British Breakfast

(loose leaf, not bag, bought from the bulk dry goods canisters, not in a retail tin)

Usually I keep this around for hot toddies, iced tea with lemon and sugar, or head colds that need lemon and honey.

But, I’ve been helping a friend shop for ceramic tea storage and when one has spent the morning drooling over hand made, artisan pottery, one needs a reality check. Also, I’m trying to empty my cupboard as much as I can in order to justify a few orders of extremely fine teas from some unusual vendors (and probably also VT which isn’t all that unusual, especially for the Steepster crowd) and I need to use this up along with everything else.

Why are all the gaiwan I see in China low and wide and all the gaiwan I see for sale in the USA (even online) tall and narrow? I have big hands. Really big hands. I want a low, wide gaiwan that will fit my hand better. Any suggestions would be welcome on this front. Plus, I just think the aesthetic works better with those proportions.

Anyway, this tea. What is there to say, really? Assam based, blended, RTC processing, industrialized brand name, it isn’t going to be a religious experience now, is it?

But let’s face it. We’re not always in the mood for the gentle caress of tiguanyin or the exotic breezes of an aged sheng. Sometimes you want a tea that’s going to use your epiglottis as a speed bag and will simply WAKE YOU UP. Those mornings you wake up and you realize you could actually sing Barry White in the correct octave.This is the tea for those occasions.

Funny how tea tastes evolve…time was, I would’ve posted that this was the cat’s pajamas and the kitten’s mittens. Now, while I can still say it’s a nice smooth blend, it’s not nearly as purr-worthy.

Be forewarned! I’m harsh in this review!

Ew… I don’t care for this one at all. I know I added too much milk (really full milk container threw me off) but honestly, this one tastes bad. I don’t like it. It doesn’t have any real flavour from what I’m gathering. Normally milk doesn’t kill all the flavour with my looseleaf, so it’s very disappointing to me that it did with this one. I don’t know why I keep trying these ‘bagged teas.’ They are always saddening for me. I don’t think I’ll be finishing this one.

I’m starting to realize I really am picky with my teas. I haven’t mastered the love of some of the simple straight teas fully yet, but the ones I have, it’s got to be looseleaf. Otherwise, like with this one, I just think puddle water.

Sorry tea, this one isn’t for me!

I have become a tea snob and don’t drink bagged tea anymore unless I am in the office. Such is the case this morning as I sample this “Eco Bag” obtained by my thoughtful wife at an upscale hotel during her business trip.

I have to admit, the bag looked pretty cool. It was extremely clear so you could thoroughly see the chopped full-leaf tea particles inside. The package boasted that it was “made of renewable resources, including bamboo, its open weave design allows optimal full-leaf infusion.” That sounded impressive but I was more concerned about flavor.

I tossed the bag into a paper cup and set our office’s Flavia Creation 400 coffee machine to run boiling hot water over it. I let the bag soak for five minutes. (Oh, how I missed my Breville One-Touch Tea Maker.)

As has been my experience with most bagged teas, there was no discernible aroma emanating from the cup. The color was a reddish golden brown.

My first sip only produced a mild black tea taste with a touch of astringency. I needed several more gulps before I could begin to identify the Assam, Ceylon, and Darjeeling flavors that comprised this blend. After that, the taste settled into a mild but slightly shrill breakfast tea.

All in all, this selection was not bad but it did not excite me or make me want to add it to my shopping list. Perhaps the full loose-leaf version, brewed in my tea maker and gently poured into my layered glass mug at home, would thrill me much more (location…location…location).

This one doesn’t taste any different to me than generic black tea. Not a whole lot going on here of any interest. It’s what was available at work to help me with my Monday morning blehs

Tried this today for the first time. Two cups, first steeped 5 minutes, second 4 minutes. Tasted good. Think tomorrow I’ll try 3 minutes and see how that goes. Foggy this am since I stayed up for New Year’s Eve, so probably not the best morning to assess tea :)

After a horrible night’s sleep, I needed something to really wake me up. I figured this might do it. I brewed it for 4mins and added some milk and sugar. It certainly did the job of waking me up so definite plus. On my first sip, I thought the taste was just okay, but after that, I started to (oddly) get hints of cinnamon or some sort of spice. Good stuff.

I was hopeful but a bit skeptical when I bought this. I’ve enjoyed RoT teas before. But the design of the tin didn’t exactly say “English Breakfast” to me. And when I opened the tin, I noticed the tiny unbleached circular bags. That was my first impression: tiny! And so I wasn’t especially surprised that this brewed a pretty weak cup. They barely put any tea in the bags to begin with. Wasn’t especially impressed with the flavor either — I’d prefer a Twinings or PG Tips or TyPhoo or Tetley to this one every time. It wasn’t awful… I just felt like I would need 2-3 bags to make a decent cup, and even then it would never be an outstanding tea for me. (But don’t get me wrong, I’ll still probably use up my tin. It just will never be my favorite English Breakfast tea.)

Hm, this brewed up a rather dishwater pale. It tasted pale, too, and so I brewed it a bit longer but to no avail. I tasted some sort of bitter bergamot or something I can’t put my finger on, and – I’m no tea snob, mind you – had to dump it. Not what I’m looking for in a breakfast tea at all.

Good, but not overly exciting…I guess I am partial to other British Breakfasts, there was nothing wrong with this, just more to like in others I have tried.

I thought this was awful. The flavor is very bitter without much of “the leaf”. There are many British Breakfast blends far better than this one, at half the price asked.

This is actually pretty good for a bagged tea. Much stronger than I expected. Next time I’ll definitely steep for less time, though. Maybe four minutes is all that’s needed. This is the usual hot tea we serve where I work.

Anyway, it’s your standard black tea, ordinary, and surprisingly high in caffeine. If I was looking for a wake-up rush and was out of coffee, two bags of this would do the trick. Also, I think a lemon slice and some honey would make this glorious. I’d be happy to try the loose leaf version if the opportunity arises.

Decent for bagged tea, good for lazy mornings when you need a quick cuppa.

Brews extremely fast for me, no more that two minutes for the first steep, and then it can be used again. :) Usually I prefer loose tea, but this British Breakfast blend was my savior for convenience when I was sick. I drank, and I’m not exaggerating, 20 cups of this when I was at my sickest. That’s probably not so good…but it did wonders for my sore throat.

Perfectly smooth with honey.

We sell this at the Panera where I work. I’ve tried it a few times, but I just don’t like it. Leaves a strange after taste, and I feel it’s too weak, though this may have something to do with the fact that the hot water dispensed in our espresso machine is hot hot enough.

This is my go-to busy morning tea, that makes rather nice iced tea as well. I drink it without milk. It has a very nice slightly spicy aroma, and it does a sufficient job of waking me up at 5:30 am.

This is my go to morning cuppa. Nothing fancy, just straight, delicious black tea.

(Full leaf version)
I decided I’d give this another shot. I once thought it too dark, though this time I steeped it for just a bit, enough to get the flavor without being overpowering, and I kind of like it. The way I made it would probably be too weak for most people, but I’m used to sweet savory things. I still prefer Earl Grey, though.

This is the one that got me started on breakfast teas. A good ol’ standby.

It’s a good tea. A classic flavor and it does the Breakfast Tea justice.