CTC Irish Breakfast Blend (TB12)

2nd of 5 breakfast blend samples from Upton … tested with T. of honey.

I remember testing Adagio’s Irish Breakfast and liking it … setting it aside to retest later, and it seems to have gotten buried by so many others which have met the same fate (one of these days, I really need to revisit that box).

This blend is VERY strong. I’m one of those people who hates (capital H) coffee. I am not trying to substitute for coffee, but am looking for a non-Coke morning caffeine boost. This tea is very bitter, and is getting more bitter as it cools. I’m not even going to try and temper it with milk or cream. This one goes into the “omg NO” pile (thankfully a much smaller group).

It has been quite a while since I’ve been away from Steepster. It is not that I have completely lost interest in teas and noting down my feelings about them, but it is perhaps my laziness kicking in plus all the studying I had to keep up with from school. Now that I am enjoying my summer break, I seem to have more time to relax and enjoy the passing of time.
Something to note for myself is that in the recent months, I have now completely moved away from green tea and acquired a heavy preference for black teas. This could be due to being “burned” by the bad order I made quite a while ago from Specialteas (which is now out of business BTW). I had to throw away nearly 10oz of it due to it getting old without anyone in the family willing to drink it. Anyways, I am not quite sure if I will come back to trying other green teas in the future but as it stands I am now predominantly a black tea drinker.

This is the first Irish breakfast tea that I have tried, and also my first order from Upton Teas Imports. From what I have read, it is supposed to have a very robust, bold, and strong character that gives you a jolt in the morning just like coffee does, but perhaps to a lesser degree. And from what I’ve tasted, it is quite exactly that. The liquor is nearly full-bodied, and it lacks the astringency that I would have expected and is therefore capable of some over brewing. Since Irish breakfast teas are mainly blended with Assams, I thought it would have a very malty taste but instead the malt was more towards being in the background while the warm toasty taste was what hit my palate most of the time. Overall, a very good C.T.C. tea that I will see myself buying again in the future.

Upton Sample Buying Spree Tea #13:
Oh noeeees, with this I’ll be on my last two teas! Get here soon, Golden Moon Sampler!
Brewed this up this morning for my “on the way to morning Chinese class” pick-me-up. Another very fine tea which, as expected (and as it says on the box) brews up extremely fast. I learned my lesson with yesterday’s Scottish Blend and was a little more careful with my spooning and diligently paid attention to the time. I have to say, the care was well rewarded; this came out as a great strong tea for the morning and didn’t taste oversteeped at all, although now that I come to think about it, I kind of miss the slap to the face I AM TEA HEAR ME ROAR that the oversteeped Scottish Blend gave me. As usual, I fail to show signs of either discernment or sophistication; although, honestly, people expecting that sort of thing in the morning are just insane.

I love Irish breakfast, so I threw this sample into my last Upton order. I steeped for 3 minutes – I usually err on the short side with a CTC tea like this – they get bitter in a hurry! My opinion – eh, it’s just all right. Not a lot of nuance, but that’s ok in a breakfast tea (it’s all I can do to make tea without spilling water on myself in the morning!) It could be stronger. Based on the ratings here, I’m going to give it a try at 4 minutes.

Disclaimer: I just tried this tea today, and it’s from a sample packet that I received 4(!) years ago. Soooo here we go!

It has a nice Assamy scent when brewed, and is definitely a breakfast tea for those days when you don’t feel like getting out the door, as it will really make you wake up! There’s a bit of a vegetal taste that lingers on the tongue, and it’s great with a little milk added.

I’ll definitely buy more of this in the future to see if it’s even better when it’s not so old.

A great cuppa even after it has been sitting around in the pot for 10 minuets. Takes a bit of milk and sugar just wonderfully. One of my favorite get up and go cups.

This is extremely good tea. I make it with a fair amount of milk and a bit of sugar and find it very satisfying. It must have a high caffeine content as it really gets me going. Great stuff, I will for sure be ordering some more once I am out of my initial 125g stash.

My first Irish Breakfast. I really only ordered this sample to compare to the River Shannon blend that seems popular on here. I brewed this right after Bond Street this morning. Cute little grape nut like pellets, I’m used to whole leaf.

First brew seemed strong, singular, dry on the tongue and finally bitter. So I assumed the fault, tossed it and lowered the water temperature down to my normal 195 rather than the recommended 212.

The second brew smelled brighter, taste was certainly lighter though it deepened as it sat. I did not find this enjoyable straight, there was still a dryness with a note of butter toward the end (a good thing for me) but the dryness is what stayed on the tongue. Sugar did not improve this but cream certainly did.

I like this better with cream and sugar than the Bond Street but it would honestly be the only way I would enjoy it and I don’t want to make a habit of that. So I made a cream and sugar blend in my tall claddagh mug, set it on the mantle and offered it up to Brighid and moved on to the River Shannon blend which was a vast improvement.

Check out our video review here:
http://healthyprofessionals.blog.com/the-tea-show/

Tasted three Upton CTCs today. The leaves for the Irish Breakfast were darker in color than the Upton CTC BOP Estate Blend Organic (TA15) and the largest in size of the three I tasted (Halmari CTC is the third tea). The Irish Breakfast leaves/granules also seemed to have the strongest scent. I tasted all three teas with milk.

The Irish Breakfast is a little malty, with good body, not bitter at all. While not as exciting as some of the single estate assams I’ve had lately, it is very good for a CTC tea. Would probably also be good blended with other teas. I tried adding a tiny touch of honey and it went well with the tea. It developed a creamy feel as it cooled.

I did try brewing (with fresh leaves) a second time at 5 minutes but while it was still not bitter, the flavor seemed better at 4 minutes.

Perfect for breakfast — it steeps super-fast with great taste. I think it gives a fuller flavor than the Twinings Irish Breakfast teabags, but steeps in about the same time. I need to experiment with water temperature to find the highest it can stand.

I definitely like this one better than River Shannon — it’s pure Assam tea rather than a blend of Assam and Ceylon. I think it’s more a matter of personal taste, though, as I love the Assam.

Good, strong tea for waking up with, excellent with milk and bitter with too long a steep, it’s wonderful when I’m not quite awake enough to get it going. One 2-cup Chatsford pot will do me for the morning. Rich enough and red enough to be really excellent.

One of my favorite Irish Breakfast teas – strong and malty and consistent in quality. It’s CTC processed, so quick brewing and strong. My morning cup more often than not, with a fair bit of milk.

One of my favorite breakfast teas. From day to day, I usually alternate a blend with a single-estate Assam. I prefer Irish Breakfast to English Breakfast, as it’s a little bolder, and I like to add a lot of milk.