Supreme Breakfast

Tea of the morning…..

I purchased another round of 2 oz samples from the Harney Millerton Shop. I love getting tea in 2 oz amounts for sampling. The samples on their website work, but I prefer having a little more time to make my decision about purchasing larger quantities. Sarah was the one who filled my order, and was the one who handled my email correspondence. She was very helpful and very professional. There were questions I sent to the main website that were more easily answered by her at the shop, and I appreciate the extra effort to get me an answer.

Skip this part if you want….it is my mini-rant about online customer service in general. Not specific to Harney. (I was asking about the Black Jasmine and when it might return to stock. I have not yet gotten an answer from the web form inquiry, which I am guessing the person who handles those questions did not know the answer. Sarah asked Michael Harney for me. Sometimes it is knowing who to ask. Also, I wish that whoever answers the web form understands that an ‘I don’t know’ answer is perfectly acceptable! Just answer the inquiry rather than leaving someone hanging! I often wonder if people who have worked customer service in person realize that there is a different way of handling service by correspondence. You need to answer every single email in a timely fashion. If the customer does not get an email response in a few days, it seems like he is being ignored rather than his issue being looked into or it does not have a direct answer….. The “in person” equivalent from the customer’s perspective: You are working the counter, and they are the only person standing there having asked a question, and you are pretending like you did not hear them. )

I am in a spot where I am almost out of my 8 oz. of Malachi McCormick that is my favorite breakfast beverage, so I decided to try a few more options for my breakfast tea of choice before diving into another 8-16 oz. Supreme Breakfast sounded like it would be a good contender as it has higher quality teas of the same varieties that are in my beloved Malachi. I also ordered a few ounces of Eight at the Fort, Palm Court(Titanic)*, Organic Assam, and Irish Breakfast. Let the trials begin!

Tippy Assam and Hao Ya B. This is really good. It is a more refined version of Malachi McCormick. The leaves are finer and I can see the golden tips in comparison to Malachi. The taste is smooth and malty with a touch of smoke and cocoa, plus a velvety mouthfeel. I am glad I have more of this to figure out if I want this one or Malachi. Or maybe 8 oz of each…..which kind of defeats the purpose of trying to simplify and pick one….. I just hope I don’t end up with 5 winners plus the Malachi.

Usual teapot method with a 3 minute steep.

*Surprisingly, my receipt listed it this way, so I am guessing that means Palm Court and Titanic are the same blend. I am so not sorry I bought the Titanic Blend, though. The tin is so pretty.

Wow! This tea is good and strong! Definitely a good tea to get one going in the morning (and even though it’s 2:56 pm, it’s morning for me). Robust and deliciously malty. There is some bitterness to this (I steeped it for 2 1/2 minutes in boiling water), but I’m not finding it to be off-putting or undrinkable because of it. Rather, I think I find it just jolting enough to kind of help invigorate me.

There are some wonderful smoky tones to this, not a strong smokiness, but, in the background, somewhere beyond the malty tones, the hint of sweetness and the bitter mid-point. It all works together quite nicely, and forms a decent breakfast blend. Not the best breakfast blend I’ve tried (the best breakfast blend I’ve tried would be my own breakfast blend, aka LiberTeas Breakfast Blend, if you’re wondering), but it is enjoyable enough, and it would be a good tea to reach for on those days when I didn’t want to wake up but needed to.

OH that’s good! I’m having this with some milk and sugar and it’s comfort with an EDGE! The Assam tastes smooth and familiar and lovely, then on the end of the sip you get this little smoky delight! Again – perfect. Not too much for me, and not too little. I adore it. In my opinion, it completely deserves it’s name! I made myself the big 16 oz mug I have at home, and it’s almost gone! Very undignified amount of gulping going on here.

Thanks once again ashmanra – you have totally expanded my tea world!

I can taste the malty Assam and the smoky-piney Keemun in almost equal measure. This is very smooth, with no bitterness or astringency. It doesn’t seem very strong, though. So, instead of a kick-starting jolt, this seems to ease you into the morning.

A calm, easygoing morning blend. _{maybe just a tiny bit ho-hum for me!}

Gosh- thanks again to Ashmanra for this sample- this is one I will definitely reorder….The blend is perfect – as the assam provides some boldness and keemum is rounds this one out….

A very nicely done breakfast blend. The Keemun smooths out the Assam so that I can drink it neat: No milk or sugar needed.

With this one, the second’s time is the charm for me! I just tasted Margaret’s Hope darjeeling for the first time, and followed it with Supreme Breakfast, which was probably serendipity since I think the contrast between the two made me see favorable things about both. This time, the smoke was more prominent than before and…I can taste the chocolatey flavor of the keemun! I didn’t pick up on the cocoa note last time! My palate is pleased and tickled by today’s samplings!

A cold, overcast morning, a bowl of Cream of Wheat topped with fruit and honey, and a cup of Supreme Breakfast (augmented with a dash of smokey Russian Caravan) to warm the bones. Enjoying the quiet.
Made the tea a little hotter than I usually do, with only a slight increase of bitterness.

A sample of this was given to me by a family member who likes tea…
I am not a big black tea fan, simply because I don’t want to get into something that has a lot of caffeine. I like both coffee and black tea, but I try not to drink it often for that reason.

But, I noticed this had a very slight initial astringency, followed by a slight and pleasant smokiness, and it ended with a very slightly sweet and ‘full bodied’ or ‘rounded’ flavor. Not sure exactly how to describe that last flavor that I tasted, but it was the main component of the tea and very pleasant.

So many black teas are named “_______ Breakfast Tea”… and this tea really felt like it belongs at breakfast time.

I wouldn’t buy this tea, but only because I’m not into black teas and don’t intend to get into them. But I will enjoy having a small sample of it, and would gladly drink a cup in the future if the opportunity arose.

Supreme Breakfast is a very full-bodied, well-rounded blend. I find that it requires neither milk nor sugar to be fully enjoyed, though a very conservative amount of either is fine. In general I find Assam teas to be very round, earthy, soft, straightforward and robust, whereas Keemun teas have a thinner, darker, dryer, more rigid yet subtler character, occasionally too astringent for my taste. Supreme Breakfast is an excellent combination of these two teas. The hearty Assam softens the rigidity of the Keemun, removes its slight smokiness and rounds its edges without overwhelming its more subtle flavor, and the piercing quality of the Keemun cuts through the Assam’s simple, almost corpulent body to add a more nuanced taste and a much more interesting finish than either tea has on its own. It’s as if the Keemun is providing mature guidance and structure to the jolly, playful Assam in a shared quest to overwhelm your taste buds with flavor and depth. I highly recommend this tea.

This wonderful blend of Assam and Keemun make for a ‘supreme’ start to your day!