Irish Breakfast

I had some of this around I forgot about and decided to revisit it again today – I am using the loose leaf version and not the bags.

I made this very strong today, used a high water to leaf ratio and steeped for around 3 minutes. It’s very strong! I’m not sure about the ceylon here, it’s never been one of my favorite teas but still. This is a good solid choice for any morning – I may have made it too strong but I kinda need that since it’s Monday morning. Very malty and smooth and ceylon provides a bit of fruity astringency. I’m enjoying it this morning and hoping it will wake me up. :-) As far as Twinings is concerned I think I still prefer the Prince of Wales blend but this one is pretty good too!

Say what you will about crappy bagged teas, I can’t hear you! This is something I was raised on, and it is a tremendous comfort to me, just as all the Twining’s teas are. Sometimes I’m a tea snob, but in this case I just can’t be. Guess it’s like tea junk food? And believe me, that comforting quality comes in handy during midterms. Steep it strong with just-boiled water, and then add some milk, and sugar / stevia.

Malty, kick-you-in-the-teeth goodness. Another staple in my cupboard. I always love this one in my china teacup, with a spoonful of sugar and a dash of milk. I love the paradox of this manly-flex-your-muscles kind of tea served in a feminine-delicate-and dainty teacup.

So been dealing with Anxiety and the death of my grandmother, Have not been venturing to far into tea lately been just trying to drink some sort of tea and i had a teabag of this comforting tea to me. Just dont feel like having to put tea in a bag and all so This was just a Pull it out and plop, I love this tea its so nice and strong and just Taste like heaven to me, and with work and trying to keep moving forward it was perfect today while i was finishing a book and escaping my life if only for a little while.

Malty and strong, without being overly astringent. This is my go-to when I want black tea iced. Drinking right now – three tsp/8oz, iced with a bit of whole milk. Super creamy, very rich. Definitely not a high quality tea, not something I’ll drink straight, but it’s good like this!

This is my 2nd round caffeine lift of the morning before lunch time sets in. I unfortunately got distracted and left the bag in for 10 minutes! A total black tea faux pas, unless that’s what you’re going for. I’m recommending a 5 minute steeping time because that’s my gold standard for robust black teas. It surprisingly didn’t turn the tea bitter, or perhaps what bitter there was smoothed out with the milk and sugar I added. Twinings Irish Breakfast is indeed nice and malty (more like pulling a nice malt blanket over your shoulders for comfort and care). A deceptive note in that I was expecting a bigger robust flavor to go with the divine caffeine kick. But you know what? The buttery smooth maltiness will suffice as I am officially in full blissful caffeine swoon! Oh Assam, our relationship continues to grow and deepen. My malty faith in you has grown. :)

I had a craving for Irish Breakfast tea today so I brewed it the way I usually do. Two bags, 5 minutes, no milk, raw sugar. It comes out looking like espresso. Very malty with a fruity raisin note. There is a bit of astringency. Perhaps more than most would like but I love it like that. I will always compare every Irish Breakfast tea I have to the lovely Irish Breakfast tea from Butiki but, in the absence of that, Twinings will do just fine. And I can brew this one just as crazypants as I want without feeling guilty.

Yum. I love Irish Breakfast with some milk and sugar. I only have 2 bags of this left so i’m going to replace it with a loose leaf version. :D

This is a very robust brisk tea. It has loads of maltiness and will wake you in the morning. It does have some astringency. This tea will take milk easily as it is a very strong tea. I am drinking it plain after a 3 minute steep. If you steeped 5 minutes I think a spoon would stand straight up in this tea. The tea looks like grapenuts ( CTC? ). Its a nice breakfast tea and really not a bad cup. I’m going to try a 2 minute steep next time.

I just tried this tea with a 2 minute steep. It is at least 10 points better in my opinion. The bitterness and astringency are almost nil. You can even taste the assam tea in this blend. It is still brisk and robust, it just tastes much better.

Rolled out of bed on this lazy Sunday morning and looked out the window. It’s snowing. Again. So far, it has snowed every day in December here. I don’t like it, not one bit. It’s a bad omen for the rest of the winter.

Even if it is a bad omen, it does make for a great day to stay in and drink tea (yup, total repeat of yesterday). frenchvanilla sent me some bags of this to try. I’ve been eyeing the box of this every time I’ve been in the tea aisle lately, but haven’t caved yet (miracles never cease…wait, no, I bought other teas instead). Thanks for giving me the chance to try it out!!

It’s stout, strong, rich, and smooth. Just slightly astringent, but all the better for it. This is a breakfast tea that could actually stand up to a big, southern-style breakfast. Too bad I’m not having one this morning, but still, this should be the go-to tea at places like Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel to serve with the big breakfast platters.

This is probably one of the first teas that I really enjoyed and I still enjoy it today. It has been a long time since I had a straight Irish Breakfast and I think it is better than I remember. I think Irish Breakfast is just one of those teas that really needs milk and sweetener. Without additives, it is an alright black tea – but nothing special. But with the addition of milk and sugar, the malty, slightly fruity goodness comes alive. This is just a great tea all around – probably the best bagged tea I’ve had. I would be interested in adding a loose leaf Irish Breakfast to my cupboard sometime in the near future, but as for now, I’m quite pleased with this bagged version.

(decaf) wanted tea w/ breakfast, didn’t want to think about it. Probably should have had full caff, but I save that for my hubby. My box of decaf is a throwback to when I didn’t drink much regular black tea b/c the caffeine seemed to affect me very strongly. I seem to be over that now.

This is my absolute favorite tea. I love it. It’s full bodied, it smells really rough, and with a tiny splash of milk and a drizzle of honey, it’s my favorite thing to exist on during the winter months.

It’s hearty, don’t think for a moment it’s light. It’s intense. It will knock you over if you’re not ready for it. But if you sidle up to it, learn to love it, it will be your best friend for life.

The nostalgia… it’s unbearable.

So it began around age fourteen. I had this obsession for tea in a house full of coffee lovers. I was still unable to purchase things online for myself (and even then, I had no knowledge of what tea retailers were sought after), so I fueled my love and desire with grocery store bought Twinings and Tazo.

This became a favorite in its bagged incarnation alongside Twinings Earl Grey and Prince of Wales.

The last time I tried this tea was a good four or five years ago when stopped keeping up with my tea rituals, until it was at a Teavana in Chicago where my passion for tea was reignited.

Oh. Yes, this is about the tea. Right.

I realized I had two bags of this left in the back of my cupboard and I thought, “I’m feeling adventurous. Why not?”

So I steeped this in my glass teapot. I watched it turn a gloriously deep red color… which surprised me (mostly because I’d never seen it directly through glass before).

The smell was just as malty and deep as I remember it.

And… there it is. That hint of astringency and the ever present malty flavor. I just wish it wasn’t as flat as it is. Why doesn’t it taste as deep as it smells?

I’m thinking that perhaps the loose version is a better incarnation of this tea. Sadly I suppose I don’t like it as much as I used to, now that I’m comparing it to other teas.

Bagged Irish Breakfast, we had happy memories.

Twinings Irish breakfast was my other favorite tea back in college and after starting to drink Twinings Prince of Wales again in the loose version I figured it was worth a try to give Twinings Irish Breakfast a second chance as well in its loose leaf incarnation. My initial impression upon opening the tin was surprised to see that it is a CTC (crush-tear-curl) processed leaf into little tea pellets so I hoped that it would not be too strong considering that the blacks that I’ve drank in the last decade have all been Chinese. I brewed this tea in a mug infuser and I think it turned out fairly strong as the ending result was a strong malty brew that had not crossed the line into bitter when drunk straight. Overall a good tea but one that I know I can not drink too often as Assam and Ceylon blacks in large amounts are not as easy on the stomach as Chinese blacks.

This is probably my favorite mass-produced black tea. I love how it can become so bold without the expected bitterness. Also it’s great at unexpectedly keeping you awake all night!

Love this tea. So smooth. Perfect compliment to breakfast:)

Not horrid I wasn’t getting any aroma though.
The maltiness is just wow O.O

Note: This is a review for the bagged version.

It is currently 7:30pm. I have an exam tomorrow, so I made myself a thermos tumbler full of Irish Breakfast with a splash of warm milk to keep me awake. It’s a malty, masculine tea and goes very well with milk, and sugar too, if you feel like it.

Twinings version of Irish Breakfast is, like others noted, on the strong side, somewhat rough; the “drill sergeant” metaphor isn’t far off. I have yet to try this straight, and when I do I will write another tasting note. I am on a search for my favorite Irish Breakfast, and plan on trying several different companies before I order my loose leaf tin. I wouldn’t count this one out.

I think this is going to be one of those that is going to be kind and forgiving regardless of steeping mistakes … I got impatient and dragged the bag out a little too quickly and it’s still sharp and stout in a nice mild sort of way. I need tea that forgives me.