brighter, hitting full strength fast thanks to its pyramid bag. Yorkshire Tea is fuller and rounder, with more malty body, and rewards a slightly longer steep. For raw briskness, PG Tips; for depth of body, Yorkshire.
Which is better for hard water?
Yorkshire Tea, clearly — it makes a dedicated 'Yorkshire Tea for Hard Water' blend engineered to brew a fuller, more colourful cup in mineral-heavy water. PG Tips has no hard-water-specific version. If your kettle furs up and your tea tastes thin, that's the deciding factor.
Do PG Tips and Yorkshire Tea have the same caffeine?
Effectively yes. Both are full-caffeine black teas (PG Tips is around 40–50mg per cup), suited to mornings and afternoons rather than evenings. A longer steep pulls a bit more caffeine — and a lot more tannin — from either.
Which is better value?
It's nearly a tie. Both land in the few-cents-per-cup range and both beat budget own-brands on taste while undercutting specialty teas. The 160-count PG Tips and 100-count Yorkshire boxes are usually the best price-per-bag. Buy whichever is cheaper the week you're shopping.
Can you drink either without milk?
You can, but neither is designed for it. Both are built as milk-friendly builder's brews, and tasted neat each reads a little one-note and brisk. If you want a black tea to sip without milk and pick up floral or fruit notes, you'd be better off with a single-origin Assam, Darjeeling or Ceylon.
Keep reading
PG Tips Review
Our full standalone take on PG Tips Original — strength, value and how to brew it best.
Yorkshire Tea Review
The complete Yorkshire Tea review, including the Hard Water and Gold blends.
Best English Breakfast Teas
Where PG Tips and Yorkshire land among the best everyday English Breakfast brews.