English Breakfast Black Tea

I took a long hot bubble bath, with a book, 2 cups of tea (premium Taiwan Assam & Zingiber Ginger), a glass of ice water, & the “calm Meditation” setting on Pandora. The EO company makes a wonderful line of essential oil bubble baths, by the way, & the one I like is ‘Renew’, which is scented with Rose & Chamomile. …ahhhhh….

Next on my agenda for the day was a one hour ‘Tea time’ performance at a local nursing home. I’ve been playing this tea event on the 2nd tues of every month for over 12 years! I brought along my own teabag, because the stuff they serve is terrible! As far as bagged English Breakfast teas goes, Stash is currently my favorite. I think it’s really because the name of the company harkens back to my Hippy days, when I often carried illegal contraband. Of course, now my only vice is tea (the legal kind), & I always make a point of having a tea Stash with me at all times.

For Tunes & Tea, I’m including a list of the pieces I played:
Blue Bossa – Kenny Dorham (made famous by Joe Henderson)
How Insensitive – Antonio Carlos Jobim
All I Ask of You – From Phantom of the Opera
Equinox – John Coltrane
Footprints – Wayne Shorter
Georgia on my Mind – Hoagy Carmichael
Misty – Errol Garner
Black Orpheus – Luis Bonfi
Corcovado (Quiet Night of Quiet Stars) – Antonio Carlos Jobim
Over the Rainbow/What a wonderful world medley
(there may have been a few more…that’s all I remember)

The audience is wonderful there, a fairly lucid group, & they especially love the Latin Jazz. My favorite moment ever playing there: I was playing ‘How Insensitive’. 2 80+ old gals were sitting at one of the tables with blissful expressions, teacups in hand, eyes half closed. One turns to the other and says, in a sultry voice, “This music makes me feel SO Sexy”, & the other says, “Oh yeah”.

This is just OK. It’s your standard tea fare – bold, strong and outspoken. But not a lot of flavor or lasting power. It’s got a hefty dose of caffeine (hence me drinking it today) but that’s about it. I usually add a flavored syrup or honey to it, or pawn the leftovers off on my office.

It’s a good tea. Basic, tried and true. I think it’s better with shorter steep times and made with slightly cooler water.

I’ve been trying a lot of English Breakfast teas as I strive to find the one that will give me the biggest jolt in the morning for my first cup of the day. The Stash English Breakfast tea has a solid, strong flavor after five minutes of steeping. There is nothing in the flavor to set it apart from some of the other popular brands that I’ve tried, but I do like its higher intensity.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Smooth, full-bodied, malty— great in so many ways. I have mine with sugar and evaporated milk. I am trying to convince my family to switch to this tea, because it has the satisfying depth that PG Tips has, without the animal cruelty.

This is my daily breakfast tea. A basic bagged ceylon – no fuss. Trust Stash to make bagged teas that I actually like on par with loose leaf.