Irish Breakfast

This is a great Irish Breakfast. I first started drinking tea when I was in Ireland, and it became a habit that carried over when I came back. I much prefer Irish Breakfast to English Breakfast now. It’s heartier, more flavorful, fuller.

This is one of the better ones I’ve tried. It’s dark and malty without being bitter, and sometimes I get little notes of cinnamon. I really like it hot and plain, but it’s fantastic when iced with a splash of milk. (Interesting, because when I was in Ireland, I NEVER added milk or sugar to my tea, or drank anything iced.)

I just got a small sample size from Adagio – I’m definitely ordering more now.

Needed a strong tea this morning. Cold has moved from my head to my chest and is rock solid in there. Can’t taste a whole lot but boy could I taste this!

This is a good Irish Breakfast tea, but not my favorite. I can taste both the Ceylon Sonata and the Assam Melody, but the Ceylon is dominant. It lacks the punch of Harney and Sons or Twinings, probably because it has less Assam in it. I was unable to get a good second steeping out of the leaf, which makes me wonder if I am doing something wrong.

Yet another tea included in a package from home. I’m at a loss of what to say or expect here. I’m not skilled in black teas the way I am in Green, in White or in Oolong. I’m ususually not a fan of these darker teas with the possible exception of Earl Grey. But can I honestly refuse to brew a cup of tea based on it’s color? No. That’s absurd. I’ve found only one tea that I could not stand and that was Twinning’s Earl Grey.

I will say that the tea leaves fresh out of the cannister, smell like a chocolate store to me. But I will forewarn that this may be because the cannister is an old recycled cannister that had once contained Yunan Noir.

When brewed, It has a darker and earthier aroma than English Breakfast. And it’s liquor is dark bronze. The taste is a rich coffee like flavor, but to my ultimate dismay I can’t voice it’s difference from English Breakfast. I can tell that there is a difference, possibly in terms of strength and definitely in terms of aroma, but I can’t describe it.

It’s a great black tea, if black tea is your thing. I wouldn’t dare insult this tea with a lower than sixty rating. And it definitely will not spoil in my tea cabinet. But when it comes time to order another black tea, I will think Yunan Noir before I think Irish Breakfast.

This is my hubby’s favorite, and one of the few black teas I have left in my cupboard (need to re-order!). It’s a good wake-up tea, but a little light on flavor. I should probably use double the leaf, but always forget.

On a side note…as I’m still learning the “steepster way” – I’m not sure whether these tasting notes are for “what I’m drinking now” logs, or just for review of the tea? Anyone care to educate me? :-)

Definitely getting the malty notes today – the Assam gives this a real heartiness and full body. It has a depth and strength that I miss in some of the more delicate blacks (Darjeeling, Ceylon). I’m having a little more trouble picking out the Ceylon in the blend, but that’s probably what’s making it more interesting than a straight Assam – there are some high notes above the malt. With a little milk, this is rich and satisfying.

Smells malty, not enough depth. It was okay but not fabulous. Slight bitterness towards the end; perhaps I should decrease the steeping time a little (I steeped five minutes as suggested) or try it with milk. I think Irish Breakfasts are best with milk, so I will try it again next time with milk; I just felt like drinking my tea straight this morning.

Fruit: that’s what these leaves smell like. Another one from the Raja sampler set, and it is a touch more bitter than Yunnan Noir (even at 3m30s). As for taste, though, I am drawing a blank. I think it’s pretty standard for a straight black (this is me not knowing how to describe it) and it doesn’t really have any defects. This is so-so, but certainly better than Assam Melody (which doesn’t really have anything going for it).

Addendum: it doesn’t have any strange mouthfeel or aftertaste, so that’s nice.

It’s a cool morning here in Houston and some warm tea is just the ticket. I like my Irish Breakfast with a good amount of sugar and a touch of milk, and that’s what’s in it this morning.

I got 1-4 oz. tin each of this and Earl Grey Bravo for Christmas and I absolutely burned through the Earl Grey and have moved on to Irish Breakfast. The only other time I had this tea before was at about 7 a.m. after staying up all night finishing a biochem paper before running off to turn it in and take the final exam. I made it about two times two strong, WAAAY over steeped it and didn’t add milk or sugar. It was awful, but MAN was I awake!

So now I drink this mostly at work , where I have a timer and some whole milk and either sugar or Splenda (I prefer sugar, but feel like I have to add 3 to a normal cup to taste it at all. If you like your hot tea sweet, Splenda is the way to go!). I enjoy it everyday and will for a long time or…or at least until my order of Earl Grey gets here!