Revealed - the top dunking biscuit

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On National Tea Day, many Brits will celebrate the humble cuppa with its natural accompaniment - a biscuit.

But what type will we select? For many people, the crucial factor in choosing is – how well does it dunk?

Fortunately, scientists working for Wren Kitchens have conducted an experiment that puts the UK's favourite biscuits to the test, to discover how long each of them can last before crumbling under the pressure.

The boffins, acting under laboratory conditions, found that - spoiler alert! - the No.1 biscuit for dunking was... the mighty Bourbon!

The Method

Each biscuit was dunked half way into a freshly brewed cup of tea (temperature is a key factor!) and held in place until it broke. A stop watch was used to record the breakage time.

The Results

Once the experiment was over, it was crunch time for our beloved baked goods. Each biscuit was ranked by its breaking point, from lowest to highest – and also included a RDT (Recommended Dunking Time):

‘Classic’ Biscuit typeBreaking pointRDTHob Nob15 seconds5 secondsMalted Milk20 seconds6 secondsGinger Nut32 seconds3 secondsFig Roll38 seconds4 secondsChocolate Digestive41 seconds4 secondsDigestive48 seconds5 secondsChocolate Hob Nob51 seconds9 secondsRich Tea58 seconds4 secondsCustard Cream1 minute 6 seconds8 secondsJammie Dodger1 minute 8 seconds8 secondsShortbread1 minute 20 seconds11 secondsBourbon2 minutes 39 seconds7 seconds

Additional Tests

Upon completion of the above testing, the tea testers then decided to test a few extra biscuit varieties – just to see how they fared against the ‘Classics’. The Chocolate Digestive Thin was quite the dark horse – lasting a surprising 1 minute 5 seconds!

‘Misc.’ Biscuit TypeBreaking PointRDTOreo27 seconds3 secondsNice18 seconds4 secondsFruit Shortcake15 seconds4 secondsParty Rings58 seconds5 secondsGaribaldi15 seconds5 secondsMaryland Cookie21 seconds6 secondsChocolate Digestive Thins1 minute 5 seconds7 seconds