Irish Breakfast

Boy is this tea a kick in the pants! This is my first Irish Breakfast, so I’m not going to pretend I know what I’m talking about. But this is a lot stronger and heartier than the English variety. This one brews up dark and rich. It’s not a taste that’s subtle. It’s pure tea flavor, punching through your tastebuds and into your nose, clearing out those sinuses.

The flavor almost has a spiciness and a bitterness. It’s a bit astringent too. I’m drinking it neat, without any sugar and milk, because that’s how I roll (and I’m lactose intolerant). I don’t think I could have tolerated this one when I first started drinking tea. It’s a very aggressive blend. But now? I’m really enjoying it. I don’t know if I could drink it every single day, but I could see this coming in handy, especially as it gets colder outside.

What first introduced me to Irish Breakfast was Stash’s teabag. I loved the assam in it. I prefer Irish over English Breakfast. I find English too astringent, plus I love more assam.

I guess I am a weirdo since I usually drink my Irish Breakfast iced, no additions. I prefer Stash’s to this. This is a little astringent to me. I prefer teas where nothing in needed to enjoy it, unless it’s a chai or pastry flavored tea. This tea needs just a little something to it. So not a staple for me, not bad. I will try this hot with some milk, to see if my preferences change.

I suppose I don’t have enough “experience” drinking tea to properly distinguish flavours, but I tried!

It smelt and tasted, at first, just like ‘basic tea’ for me. To which I mean black. But after a few sips I kind of began to taste a maltyness (at least I’m assuming that’s what it was that made my tongue tingle a bit, ant it trailed off into the aftertaste which was interesting).

I decided to grab a bag (oh dear, the bagged stuff, yes I know but that’s all I had on me) this morning due to teaplz’s note about the piratyness of it. My mind went, “Pirates? HECK YES.” So I went tearing through my Twinings Variety Pack in search of one.

I sipped it a little before adding anything to see what I could taste, but I didn’t really start to TASTE anything until I added a bit of creamed honey and milk. I wish I knew what the heck I was tasting. Maltyness, mmm. And some sort of black peppery spicyness? It woke me up nicely, though. Maybe I’ve just burnt my taste buds one too many times on really hot tea and cocoa over the years, and now I just can’t taste anything anymore.

I think it would go over better if I had a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage in front of me too. Definitely breakfasty.

Just bought this for work so I gave it a try. It’s not quite as good as loose leaf, but it’s finally a teabag I think will actually impress my colleagues without costing as much as Mighty Leaf or anything horrible like that. Irish breakfast is always a winner

Kick-ass tea, especailly for winter or those days you have to get up at 3am for some nefarious reason. Just be sure only to have one or two cups a day or you’ll have to be pried off of the ceiling.

Well, this tea definitely showed me what ‘malt’ was like! I love it- it’s a nice and clean flavor, strong but not bitter, with a lot of good malt. I like that it doesn’t have a ton of astringency to it- just a touch. This is one of my favorites, even though it’s ‘just Twinings’. lol

Okay. After drinking this there is no way I can ever say that bagged tea is tasteless. This one definitely has a strong strong flavour. Just, not one I am enjoying right now. If I was a wandering zombie who needed to do a presentation that morning? Definitely the tea for me. But for three in the afternoon while I’m reclining and relaxing? Not so much.

Not rating it right now, but yeah . . . not for me. Cup six of tea bag sipdown is a bust.

My shrink gave me some of this today, and I bought some at a store near my house after. It has an interesting taste, and makes me feel happy inside. A true tea. The warmer the better!

OK – all thumbs up for my number one favourite :-) Dry, strong and astringent, the kind of cup you can´t put down. I would recommend taking it without milk or sweeteners of any kind to appreciate its full flavour. The perfect Irish Breakfast blend, with just the needed malty taste.
I horribly miss the bagged version of this tea…the lose variety is almost just as good but I confess I had become an addict to the bagged.
An absolute pleasure…thank you again, Twining´s!

Had to do a double take, this is some black tea for sure, thought I mixed up with my coffee stash during the morning haze…the depth of flavor is amazing, rich, full bodied, and hearty. Seems like a comfort tea to me, might pair well a variety of fried foods and gravy…
Oh my, hunger is affecting my note!

Just recently finished up with James Joyce’s Ulysses, and of course I simply needed to drink half the box of this.
Nice, with a little almond milk and sugar. Just what I need in the mornings.

Very bold & yet creamy, Bought this because Ive tried different breakfast teas & loved them, Definitely wasnt disappointed here either.

I’m all over the Twining Irish Breakfast at the moment .. Really, if you could read my mind and see us together you’d call me perverted, and I’d have to agree :P

A bold cup, and I am really enjoying it. I agree with the description of malty. There is a hint of bitterness, but it adds to the experience. This is a good tea for the transition from lovely sleepy, sleepy dreams to harsh reality (can you tell I’m still waking up?). I probably wouldn’t drink it anytime other than breakfast, but it is a nice get-up-and-go sort of cup. I’m drinking it with a splash of milk, but the tea would be fine without it too.

I’m totally new to tea drinking, but stress migraines have made me rely on other sources of a wake-up drink opposed to coffee. I decided to start with a warm cup of Irish Breakfast. All in all, it was very good. I need a strong tea in the mornings, as I like a good strong cup of coffee, and this tea sufficed. It was a bit spicy and had an aftertaste — a bit bitter? It may have been because I steeped it a tad too long. I only had sugar with me at work, but I can’t wait to try it with a more creamier base by adding a touch of milk. Nothing that knocked my socks off, but then again, I don’t really want my socks knocked off so early in the morning. :)

This is slightly stronger and maltier than the Twining’s English Breakfast, I’m quite fond of it.

Excellent – stronger than Twinings English Breakfast, and yet just as smooth and consistent. I’ve tried both the loose and the bagged version, and like both equally.

I guess this tea deserves a review from me since the quality of it has surprised me. Despite coming from such a huge tea company the taste isn’t all that bad.

I am reviewing the loose leaf Irish Breakfast and not the bagged tea. I have no proof, but It does make sense that Twinings would put a lower grade tea in the tea bags and save slightly better tea for the loose leaf. The people who buy the loose leaf on average will be much more critical when judging.

The tea is primarily CTC with a few flat broken leaves, not very impressive looking. It steeps fast, but is very manageable, I find I get 5 steeps each time.

I’m not great at finding nuances in flavours so I’ll leave that for other reviewers, I’ll just say that it is Irish Breakfast and is quite addictive as it should be.

I should also say that since it is much cheaper than the usual black tea I drink, I am inclined to use a lot more leaf and make it nice and strong.

This is a STRONG, in your face, malty infusion. For me the recommended 3 minute steep at boiling was a bit more than I could handle, so I lowered the temp slightly and halved the time and its excellent! And the second infusion is just as good as the first.
Love, love, love, love, LOVE! Excellent hot in the mornings to get you going, and equally nice iced during the day to keep you moving! This is a staple in my cupboard!

This is great wake-up tea. It’s malty and quite strong. I enjoy drinking it with a bit of milk and sugar.