Organic Irish Breakfast

Sipdown! 794.

I’m assuming that what I have is a sample of the old version of Irish Breakfast, not the newly re-envisioned blend. Either way, it was a generous sample in my recent order from Stacy – thanks!

I haven’t found myself to really be a fan of many black tea blends, mostly because I don’t like a lot of straight black teas. However, this one’s not too bad. I’m getting raisiny flavours, as if it has Premium Taiwanese Assam in it, combined with other black teas that I can’t identify that give it a bit of a hay-y yet sweetish flavour. It’s not too robust to drink straight – after a three minute infusion, I’m not experiencing any astringency at all. I imagine, however, that it would hold up well to milk.

Honestly, I just requested a sample of this one out of curiosity, which has now been satisfied :D For a black blend, it probably deserves an 85+ rating, though I’d probably rate it myself closer to about 65 as that’s where it falls for me.

Out of all the teas I ordered I was actually most excited for this one. I have no idea why, I was just looking forward to a nice, bold cup of simple, black tea.
Conveniently enough I had the worst sleep of my life last night stewing over my crappy day yesterday. Been awake since 1am now. . . Having this before I get myself ready for work.
It really does smell like raisins while it steeps. i wish it would cool faster. I need to get my butt in gear! lol
Oh it’s exactly what I was looking for! Complex, like you’ve got the whole leaf in your mouth. Bold like tea’s equivalent of dark roast. Sweet, I definitely catch the caramel in there!
A new staple, I should have known. :)

Ah, I am extremely cranky. There is nothing like nursing. They love to short staff so that all the nurses work 60+ hrs a week while sick and patient care goes down the toilet. Apparently they don’t care if people live or die…only if they make money off of it! I hate administrators. No heart.

Anyyway, I woke up cranky, knowing I’d be going into an overnight shift of this, so I brewed a cup of this hoping it would not only wake me up but cheer me up. I’ve never had an Irish Breakfast Tea before. Honestly I ordered it simply because it’s a black tea and has the word Irish in the title. I love everything Irish :). Smells beautiful…like raisins and earth. I already felt myself cheering up.

This was a suprisingly nice black tea, malty and raisiny black tea goodness. I drank the cup slowly letting the caffeine wake me up and put me in a slightly better mood. Now that I remember why the heck I go into work every day to begin with.

So far everything I’ve tried from my order from Butiki teas has been a hit…working its way into my favorites.

Finally! I’ve been looking for this tea for over a week now. I found it in a box under some Upton samples, that I am sure I checked at least 4-5 times before.

Anyhow, this brews a beautiful deep copper cup. The tea is robust, but not bitter or astringent. Still a little more Ceylon and less Assam than I’d like in a Ceylon/Assam Irish blend. However, it’s the best Irish blend I’ve tried in awhile. I also enjoy the fact that it’s organic. This will go into my rotation of breakfast teas and will be my preferred Irish Breakfast. Good stuff.

Breakfast is over, and I’m relaxing in my sun room, sipping this bold tea, still trying to wake up. The color is a dark honey, the aroma toasty, the flavor is not as malty as I’d hoped, but robust & smooth at the same time. A few granules of stevia for the last sips lift the flavors, & I close my eyes: Collin Farrell winks at me & says, “Ay lass, pass me a sip.”

Work is keeping me very busy, as we’re gearing up for our spring wine club release. So, I am only logging my morning pot of tea now.

This is a really nice Irish Breakfast. As others said, it perhaps has less Assam and less maltiness than many Irish Breakfasts. But I believe its characteristics make it really versatile blend. When not enjoyed alone, I think this would go well with everything from a traditional Irish breakfast to lighter fare such as toast and fresh fruit.

Oh my. I have had Irish Breakfast tea before. Usually, I brew it to the extreme. You know, could easily work as pine tar in baseball. Not much on flavor but provides a good kick in the pants in the morning. This one is so much smoother with a chocolate-like flavor with a touch of malt. It’s perfect. Absolutely and positively perfect.

I steeped this one multiple times because that’s what I do.

1st steep-3.30 minutes
Nice dark brew but not astringent at all. Very smooth and chocolaty with a nice malty flavor. A bit of fruitiness on the finish.

2nd Steep-7 minutes
Raisin-like sweetness and a bit of maltiness. I was betting on their being some astringency but there was none. It was as smooth as can be.

3rd Steep-14 minutes
A bit fruity with honey notes. So nice. A bit mild on the last steep but still very tasty.

I think my search for a morning breakfast tea may be over. I am regretting removing the 4oz out of my shopping cart. Thanks to Stacy for the sample.

Oh yeah baby. This, right here, is myyyyyy kinda tea. Super ROBUST STRONG tea, that’s almost like a punch in the face. But is it bitter? No, no, no! Sure, I have fun trying out dessert teas, but when it comes right down to it, it’s cups like this that made me a tea lover to begin with.

The raisin note reminds me of Premium Taiwanese Assam, except without the cocoa or cinnamon and with more KICK to it. It’s technically 9:30PM right now, but I can definitely see myself reaching for this in the morning for that kick in the pants. I tend to crave sweet more in the evening so I added half a teaspoon of golden sugar in a 12oz serving, but it definitely does NOT need it, just what I was in the mood for at the moment.

A toasty sort of taste follows the raisin note and lingers in your throat. I’m loooovin’ it. This is heaven in a cup.

Cupboard staple? Yes, yes, yes.

Delicious. If this is how Ireland drinks their tea, then I gotta get meself on a plane.

Edit: This tea is very good value. The second infusion was just as strong as the first. This could easily take a third, maybe even a fourth.

I have never had Irish breakfast tea before. I’ve heard that a lot of people hate it and a lot love it. I assumed that this was because of its supposed robustness. Well, no stranger to a good dark roast coffee (and I like my coffee as I like my holes, black ;) ) I figured I’d just have to see about this bold tea.

I so wanted to try it first thing this morning, but I couldn’t get myself to break away from last-minute final exam cramming to boil water. So I left without any tea. :( I took an exam and I skipped lunch to study for the second exam and then I took the next exam and then I can home. I was hungry, so I put a bowl of organic canned spaghetti rings in the microwave and boiled water for my tea. Not really sure spaghetti rings are well paired with this, but it works for me. . .

So, about the tea: It’s a good cuppa. smooth, flavorful, but (I don’t know if I should dare to say), I could have done with even stronger. I think I’ll double my leaf next time.

About the descriptors everyone likes to use: “kick in the butt” etc. well I dunno. after a lifetime of dark roast coffee drinking (I only like dark roast), bold is just a default assumed quality of a good brew to me. This tea is not going to make me hustle in a jig out the door every morning. Even coffee couldn’t do that. I should add here that I have never felt the effects of caffeine. A strong tea to me is nothing more than good flavor. Sure it’s a bold flavor, but I don’t associate it with acquisition of butt-kicking super powers (I have those naturally).

It’s impressive how smooth this tea is given its strength. When I want what (given how my personal lifetime tea trajectory has played out) feels to me like an old school classic no-frills black tea taste (does anyone else get this craving sometimes? I don’t super often, but when I do the desire is super strong like woah), this would be a good option. I might prefer the Golden Moon one just a smidge more, but they both do the job admirably.

I love a nice black tea. This one is simple and delicious. The hearty yet not-too-strong flavor pairs well with the chocolate chip muffin I had for breakfast. (The tea was better than the muffin!) The flavor stays with you (the tea, not the muffin). Maybe I picked this one to drink today because of the Irish movie I watched yesterday…