English Breakfast

I finally broke into my New English Teas collection boxes for breakfast this morning. The collection has breakfast tea, afternoon tea and traditional tea.

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I wasn’t a fan of New English Teas Earl Grey as for me it was just too mild but hopefully this breakfast tea is full bodied like I’m craving right now.

Served with a drop of milk. This tea smells leathery, rich and sour. Flavour is very rich and definitely full bodied but it’s also musty and woody. Not quite what I was looking for but it will do. The leather and wood aspect is the strongest so I’m toning it down with a little stevia sugar.

That’s better, now it’s a completely different tea. Tastes maltier and less thick and earthy but it keeps it’s richness. In the morning the last thing I want to taste is leather or wood, I want something refreshing and clean.

Overall it’s an average black tea that requires milk and stevia sugar before becoming drinkable. Without sweetener this is rated at roughly 6.5/10 and with sweetener this is rated at roughly 7.5/10. It truly makes a huge difference.

This is part of a gift pack of 3 teas that my in-laws brought back from England for me. I am having this today for the last day of the London Olympics. I had a great time watching them!

This is actually the loose version of the tea. This was very bold and malty. I had it with milk as the English would. Honestly, I think this tea would maybe be a little harsh without the milk, but with milk it is nice and smooth.

This packs a bit of a punch, but great for this morning as I was only half awake and was getting for another long shift at the hospital.

This loose leaf English Breakfast selection was in my New English Teas gift pack that Santa brought me this year. I am sipping it now as I speak…uh…type.

I am enjoying this tea. It has a bold and full flavor. My tastebuds are reading malt and a hint of spice. I am not detecting any bitterness.

I brewed the tea for three minutes at 212 degrees. This method produced lots of flavor, even in the first cup.

All in all, this has the rich, complete, and signature flavor for which fine British teas are known. It’s still too soon to know how the caffeine content will revive my metabolism, but I do believe I feel my eyes starting to open wider.

This came in a gift pack so I wasn’t expecting the best but was pleased with my morning cup. It seemed to have enough kick to start the day.

This is the better of the two options in my QEII sampler tin: still falls in the “just tea” category, but much less acidic than the afternoon tea version and easier to drink straight. Maybe a little cherry wood personality to it.

Had this tea bag in huge bags stash.

I had big disrespect… and it turned out very boring.

The tea… was just weak, just tannic… Tannic water. Flavours – none. Meh.

Not a big fan of this tea. Drinking it straight this morning and it’s a bit rough. I’m sure it would be better with creamer in it, but I don’t have any today. I will finish the little tin I have of it, but don’t plan on buying more. There was also a plain English Tea and and Afternoon tea in the set. I assume they are all similar, low-mid grade teas.

First tea of the morning! Like English Afternoon, this one also appears to be a blend of Ceylon teas. It’s actually very similar to English Afternoon, maybe a touch maltier, and with slightly more muted citrus notes. On the whole, though, I’m not sure I’d be able to tell them apart. They’re both CTCs, both very strong, and they have similar flavours.

It’s pleasant to drink, and it doesn’t require any particular thought or concentration, but I’m not sure it’s different enough from English Afternoon to warrant a different name. They’re basically the same tea.

A truly remarkable blend, by a truly unremarkable company. New English teas are not my favourites – the bergamot is too pronounced in the Earl Grey, the green tea is preposterously bitter and the hibiscus is just rubbish – but this is one is something to rave about. The tea is a kick, as any black, but it doesn’t feel like one. It’s so pleasant and delightful, the 25-bag box I bought shouldn’t last a week.

Had the loose version of this instead of EG this morning. I am always surprised that this tea is good, because the loose version just does not look impressive. The pieces are tiny – it reminds me of instant coffee crystals, or burnt Grape Nuts.