Name: Organic Irish Breakfast

Brand: English Tea Store

Type: Black tea

Form: Loose leaf

Review: The English Tea Store’s Organic Irish Breakfast tea is pretty much what I expected: Super strong, robust, not very complex, but possessing the ability to wake a person up and clear their palate of any lingering breakfast flavors. It is made from CTC (machine processed) African and Assam tea leaves that give off a slightly pungent nose of cocoa nibs.

Once infused to a very rich, dark brown, the cocoa notes remain. As I noted earlier, this isn’t a very complex drink, but I rather like that this tea tastes a bit of unsweetened chocolate. If infused for several minutes it also takes on some coffee-like characteristics that make it a very suitable tea for die-hard coffee drinkers who want to transition to tea.

Serving Tips: This is a very straightforward breakfast tea: Enjoy it with a large traditional breakfast or a sweet snack or dessert. I’ve had it without food, and it actually tastes fine, but this sort of tea shines best when used to wash down food.

Preparation Tips: This tea infuses fast. If you don’t add milk or sugar, use one teaspoon of leaf for eight ounces of water and steep for one minute. If you do use milk or sugar, you can go to two minutes. Experiment with brewing times to get the best results (it’s low cost means you won’t waste much money while trying out different preparation methods). Try icing it and then adding some milk to make a nifty substitute for iced coffee. CTC teas often give up a lot of caffeine very quickly, so be prepared to get a serious buzz off a cup of Organic Irish Breakfast. If you are concerned about caffeine intake, keep the steep time to a minimum, restrict your consumption or choose another tea.

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