Aroma: Does it smell clean and fresh, or is there a strong, off-putting fishiness—malansa ba??
Texture: Is the tuna flaky and distinct, or mushy and overprocessed? Is it chunky or shredded?
Flavor: Is the tuna flavor present and clean? Is there a good balance of salt and richness, or does it taste flat, overly salty, or metallic?
Oil Quality: Is the oil light and pleasant, or heavy and rancid? Does it add or detract from the tuna?
WYBI (Would You Buy It?): Would you buy this over other brands? Does the quality and overall enjoyment match the price, or does it under- or over-perform?
Fine Print
The Lineup: We tested 14 canned tuna in oil products from supermarkets and grocery stores across Metro Manila. We focused on widely available options across vegetable, sunflower, and olive oil variants, grouping them together for fair comparison. We did not include tuna in brine or flavored variants (caldereta, afritada, and the like), which fall into a different category in terms of flavor profile.
Why We're Doing This: Canned tuna in oil earns its spot in most pantries as a go-to since college or for a quick merienda at home. With so many brands on the shelf, we wanted to find out which ones are best-tasting, and whether the premium options taste better than the rest.
How We Tasted: Each brand was sampled straight from the can, plain and on crackers.
Blind Taste Test: All brands were removed from their packaging, transferred to identical containers, labeled with codes, and tasted blind to prevent brand bias.
How We Scored: Each brand was evaluated across five criteria: aroma, texture, flavor, oil quality, and overall eating experience. Final placements reflect the Pepper team's averaged impressions.
Transparency: No brand paid for inclusion in this taste test. Century Tuna, San Marino, and Fly Ace (Doña Elena) have been past advertising partners of Pepper.
