French Breakfast Tea

I’m not sure what sort of tea is in here, but unlike the English Breakfast version, this one appears to have Orthodox leaves. They’re mostly dark brown, with some silvery tips. There’s a rather amazing cocoa smell coming from inside the tin, which I’m hoping will show up in the flavor.

The steeped tea smells malty-sweet, with a dark cocoa note. The liquor is dark amber, sort of a light brandy color.

This is more like it. There’s a richness and a smoothness to the tea that was nowhere to be found in the English Breakfast. There’s also flavor. Quite a bit of it. It’s full bodied without being thick or particularly heavy. It definitely has some cocoa in the flavor. Not the candified chocolate of flavored teas, but a beany, planty cocoa note that arises organically out of the tea.

Pretty much everything that rubbed me the wrong way in the English Breakfast has been rectified here. This is a delicious tea. It might be even better steeped a little longer, but I think steeping at slightly under boiling was the right choice.

It does make me wonder whether there was a bit of national chauvinism here since the English Breakfast is basically a barbarian of a tea compared to this one. But far be it from me to incite an international incident. ;-)

So, when I visited Paris two years ago I loved tea. But that was nothing compared to where I’m at now. I knew very little and didn’t drink nearly as much as I do at this point. I picked this up in the airport as I’d been seeing those black tins everywhere. I liked breakfast teas, it was French, that was all there was to it.

I opened and drank a little of this when I got home and then, unfortunately, the tea was misplaced/forgotten about in a move. When I started wishing I had access to MF teas, I remembered it. What a waste, I thought! It’s pretty old at this point. And the tin has been open the entire time. I was going to try the tea anyway but I noticed a “best before” date stating I should drink it by the end of this year, which egged me on.

So I can’t really tell if this has been diminished by its poor storage conditions. But, it’s still quite nice and very drinkable. It is a lighter breakfast blend, but I find it still has a nice complexity and richness. There are sweet undertones that are really interesting and a little astringency to remind you it’s a breakfast tea.

Living in France, I didn’t even know we had such thing as a French Breakfast Tea, unless it’s made from coffee beans :D But I see quite a few references with this name on steepster, so it must exist. This was a Christmas present, along with my beloved Thé à l’Opera and a rooibos tin.

To the point then. The scent is present, not stong, and it is very pleasant. It smells like the cake we make in eastern Europe for some occasions, which is plain cake with a swirl of a walnut and chocolate paste.. quite a gourmand scent I’d say.

Now this is a light tea, not exactly what I need for breakfast before rushing to the office (I’ll stick with Irish tea + milk here).
It’s more of a spring-vacation-when-you-have-nothing-to-do-but-take-your-time-and-dream-of-beautiful-things,- wearing-L’heure bleue- and-waiting-for-prince-charming-to-come breakfast tea.
I’d definitely have this tea the morning in a café, looking at the sun rise, people going by and just enjoy the day.

Not my usual mornings.

This is a classic French breakfast tea with a strong malt flavour. I tried this at a cafe recently and liked it, but didn’t adore it.

Upon reading other reviews, I’m not entirely sure if i’m confusing the chocolate taste for what i thought was vanilla…. perhaps wishful thinking. Either way, this tea has a creamy/sweet undertone which is absolutely lovely. I’m not really big on citrus notes, and I will consume anything that tastes remotely like vanilla, or ginger, or mint. (I’m really bad at speaking taste bud as well, so if you know my general preferences that may help). I just finished a tin of this, and the cup sitting in front of me really isn’t a proper cup (a lot of tea powder) but this stuff is so good i’m making due. This is one of my favorite “black” teas; it’s very smooth and well balanced. I’d put it on the same level as golden monkey- liquid heaven. Do yourself a solid and pick up a tin, or at least a sample. And pick me up one as well? Cool! Thanks! You’re the best!

‘Elegant’ is my best descriptor for this tea. It isn’t hearty like Irish breakfast tea: to me it’s more of an afternoon tea, to be lingered over. I have been drinking it for a couple of years and still not figured out what the subtle tastes are — perhaps it’s malt, as the blurb says. It doesn’t need to “go with” any kind of food. It’s interesting all by itself.

This is my perfect tea. So many tasters on here are able to say such wonderful, insightful, things about the nuances of unflavoured tea and they always drink their tea straight. I “pollute” my black teas with milk and sugar/honey on a regular basis and I’ve just had to live with my shame. This tea however, rescued me. I can drink it straight. I can actually enjoy it sans milk or sugar. I like it better with both but I like it without as well. It’s not too bitter. I have to stop it at four minutes,45 seconds on the dot or it becomes bitter but at that precise time it is smooth and delicious.

I was so intrigued by this tea that I almost bought it instead of Marco Polo at Gumps. I ended up buying both.I have this thing for breakfast teas, I don’t know quite why, but I wanted to try this blend labeled “French Breakfast”.

So I crack the tin open, and take a whiff: definitely some Darjeeling was mixed, that or Nepalese. The quality was good, black leaves, with contrast, and scattered dark greyish greens. Because of the fact that it had some Darjeeling/Nepalese in it, I cut fifteen seconds off my brew to cushion. (I dislike brewing with seconds). I did this in my 24 ounce white teapot. It gave me a nice amber rose cup, with the taste familiarity of muscatel and the mix of earth and grass, nutty; the definite characteristics of a Darjeeling/Nepalese. I wouldn’t say it’s completely full bodied, but it’s take was smooth, and it’s finish was astringent. Elegant throughout.

The second cup I added light agave nectar which eliminated the sharp finish. The third cup I added agave nectar and 2% fat milk (I really wish I had WHOLE milk on hand). I think the body is lost, and my sweetener took over, something that happens if you ever try having additives to Darjeeling/Nepalese teas. Because of that this tea is not as versatile as some other breakfast blends.

I wasn’t disappointed with this tea. I’d recommend it to black tea skeptics, this or FF Puttabong Darjeeling. This tea was very enjoyable, and I was glad I purchased it from Gumps. There sure are better blacks out there than this though, and because it’s price for questionable quality leaves, its lack in versatility, and it’s production, Zhi Tea’s Classic English Breakfast still reigns supreme for my morning cup.

I feel like this blend has declined over the past few years, as it used to have a more robust flavor and flowery notes. The most recent tin I purchased had more cocoa hints and felt like a different quality of tea entirely, from the batch I had bought 3 years or so before. It is still a decent tea, but I must say, it didn’t really hold up to the first batch I purchased.

I really like this tea. It is strong and has good flavor throughout the cup.

A good, solid black tea blend. Unlike English or Irish breakfast blends, though, this seemed a bit two-dimensional to me. I did not detect the flavors of chocolate and malt.

Really good, with about a teaspoon of sugar.

Very smooth with some chocolate notes

This was a gift from a friend traveling in New York. I find the distinct spice flavor appetizing and suitable with a hearty meal. I generally prefer teas without milk but this, I recommend with a dash of milk to enhance its flavor, making the taste more lasting.