McVitie's Thin Arrowroot Biscuits: Dunking, Storage and Tea

McVitie's Thin Arrowroot: The Plain Biscuit for a Good Pot

Arrowroot is a biscuit-trade name for a style, not a description of the recipe; the current pack is the place to read what is actually inside.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

McVitie's Thin Arrowroot: The Plain Biscuit for a Good Pot, in summary: Barely sweet, pale and thin, this round snaps cleanly and stays out of the tea's way. Dunk for a second at most, keep an opened pack airtight, and use it beside teas a sweeter biscuit would drown.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

Arrowroot is a biscuit-trade name for a style, not a description of the recipe; the current pack is the place to read what is actually inside. The style itself is a thin, pale round with low sweetness and a sharp snap, made to sit beside a cup rather than compete with it.

What 'arrowroot' means on a biscuit

The arrowroot comes from a time when the everyday biscuit was plain and chocolate was kept for treats. Today the name marks a style of biscuit: thin, lightly baked, pale and only gently sweet. It is not a statement of ingredients, so anyone with an allergy or a diet to follow should read the pack in hand rather than guess from the name.

Low sweetness is the point rather than a shortfall. With no chocolate, cream or filling to lean on, the biscuit relies on texture: a sharp, clean break and a fine crumb that dissolves instead of chewing. That restraint makes it an easy elevenses and an easy biscuit for children, and it is why a pack goes further than a chocolate one.

Snap or dunk: pick one

Because the round is so thin, it bakes through fast and evenly, which gives the pale colour and the crisp break. The same thinness leaves almost nothing to hold it together once hot tea gets in. It gives up any tolerance for dunking in return for that snap. Give it one second at most in the cup, because it gives way all at once rather than softening gradually.

If you want to dunk anyway, dip just the rim and eat that part first. Better still, keep it dry and enjoy the break. For a biscuit that survives a proper soak, a digestive is the better choice, since its thicker crumb is built for dunking; the arrowroot lacks the toasted, wholemeal heft of a digestive and does not pretend otherwise.

Keeping it crisp, and the teas it flatters

Thinness works against it in storage too: damp gets in quickly, and there is no coating to keep it out. Tip an opened pack into an airtight tin straight away, because folding the wrapper over is not enough. The upside is that nothing here can melt or bloom, so a warm kitchen that spoils a chocolate biscuit leaves these unharmed as long as they stay dry.

With so little sweetness or aroma of its own, this is the biscuit to set beside a tea you actually want to taste. A green tea, an Earl Grey with its bergamot, or a light, fragrant pot holds your attention, with nothing on the plate competing. It is just as content with a strong black tea and milk, where a sweeter biscuit would push you towards a weaker brew.

The packs we stock

McVitie's Thin Arrowroot Biscuits, 200g (barcode 5000168001265)

What to drink with it

Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g: a clean loose leaf green tea that a sweeter biscuit would flatten and a plain round leaves alone.
Tetley Earl Grey, 50 Tea Bags 125g: an everyday Earl Grey whose bergamot meets no rival aroma on the plate.
Dragonfly Organic Pure Rooibos, 40 Tea Bags 100g: a pure rooibos, taken without milk, for a pot where a plain round keeps out of the way.

Elsewhere in the McVitie's range

The full range is on the McVitie's brand page.

FAQ

What is an arrowroot biscuit? It is an old trade name for a style of biscuit: thin, pale, crisp and only gently sweet. The current pack gives the actual recipe.

Why does an arrowroot collapse in tea so fast? It is so thin that almost nothing holds it together once wet, and it gives way suddenly rather than slowly. Allow about a second, rim first.

How do I keep arrowroot biscuits crisp? Move an opened pack into an airtight tin. A thin biscuit takes on damp quickly and has no coating to slow it.

Can you spread butter on them? Only gently and with soft butter, as a round this thin cracks under a knife. For building on, a thicker biscuit is easier.

Which tea suits an arrowroot biscuit? Almost any. It leaves a green tea or an Earl Grey alone, and it will not unbalance a strong black tea with milk.

Curator's note: Keep a tin of these for the days when the tea is the treat. A thin plain round beside a good pot makes a very civilised elevenses. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: McVitie's Thin Arrowroot: The Plain Biscuit for a Good Pot

Field	Detail
Brand	McVitie's
Packs we stock	200g
Category	Biscuits
Dunkable	One second, rim only
Best with	Delicate teas, or a strong cup with milk
Store	Airtight tin once opened