black teas
Organic Irish Breakfast Black Tea
"When I makes tea I makes tea as old mother Grogan said and when I makes water I makes water."
- James Joyce, "Ulysses" [Which sums up perfectly the Irish appreciation of a strong cup of tea]
There may be historical and cultural reasons why England, Ireland and Scotland all felt the need to have their own breakfast blends but regardless of the motivation, tea drinkers everywhere reap the benefits of having three bright-eyed morning tea blends to choose from to start their day. While there is no set formula for what an Irish Breakfast tea blend is, almost universally Assam, a malty Indian tea, is one of the key teas in the blend. Frequently, depending on where a tea company wants to take the flavor blend, the other teas in the blend will be black teas from Africa, Sri Lanka or India.
English, Irish, Scottish Breakfast Teas - What is the Difference?
As far as taste: English is more of a medium bodied tea with a slight floral note. Irish has a decidedly heavier, malty flavor from a more pronounced ratio of Assam tea. Scottish takes the Assam ratio up another notch, although depending on the blend formulation, one company's Irish Breakfast can sometimes taste like another company's Scottish Breakfast.
HOW TO PREPARE THE TEA: Heat water (filtered if possible) to boiling 212˚F, let it cool slightly to around 190˚F and add one full teaspoon loose leaf tea per cup (apprx. 8 ounces). Infuse the loose tea for 4 minutes, depending on taste preference. Try not to squeeze out or tamp down the leaves at the end of the infusion (similar to tying off or squeezing out a tea bag), doing so tends to bring out excess tanins in the brewed leaf adding unnecesary bitterness to the tea.
INGREDIENTS: Organic Assam tea from India, organic black teas from India and Sri Lanka.
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