I don’t know, my supermarket has pretty good turnover of tea supplies, especially the Twinings and Bigelow, because they occasionally run 2-for-1 sales and it cleans off the shelves. That does not presume that what is shipped is fresh to begin with, however.

I don’t really like supermarket brands, because I don’t like milk in my tea and I find the taste of it harsh and bitter, even if you don’t steep it very long. Red Rose isn’t bad, however.

I keep meaning to buy loose tea and try it but am usually much too lazy.

As for making the perfect cup of tea, there is one essential requirement which is not always easy to achieve. You have to start out with tea that is of very good quality, and fresh. In America, even if you pay a lot of money at a specialist importer, whether you prefer a blend like Yorkshire Blend or Irish Breakfast tea, or a single-estate Assam or Nilgiri, the resulting liquor is often insipid, tasteless and bland; just because American importers don’t have a fast enough turnover. I now buy a relatively inexpensive, supermarket-brand English Breakfast tea across the border in Canada (where enough folks drink the cup that cheers by the bucketful, like in England.) The stock rotates very quickly, the tea is fresh, and makes an excellent cuppa for the first few weeks. But by the time I get to the end of the packet, the flavour’s all gone; which seems to prove my point about freshness.

So how tasty could the tea have been in JA’s day? Between slow shipping and buying in bulk, and no plastic or foil packs to retain the flavor, it must have been pretty stale by the time they drank it. There are some insights to tea retailing in Cranford, when Miss Matty goes into the business.