CTC Irish Breakfast Blend (TB12)

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Malt, Metallic, Tannic, Astringent, Toast, Roasted
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Vegan
Edit tea info Last updated by Rumpus Parable
Average preparation
Boiling 3 min, 15 sec 3 g 10 oz / 299 ml

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37 Tasting Notes View all

  • “So in my Monday morning haze, I had this made and in my travel mug before I realized that my travel mug smelled like the armpit of hell because I’d forgotten to clean it after having a tea latte...” Read full tasting note
    68
  • “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...” Read full tasting note
    54
  • “2/8/14 Sipdown. 3g/60z/212F/3min. This is the first CTC tea I can remember having loose, though I’ve seen plenty in tea bag dissections. It’s made a good pot of tea, properly...” Read full tasting note
    68
  • “Ok… no more trying new teas in a travel mug. I swear to you, even the least offensive travel mug I own gives a faint plastic taste to tea. I gave this one a second chance with the same parameters...” Read full tasting note
    84

From Upton Tea Imports

The Crush-Tear-Curl manufacturing method produces quick-brewing teas with full flavor. We highly recommend this blend of Assam teas for those who like a very hearty cup. Exquisite with milk.

About Upton Tea Imports View company

Company description not available.

37 Tasting Notes

68
382 tasting notes

So in my Monday morning haze, I had this made and in my travel mug before I realized that my travel mug smelled like the armpit of hell because I’d forgotten to clean it after having a tea latte over the weekend. So…last bit of breakfast blend ruined, and mug set to soak in a variety of things that the intarwebs tell me will get rid of the terrible terrible smell.

Mondays!

(In case you are wondering, the intarwebs is mostly saying bleach, baking soda, and vinegar – not all at once – so nothing earth-shattering there)

gmathis

Let us know if that’s a decent de-scenting combination…my travel mugs are getting a little gamey, too.

__Morgana__

Yeah, be careful there. Wouldn’t want your travel mug to esplode!

Ewa

I said I’m not gonna use them all at once! First bleach for a couple of hours, then move on to baking soda and vinegar is kind of a last resort.

__Morgana__

Yeah, I know you said that. But don’t you have a bit of the rebellious streak? Like when the teacher said not to put the zinc in the sulfuric acid, didn’t you just have to know what would happen? Lol.

Ewa

Man, I was raised by chemists. This is one area where I am always gonna follow instructions :P

Rabs

LOL! I almost spit tea onto mah pooter from “smellin’ like the armpit of hell” :D Sorry about the crap start to a Monday :(

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54
136 tasting notes

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).

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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68
114 tasting notes

2/8/14 Sipdown. 3g/60z/212F/3min. This is the first CTC tea I can remember having loose, though I’ve seen plenty in tea bag dissections. It’s made a good pot of tea, properly brisk, pleasantly colored, good scent. But the physical tea is a little disturbing to me. It looks like very fine mulch, and when I picked out a bit of the steeped leaf to examine, it sort of smeared away into just a kind of smudge of mud on my finger tip.

Pros — 3 minute steep time made an wicked strong liquor. This tea would be great for iced tea, for cooking, for anytime an intense traditional English style black tea flavour is wanted. It’s a good cup of tea.

Cons – mulch.

Side note – 15g is the perfect sample amount for me. It’s exactly the right amount for one pots worth western brewed, and one gaiwan session.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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84
92 tasting notes

Ok… no more trying new teas in a travel mug. I swear to you, even the least offensive travel mug I own gives a faint plastic taste to tea. I gave this one a second chance with the same parameters – 1 tsp of tea per 6 oz of water, 3 minute steep at boiling. Only this time I made it in one of my favorite mugs. The result? So much better! It has a nice depth and soothing maltiness (a good thing in my book.) It’s not a complicated tea, but it is strong, and that’s all I ask of a morning tea! Recommended, especially at the attractive price point.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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91
53 tasting notes

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.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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100
11 tasting notes

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.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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76
31 tasting notes

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.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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85
31 tasting notes

I think the most important thing here is not to get the water too hot…I’ve only just started drinking this again after temporarily running out of filters and it’s quite pleasant, but it does seem to get bitter faster with close-to-boiling water rather than cooler fare.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C

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82
13 tasting notes

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.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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80
95 tasting notes

Got this as an extra sample with my first Upton order. It reminded me of Twinings’ Irish Breakfast which I also enjoy, so this little free sample went a lot quicker than expected.

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