As I've noted before, I thoroughly enjoy breakfast teas. I like the bold flavors and the malty Assam teas that tend to dominate the style, and I like how well the blends go with milk and a little sweetener. Of the breakfast teas I've had, I usually pick Scottish breakfast as my favorite. It has a fuller flavor profile than Irish or English breakfast, with more malt and fruit notes, and a hint of oak....all tasting notes shared with the world of Scotch, which may help explain why I'm such a big fan of this tea. If I had to guess, I'd say there are Ceylon and possibly Keemun teas mixed with the Assam, but I'm far from an expert at picking out teas in a blend. Scottish Breakfast tends to be a bit harder to find loose than its cousins, but happily, Culinary Teas (pretty much my go-to for loose tea these days) has it in stock.
Nothing unusual in the brewing. Typical for a blended black tea, one rounded teaspoon per mug, water at a rolling boil into a warmed teapot, steep for about four minutes. Scottish Breakfast brews up as dark as Irish Breakfast, but lacks the sharp astringent note I often find in Irish Breakfast blends. The flavor is bold, round, and strong, with lots of malt and some pleasant oak. It's a great cup with a big breakfast, or on a chilly winter afternoon (I've never been one for so-called "afternoon" teas anyway).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Scottish Breakfast makes a fantastic hot toddy type of drink when mixed with Scotch, especially a sweeter malt. The similar flavor notes blend together and complement each other very well. Now, I can't exactly endorse mixing a good single malt with tea, as I'm a firm believer in not diluting fine whisky in any way, but a smooth blend or maybe a bargain single malt would go well. A cup brewed a bit strong, with plenty of milk and sugar, and a generous measure of whisky makes a great restorative hot drink to ward off the chill or soothe nasty cold symptoms. Be wary, though--strong, sweet tea can hide a fair bit of whisky, and this drink is so good, it's easy to forget it's also pretty strong. Score: 90 (A-)
Sounds like a great way to sneak some Scotch whisky into your breakfast. I definitely prefer Scottish morning tea to Irish or English and am glad you encouraged me to try it some time ago.
ReplyDeleteThe Scottish Morning Tea standard profile sounds like a young, malty Speysider. Are there any variants on it that emphasize honey or spices?
Honest, I've never actually snuck Scotch into breakfast! No, really! I have had a dram or two on a fine Christmas morning, I guess, but aside from that...
ReplyDeleteI'd love to find a variant with some spice or honey. Brodie's or somebody makes a Famous Endinburgh which may be a bit lighter and naturally sweeter. Short of that, I can learn to blend teas myself, which sounds fun and interesting, but a bit daunting. I'll keep looking, and of course, any tea taht makes me think of Scotch gets a review here!