This is a comprehensive study of biscuits and how many times they can be dunked in tea without breaking. The purpose of this study is to stop any BIB (biscuit in brew accidents occurring). When a biscuit falls in a brew it doesn't just ruin the biscuit but also the tea. There are many variables for this study such as type of tea and so on. The products being used are: piping hot low-grade tea, milk, no sugar, low-grade biscuits, normal-sized cups (5cm in diameter) and a ‘dunk’ is in and out within one second. The perfect 'dunked' biscuit is one where no effort is need to eat it the biscuit is on the edge of breaking up but still holding together without assistance.

If any results are found to be wrong, or any other results are found that are not included in the study then please post your result.

The Biscuits

This is the study of the biscuits that have been tested.

This biscuit is good and I have used it as a yardstick for all the other biscuits. There is nothing exciting about this biscuit its like a pair of old socks, you trust them and you know that they will do their jobs. Does taste good when dunked. 4-5 dunks.

Good solid biscuit holds well and responds brilliantly to dunking. This could be because of the double layers. Only disadvantage is that this biscuit makes a big mess in the bottom of the cup if it breaks. Does taste great when dunked for right amount of time. 3-4 dunks.

Not as good as the custard cream, holds well but the biscuit and the cream are not in sync with each other so the cream melts before the biscuit is ready to be eaten. This is because the biscuit is harder than the custard cream so it takes longer to be ready. Same problem as the custard cream has that is does make a big mess in the bottom of the cup if it breaks. 3-4 dunks for the cream, 6-7 dunks for the biscuit but by this time the cream has gone.

Shortbread biscuits are nowhere near as strong as the Custard cream and the Bourbon, this is because it has a single layer, which makes it weaker than Custard cream. It is worth dunking though because it tastes better than the custard cream when just right. You must be careful with this biscuit, one too many dunks and it can be a big mess that will ruin your tea. Another thing to notice about the Shortbread is that it will drop butter in your tea while dunking, so if you like sweet tea then this is the perfect biscuit for you. 1-3, be careful though you must judge this for yourself it can all go wrong at 2 dunks.

This is the worst biscuit so far. It starts badly as you need to bite off to get in it in the cup. Once dunked the taste does improve but not enough to be worth the effort. This biscuit is a lot like the Shortbread in the dunking aspect. 1-3 but you need to play it by ear and see what happens on the day, I have had Rich tea that have lasted for ages and some that don’t last even one dunk.

A brilliant biscuit and one that surprises every single time it is dunked. This biscuit does not stop and break on you when it is being dunked. It does have limits though, do not think this is super biscuit and he will take a lot of dunks, it will break when you least expect it and cause a lot of mess. 5-9 dunks, though watch the biscuit if you can see the tell-tell signs of a biscuit braking then eat it straight away.

This is a strange biscuit. The biscuit part dunks well, and is a respected dunker. The odd thing is that the chocolate melts before the biscuit is ready but unlike the Bourbon you don’t have to eat a hard biscuit, because the chocolate is held in place by the shape and contours of the biscuit. So is a better biscuit than the Bourbon? Well no its not, the three flavours of biscuit, chocolate and tea clash, and you sit there eating the biscuit wondering why you bothered, it probably tasted nicer dry. 4-5 dunks, but only dunk if you have to.

This biscuit was a nice surprise. It dunked well and took a good number of dunks before it reached the perfect dunked state. It was the perfect biscuit. There was a major problem with this biscuit that if it did break it left a fair bit of mess and also it made the tea taste like ginger. This may not be a problem if you like ginger but it’s a little weird to taste ginger tea. Overall a nice biscuit a lot like the Wholemeal digestive, it is the ginger version of the Wholemeal digestive. 3-5 dunks.

Their rectangular shape means you can fit them right down to the bottom of the cup without having to bite off the edges (as with a rich tea). They are incredibly resilient and will take a severe dunking without turning to mush, and the raisins in them get all warm and chewy. Giving an interesting flavour to this biscuit. 6-8 dunks