Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Because the love for this tea is so strong, we stuck closely to the original recipe. One difference is that we’re utilizing different teas in our black tea base. I think you’ll notice the difference and I’m confident you’ll feel this was a change for the better! We’ve made a really yummy thing even better!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the Tea of the Week Program from 52Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
Well hello there! It’s been a long time, no see! It has been a hot minute since this Dodo has written anything in the world wide tea web about tea. Just to catch anyone up, I have started a new job, and it is that job that has made this little bird a bit apprehensive about writing any reviews. You see, I now work with the tea company, Tealet. The curtain has fallen, and the inside of the tea world looks quite different than it did on the outside. Taking everything I learn with a grain of salt, I think I can safely begin reviewing teas at perhaps an even more subjective perspective than before. (Cracks neck) Now I am ready to get back to work!
On to the tea! This is the first tea that I cracked out of the re-blend sampler pack I receive as my kickstarter rewards. This was the one I was most excited about. Upon opening the package, I get a strong whiff of the flavors. Maple at the forefront, light and fluffy buttered pancake at the bottom. At first whiff it smelled like the black tea base was cowering in the wake of the flavoring.
Steeping the tea, the black base does get to shine through a bit more. It’s a robust cuppa, very suitable for a breakfast setting. A dash of cream, no sugar, and you get more dessert flavors from the maple and the black tea. The flavoring themselves are quite strong, maybe a little too strong for me. Even so, they pin down hot, fluffy pancakes, buttered and drowned in syrup so well I almost don’t care.
This tea is quite good. I finished my sampler bag in three days! I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a quirky twist on your plain, old, worn out English Breakfast. Two for you, 52Teas, you go 52Teas!
Bluebird’s Great British Cuppa by Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Description:
We’ve been around the world in 80 teas with this one! On a mission to get our nation of tea lovers, THE BEST cuppa. Good news… Mission accomplished! Fantastic with your fry up, perfect with a Paddington (marmalade on toast, obviously!) The Great British Cuppa is right here!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m feeling a little under the weather at the moment, so a straightforward breakfast-style tea is just the thing to cure what ails me. This is such a go-to kind of blend – an easy to drink, easy to brew, no fuss, crowd pleaser. I gave one teaspoon of leaf 4 minutes in boiling water, and added a splash of milk.
The resulting brew is a pretty solid example of an English breakfast tea. It combines an Assam, a Ceylon, and a Chinese Yunnan black, and the result is sweet and malty, with a hint of citrus brightness. The citrus, to me, is lemon, and it emerges primarily at the end of the sip. For the most part, this has a characteristic potato flavour, with an almost starchy element reminiscent of crispy, roasted white potato which emerges in the mid-sip. It’s hugely malty, with that wonderfully deep, molasses-like flavour that a really good malty black can take on. No sugar required here!
I’m not too surprised that I like this one – it contains my three favourite varieties of black tea, after all! It’s well balanced, with none of the three varieties dominating. Instead, it’s like each of the individual teas has contributed one of the elements which characterises it best – maltiness from the Assam, a light citrus note from the Ceylon, and a glorious potato flavour from the Chinese Yunnan. It’s such a good, solid cup of plain black tea. A no-nonsense, full-bodied blend with plenty of flavour – there’s nothing not to love here! Well done, Bluebird!
Rohini Supreme Breakfast First Flush Tea from Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
This Breakfast Tea comes from ROHINI – The Youngest Tea Garden of Darjeeling. This is the only estate which claims to be 100% Clonal.
This tea has a woodsy kind of flavour to it which can be felt in the dry leaves also. The liquor along with woodsy flavour has prominent floral tone which becomes more prominent as the tea cools. The tea has a pleasant mouth feel and the flavour is uplifting.
Learn more about Darjeeling Tea Lovers here.
Taster’s Review:
This Rohini Supreme Breakfast First Flush Tea isn’t yet available this year from Darjeeling Tea Lovers. I was privileged enough to get some from last year’s harvest. I had written this review some months ago, when this tea was still available on the Darjeeling Tea Lovers website, but my review was somehow misplaced. Hopefully this tea will be available again this year and perhaps my review of last year’s harvest will convince you that you should try this year’s harvest!
My apologies to Darjeeling Tea Lovers for the delay in getting this review posted!
When I opened the pouch of this “Breakfast Tea,” I noticed the green leaves. This is not uncommon with a Darjeeling “black” as Darjeeling teas generally undergo less oxidation than other black tea leaves.
I brewed this tea in my Breville One-Touch, measuring 2 bamboo scoops of the tea into the basket and adding 500ml of freshly filtered water into the kettle. Then I set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and the temperature for 195°F.
The tea brewed up to a very light amber-coppery color. It has a pleasant fragrance that is somewhat floral with hints of fruit.
The flavor is LOVELY. While the tea is still quite hot, I picked up on very light floral notes with prominent woodsy notes and notes of fruit. As the tea cooled, the floral notes began to develop. Usually with a Darjeeling, I notice grape-like flavors. This is particularly true of a second flush Darjeeling. This is a first flush so I wasn’t expecting a strong grape-y presence, but, I was a little surprised when the fruit I was tasting was more like melon. This flavor morphs into more of a grape-like flavor as I continue to sip, but those first few sips were quite honeydew-ish!
When it comes to the layers of flavor in teas, “woodsy” is not one of those flavors that I often celebrate. It’s more or less one of those flavor profiles that I can take or leave. It’s not something I usually get excited about. I’m not usually like “Wow! I love the woodsy flavors of this tea!” Then again, I’m not usually like “Gah, I really don’t like that woodsy note.” For me it’s something that I don’t really mind one way or another if it’s there or not.
But, I really am enjoying the woodsy tones of this. It’s not a bitter wood or sour wood note. It’s smooth and beautiful. It melds beautifully with the fruit and the flower. It’s a warm, slightly earthy note that is quite appealing.
Since I typically think of a breakfast tea as something that I might add milk and honey to, I don’t know that I’d consider this a breakfast tea. It’s a brisk, bright flavored tea so I can understand why Darjeeling Tea Lovers might call this a breakfast blend – but I wouldn’t advise adding milk and/or sweetener to this. It would really overwhelm the beautiful balance of flavors!
Instead, enjoy the gently nuanced flavors of the cup as they are.
Breakfast Blend Black Tea from Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Description:
The Breakfast Blend 100’s is a hearty blend of the finest Assam and Kenyan leaf teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After having a few less than exciting experiences with some of the teas I’ve tried from Rington’s, I wasn’t sure what this Breakfast Blend Black Tea had in store for me, but I braced myself, thinking I probably wouldn’t really care for it. But you know what? This is actually quite pleasant!
The flavor is bold and robust. I’m not getting a lot of astringency from this tea and there’s no bitterness. To brew it, I put one tea bag into a mug and brought the kettle to near boiling (205°F). Then I poured 8 ounces of water into my mug and let it steep for 2 1/2 minutes. I’m not sure if it’s the slightly lower temperature or the short steep time that contributed to the smooth, pleasant flavor of this tea, but I’m finding it enjoyable.
Maybe I’m not quite the snob I thought I was. Ha!
Yes, after having experienced several very disappointing bagged teas I had resolved that maybe, just maybe, I had crossed over to the land of tea snobbery. But I’m not hating this bagged tea as much as I thought I would so maybe I just had a few experiences that weren’t up to snuff and I’m not quite as snobbish as I thought I was.
Sure, I still prefer loose leaf and I shudder somewhat when I encounter a bagged tea. I still put my nose up when I pass the tea aisle in the grocery store. But, I can appreciate the convenience of the bagged tea – it’s certainly easier when you’re away from home to pop a bagged tea into a teacup and add hot water than it is to do the loose leaf thing. And it’s nice when you can find a bagged tea that you actually like. (I’ve had so many disappointments when it comes to bagged teas that I’d find in a hotel!)
All that aside, I’m finding myself quite pleased with this cup of tea from Rington’s. The flavor is strong without being too aggressive. It has a lovely malty note and a rich taste. While I’m drinking this straight up, I’d imagine that it’d take the additions of milk and/or honey (or sweetener of your choice) quite well. And this would be a nice choice for iced tea, too!
Classic English Breakfast Black Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
It’s classic! It’s English (actually it’s Indian and Sri Lankan)! It’s…breakfast! Nevermind. We’ll cut to the chase. It’s a nice cup of malty black tea from the Bargara and Kandoli Assam estates of India and the Kenilworth estate of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Great with milk, good with sugar, best in the morning. This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve enjoyed quite a few of M&K’s Tea Company’s blends now so I was really eager to try this Classic English Breakfast Black Tea to see how well they crafted a traditional favorite. And I’m really glad that I had this opportunity to try it, because this is quite nice.
To brew: I put 1 bamboo scoop of tea into the basket of my Kati Tumbler and then poured in 12 ounces of boiling water. I set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and let time take care of the rest.
This is a robust blend. I like that it focuses more on the Assam than the Ceylon, which gives it more of a rugged, hefty flavor. It’s strong and edgy, but without being bitter or too astringent. Had I steeped this for longer, though, I think that I would have had a bitter cup. Take care not to oversteep this blend!
The flavor is bold with notes of malt and there is a fruity, wine-like quality to this as well. There are two single estate Assam teas in this blend and I suspect one is more malty while the other is a more ‘wine-like’ Assam. It’s a nice balance between the two qualities. The Ceylon adds a certain ‘evenness’ to the flavor. It’s a rich, flavorful cup that would take the additions of milk and honey well – which is what most people look for in a breakfast blend.
Personally, I don’t usually add milk or honey to my teas, so my cup has that rugged edge to it that I like in the morning. It’s the kind of tea that I’d want if I need a good shake awake. It’s the kind of tea that will get you going.
Really nice!