I like Bentley's. I've never had anything spectacular from them, but they produce some decent bag teas that I enjoy at work, where I don't have a proper tea kettle or the time to make quality tea. I'd like it if they made the step up from flat tea bags to sachets or tea pyramids, but still and all, they make a pretty decent cup of tea. So, today's review is a double feature from Bentley's: Pomegranate green and Acai Blackberry green.
Pomegranate Green Tea
In an earlier post, I reviewed Bentley's Pomegranate black tea, and I spent a fair bit of time pointing out how irksome it is when a trendy new "miracle fruit" starts showing up everywhere. I won't rehash any of that here, since a) I already kind of drove the point into the ground, and b) this is a pretty good tea. I think that green tea plays better with fruit flavors than black tea, and here, the sweet and tart flavor of the pomegranate mingles well with the clean taste of the tea. The tea itself is nothing fancy, just basic "no frills" green tea. It's mellow and somewhat astringent, and has a very clean mouthfeel. The fruit flavors complement the mild floral notes of the tea, and provide a sweet contrast to the mildly bitterness. The finish is short and astringent, but not unpleasant. Score: 80 (B-)
Acai Blackberry Green Tea
Right, I promised I wouldn't go on and on about trendy fruits, so I'll leave alone the addition of Acai, a South American berry with a rather sharp, tart taste. This tea is actually a whole lot like the Pomegranate green, but I find the fruit additions to work even better than the pomegranate. I taste more blackberry than Acai, which is great; blackberry and raspberry are two of my favorite flavors. The berry blends even better than the pomegranate with the mellow floral notes and astringency of the tea. I'm not usually one for iced green tea, but I can't wait to try this tea ice cold, with a splash of sweetener, on a really hot summer day. Score: 85 (B)
Overall, two decent teas...nothing fancy about them, other than the inclusion of the latest in trendy fruit, but both make a clean, refreshing cup.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Dunbar Tea and Room
Sandwich, Massachusetts is one of my favorite towns to visit. In addition to the sea-side charm you hope for in a small Cape Cod town, the center includes several museums and shops. The Heritage Museums and Gardens includes exhibits for antique cars, American folk art, and the Cape Cod League baseball Hall of Fame, and the gardens and landscaping are themselves nearly worth the price of admission. The Sandwich Glass Museum is much more interesting than you would expect, and the free Thornton Burgess Museum is worth a quick stop. Across from the Burgess museum is Dunbar Tea Room, where you should stop for a nice lunch and tea if you are touring the town. Try the Ploughman's Lunch and you'll be inspired to eat simple cheese and salad-based dinners for a while (which is how I like to think Hobbits eat).
The tea room will likely be filled with little old ladies, but don't let that scare you away. The mode of tea serving is interesting: a pot filled with loose leaf tea and a miniature sieve (there must be some tea-specific name for this). You pour the tea through the sieve and into your cup, then use tongs to place the desired number of sugar cubes as sweetener. The pot has enough tea for two and a half cups, though the last half cup is likely to be overly bitter as the brew time reaches 30 minutes. Order a tea that takes excessive brew time well.
Dunbar offers many standard teas I'd expect to find in a tea shop, but they also offer their own eponymous blend. This is the best tea I have tasted from the shop; a medium-strength black tea with cranberry and almond. The cranberry is obvious but not so strong to make this a "fruit tea". The tea gives a wonderful aroma that also includes vanilla, roasted nuts, and breakfast pastries. The cranberry and vanilla balance well with the tea base, and the result is a smooth, slightly creamy tea on the palate. The cranberry adds some delightful tartness to the finish. A perfect afternoon tea. Score: 94 points (A).
The tea room will likely be filled with little old ladies, but don't let that scare you away. The mode of tea serving is interesting: a pot filled with loose leaf tea and a miniature sieve (there must be some tea-specific name for this). You pour the tea through the sieve and into your cup, then use tongs to place the desired number of sugar cubes as sweetener. The pot has enough tea for two and a half cups, though the last half cup is likely to be overly bitter as the brew time reaches 30 minutes. Order a tea that takes excessive brew time well.
Dunbar offers many standard teas I'd expect to find in a tea shop, but they also offer their own eponymous blend. This is the best tea I have tasted from the shop; a medium-strength black tea with cranberry and almond. The cranberry is obvious but not so strong to make this a "fruit tea". The tea gives a wonderful aroma that also includes vanilla, roasted nuts, and breakfast pastries. The cranberry and vanilla balance well with the tea base, and the result is a smooth, slightly creamy tea on the palate. The cranberry adds some delightful tartness to the finish. A perfect afternoon tea. Score: 94 points (A).
Nilgiri, India's "other" self-drinking tea
In tea parlance, a "self-drinking" tea is a tea that is easily drinkable on it's own, capable of standing on its own merits without being blended with other teas or additions. India is well known for several such stand alone teas: Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri. Nilgiri gets less attention than the other two, often showing up only in blends; it's a key part of a quality Irish Breakfast blend, and the toasty aroma is immediately familiar because I've had so very much Irish Breakfast tea. Due to it's relative scarcity, Nilgiri can sometimes fetch a high price in the market, but it's lesser known status can work in the buyer's favor as well.
I must admit, I expected a strong malty flavor from Nilgiri. After all, Irish Breakfast is a dark, intense blend, and Nilgiri has such a toasty smell that I expected a similar flavor profile. Surprisingly, Nilgiri is a light, fruity tea, with very little astringency; it's role in Irish Breakfast is clearly to provide sweetness and balance to the stronger, maltier Assam. I found the Nilgiri to have a clean texture, and mild lemon and floral notes. In fact, the same fruit and flowery notes often sought after in Ceylon, but with none of the astringency. I've had poor luck with Ceylon. I find it to be rather finicky, turning overly astringent far too easily. Nilgiri seems to be a middle road of Indian/Sri Lankan teas, fruity and floral like Ceylon, sturdy like an Assam, yet smooth and clean like Darjeeling.
This was another Culinary Teas purchase, their Nilgiri Nonesuch, a BOP or "Broken Orange Pekoe" tea. I brewed it along the regular parameters, full rolling boil, three to four minutes steeping, a splash of milk and sugar, though Nilgiri might drink well enough without the additions. This tea was a great find, and I look forward to getting it again. I also have been eying this and a tin of Assam in my cupboard, pondering mixing the two in an attempt to make my own Irish Breakfast. I'll be sure to post my results here, though my expectations of my own mixing capabilities are not exactly high. Score: 90 (A-)
I must admit, I expected a strong malty flavor from Nilgiri. After all, Irish Breakfast is a dark, intense blend, and Nilgiri has such a toasty smell that I expected a similar flavor profile. Surprisingly, Nilgiri is a light, fruity tea, with very little astringency; it's role in Irish Breakfast is clearly to provide sweetness and balance to the stronger, maltier Assam. I found the Nilgiri to have a clean texture, and mild lemon and floral notes. In fact, the same fruit and flowery notes often sought after in Ceylon, but with none of the astringency. I've had poor luck with Ceylon. I find it to be rather finicky, turning overly astringent far too easily. Nilgiri seems to be a middle road of Indian/Sri Lankan teas, fruity and floral like Ceylon, sturdy like an Assam, yet smooth and clean like Darjeeling.
This was another Culinary Teas purchase, their Nilgiri Nonesuch, a BOP or "Broken Orange Pekoe" tea. I brewed it along the regular parameters, full rolling boil, three to four minutes steeping, a splash of milk and sugar, though Nilgiri might drink well enough without the additions. This tea was a great find, and I look forward to getting it again. I also have been eying this and a tin of Assam in my cupboard, pondering mixing the two in an attempt to make my own Irish Breakfast. I'll be sure to post my results here, though my expectations of my own mixing capabilities are not exactly high. Score: 90 (A-)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Lapsang Souchong
I first discovered Lapsang Souchong courtesy of Russian Caravan, one of my favorite teas. I picked up a sample of the Russian Caravan from Special Teas a few years ago, and was both taken aback and intrigued by the smoke...who had ever heard of smoky tea? Some minimal research identified the active ingredient, so to speak, as the unique Lapsang Souchong...a black tea from China that is dried over a pine fire, which is both really cool, and a relief, as I'd first assumed artificial smoke flavoring, an evil food additive. Smoke should be come by honestly!
For a long time, I much preferred Russian Caravan to the straight up smoke of Lapsang Souchong. Russian Caravan is Lapsang blended with Keemun and other Chinese black teas, which gives it a balanced, all around profile...sort of the way I preferred the smoky but balanced flavor of a Talisker or Springbank to an Islay single malt. But an odd thing happened this winter...I started to really enjoy smoke! I found myself really enjoying Islay Scotches, and going to the Russian Caravan more often. In my first real post here, I made a lot of comparisons between the smoke of Lapsang and that of Scotch whisky, and though there are similarities, it's not really the same kind of smoke... the tea is more reminiscent of burning pine logs in a fireplace or campfire, while an Islay smells and tastes more of a damp peat fire.
So, Friday found the wife and I at Mrs. Bridge's, our local teahouse, and I thought, I've been digging smoke, it's been a good while since I've tried straight Lapsang. The pot came out, smelling like a campfire, perfect for a chilly March afternoon. Like all things smoky, Lapsang Souchong is an October through March proposition; I don't crave anything smoky in the summer, but it fits so well in the Fall through early Spring. The tea was absolutely wonderful: huge smoke in the nose, with a good body and a surprisingly mellow flavor profile. I think in my mind, I always picture Lapsang as this big, heavy tea, but behind the phenols, it's actually fairly light; the body is sturdy, but without the full, thick feel of an Assam, and there is really no astringency at all. Lapsang stands on its own well enough, but I prefer it with the addition of milk and sugar. The milk thickens the body, while the sweetener provides a really nice balance to the smoke. I'm not sure what changed in my taste buds over this winter, but Lapsang Souchong has moved up from an occasional cup to a cupboard staple. Score: 95 (A)
For a long time, I much preferred Russian Caravan to the straight up smoke of Lapsang Souchong. Russian Caravan is Lapsang blended with Keemun and other Chinese black teas, which gives it a balanced, all around profile...sort of the way I preferred the smoky but balanced flavor of a Talisker or Springbank to an Islay single malt. But an odd thing happened this winter...I started to really enjoy smoke! I found myself really enjoying Islay Scotches, and going to the Russian Caravan more often. In my first real post here, I made a lot of comparisons between the smoke of Lapsang and that of Scotch whisky, and though there are similarities, it's not really the same kind of smoke... the tea is more reminiscent of burning pine logs in a fireplace or campfire, while an Islay smells and tastes more of a damp peat fire.
So, Friday found the wife and I at Mrs. Bridge's, our local teahouse, and I thought, I've been digging smoke, it's been a good while since I've tried straight Lapsang. The pot came out, smelling like a campfire, perfect for a chilly March afternoon. Like all things smoky, Lapsang Souchong is an October through March proposition; I don't crave anything smoky in the summer, but it fits so well in the Fall through early Spring. The tea was absolutely wonderful: huge smoke in the nose, with a good body and a surprisingly mellow flavor profile. I think in my mind, I always picture Lapsang as this big, heavy tea, but behind the phenols, it's actually fairly light; the body is sturdy, but without the full, thick feel of an Assam, and there is really no astringency at all. Lapsang stands on its own well enough, but I prefer it with the addition of milk and sugar. The milk thickens the body, while the sweetener provides a really nice balance to the smoke. I'm not sure what changed in my taste buds over this winter, but Lapsang Souchong has moved up from an occasional cup to a cupboard staple. Score: 95 (A)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Vanilla Almond Ceylon
The teabag is a modern invention, dating back to the turn of the 20th century. The first commercial use of the teabag was in 1904, by tea merchant Thomas Sullivan. The bag was hand sewn silk, and intended simply as a way of packaging small amounts of tea, but consumers began steeping the tea still in the package, and fell in love with the convenience. Thus, the questionable modern advancement of the teabag was born. At its inception, the teabag was simply a neat, handy way of steeping tea, but fairly quickly, tea companies realized the teabag made a great way to get rid of tea dust and fannings that were left over from sorting higher quality loose tea. So, the modern teabag was born and, generations of people grew to believe the chalky, astringent texture of low quality tea was true of all tea. Thousands of people learned to dislike tea, yet have never had a proper cup of the stuff.
I don't mean to come down too hard on teabags. Loose tea vs. bag tea is really a question of quality vs. convenience. Loose tea has a far cleaner texture and more developed flavors, but of course takes more time and effort to make. Teabags typically brew up with a dirtier texture and less flavor due to the lower grade tea, but are so quick and easy At home, I almost always go with loose tea, but at work I usually just settle for the quick option of teabags. A nice compromise between both worlds is the tea sachet, or "pyramid" bag. The larger volume inside the bag allows for true leaf tea, and gives the leaves a small amount of room to bloom, so to speak. It's still not full leaf tea blooming inside an entire teapot, but it does make for a better cup of tea than an old fashioned bag.
So, then, today's review is a vanilla almond Ceylon from Tea Nation. I've tried a vanilla flavored tea from Special Teas once before, and was underwhelmed. The vanilla was from real Madagascar beans, and smelled absolutely amazing, but dominated the tea completely. As much as I loved Special Teas for their great blended black teas, they didn't always do so well with flavored teas; it seemed they coulnd't find the right balance between tea and flavoring. Tea Nation seems a pretty good company, and they got that balance spot on with this tea. Hints of sweet vanilla and almond complement the tea, yet never overpower it. The tea is Ceylon, with which I've had mixed results, but I really like this blend. It's strong and flavorful without becoming overly astringent, and the sweetness from the vanilla and almond is perfect. I'll add a splash of milk and sugar to most black teas, but this one doesn't need either; the sugar only gets in the way of the more subtle almond and vanilla notes, and milk just dilutes the flavor and weakens the rather delicate body. For me, a tea that can stand solely on its own merits, not even needing milk or sweetener, is a quality cup of tea. Score: 85 (B)
I don't mean to come down too hard on teabags. Loose tea vs. bag tea is really a question of quality vs. convenience. Loose tea has a far cleaner texture and more developed flavors, but of course takes more time and effort to make. Teabags typically brew up with a dirtier texture and less flavor due to the lower grade tea, but are so quick and easy At home, I almost always go with loose tea, but at work I usually just settle for the quick option of teabags. A nice compromise between both worlds is the tea sachet, or "pyramid" bag. The larger volume inside the bag allows for true leaf tea, and gives the leaves a small amount of room to bloom, so to speak. It's still not full leaf tea blooming inside an entire teapot, but it does make for a better cup of tea than an old fashioned bag.
So, then, today's review is a vanilla almond Ceylon from Tea Nation. I've tried a vanilla flavored tea from Special Teas once before, and was underwhelmed. The vanilla was from real Madagascar beans, and smelled absolutely amazing, but dominated the tea completely. As much as I loved Special Teas for their great blended black teas, they didn't always do so well with flavored teas; it seemed they coulnd't find the right balance between tea and flavoring. Tea Nation seems a pretty good company, and they got that balance spot on with this tea. Hints of sweet vanilla and almond complement the tea, yet never overpower it. The tea is Ceylon, with which I've had mixed results, but I really like this blend. It's strong and flavorful without becoming overly astringent, and the sweetness from the vanilla and almond is perfect. I'll add a splash of milk and sugar to most black teas, but this one doesn't need either; the sugar only gets in the way of the more subtle almond and vanilla notes, and milk just dilutes the flavor and weakens the rather delicate body. For me, a tea that can stand solely on its own merits, not even needing milk or sweetener, is a quality cup of tea. Score: 85 (B)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Soom Gunpowder Darjeeling
I've only tried Darjeeling tea once before, and was severely underwhelmed. It has a reputation as the "Champagne of teas," but my prior experience with Darjeeling was a bit less than exciting. Gunpowder Darjeeling from the Soom tea estate is a completely different, and has really opened up a whole new world of teas for me to try. This was the first tea of five that I tried from the Culinary Teas "Darjeeling Sampler," leaving me with four more Darjeeling estates to sample and write about.
Darjeeling tea comes from a very specific region of India, and is a highly sought after tea. The relative scarcity as well as the high quality makes Darjeeling rather expensive, and apparently often counterfeited (look for the official Darjeeling Tea association logo). Darjeeling tea is usually lightly colored and flavored with floral, fruit, and spice notes. First flush is the first harvest of the season, and has lighter flavors and less astringency, then the second flush, which is typified by stronger muscatel flavors. There are also Monsoon and Autumnal flushes, which have less strong flavors and are not as often exported, but often show up in blends and bags. Darjeeling is sold as a black tea, but can technically be considered as an Oolong, since the leaves are only about 90% oxidized. More confusingly, actual Oolong, green, and white Darjeeling are now becoming available as well.
The Gunpowder Soom Darjeeling is "BPS" grade, or Broken Pekoe Souchong. Tea grading is confusing at best, and I must admit, I had to look this up, but it's simply an Indian tea grade classification for Broken Orange Pekoe, basically meaning "broken tea leaves." Gunpowder, as with green tea, means that in the processing, the leaves are tightly rolled into balls (sometimes referred to as "pearls") that unfurl when brewed. Soom, it turns out, is a well known tea estate in Darjeeling. Their tea grows on mountain sides, about 5200 feel above sea level, sometimes on slopes approaching 45 degrees, and is actually moved from field to factory by mountain pony! Some of Soom's tea bushes are estimated to be over 130 years old, yet still producing tea. The quality is further highlighted by a modernized factory with brand new equipment, the happy result of an unfortunate fire in 1995.
Darjeeling can be more finicky to brew than bolder, sturdier teas. The leaves are more fragile, and sometimes require a shorter steeping time, though this one in particular brews for about three or four minutes at a full, rolling boil. Like greens and whites, milk and sweetener would destroy the fragile body and taste of this type of tea; thus, it's best drank by itself, letting the delicate tea speak on its own.
And it does speak! My first sip of Soom Gunpowder Darjeeling is an unexpected pleasure. The flavors are mellow, and not as bold as say an Assam, but I find several different delicate and balanced notes that go together very well. The initial note is a mild natural smokiness. This is not a smoke dried tea like Lapsang Souchong, but instead, has a naturally dry and smoky characteristic that I find very appealing. The smoke is balanced with a slight toasted or nutty flavor that I have found in Oolongs, and further back on the tongue, restrained fruit and peppery spices. All of these flavor notes mingle and complement each other very well. You can almost feel different aspects of the taste hitting different flavor receptors on the tongue.
Darjeeling tends to have a lighter body, and can have a fair bit of astringency. These show up in Soom Gunpowder Darjeeling as a light texture and a very refreshing and crisp mouthfeel. The finish is short, but leaves my mouth feeling clean and reminiscent of the Gunpowder green I had a few months back.
My overall impression of Soom Gunpowder Darjeeling is excellent. Based on a bad impression a few years back, I've been ignoring Darjeeling, but now I have a whole new world to high quality tea to explore. Score: 95 (A)
Darjeeling tea comes from a very specific region of India, and is a highly sought after tea. The relative scarcity as well as the high quality makes Darjeeling rather expensive, and apparently often counterfeited (look for the official Darjeeling Tea association logo). Darjeeling tea is usually lightly colored and flavored with floral, fruit, and spice notes. First flush is the first harvest of the season, and has lighter flavors and less astringency, then the second flush, which is typified by stronger muscatel flavors. There are also Monsoon and Autumnal flushes, which have less strong flavors and are not as often exported, but often show up in blends and bags. Darjeeling is sold as a black tea, but can technically be considered as an Oolong, since the leaves are only about 90% oxidized. More confusingly, actual Oolong, green, and white Darjeeling are now becoming available as well.
The Gunpowder Soom Darjeeling is "BPS" grade, or Broken Pekoe Souchong. Tea grading is confusing at best, and I must admit, I had to look this up, but it's simply an Indian tea grade classification for Broken Orange Pekoe, basically meaning "broken tea leaves." Gunpowder, as with green tea, means that in the processing, the leaves are tightly rolled into balls (sometimes referred to as "pearls") that unfurl when brewed. Soom, it turns out, is a well known tea estate in Darjeeling. Their tea grows on mountain sides, about 5200 feel above sea level, sometimes on slopes approaching 45 degrees, and is actually moved from field to factory by mountain pony! Some of Soom's tea bushes are estimated to be over 130 years old, yet still producing tea. The quality is further highlighted by a modernized factory with brand new equipment, the happy result of an unfortunate fire in 1995.
Darjeeling can be more finicky to brew than bolder, sturdier teas. The leaves are more fragile, and sometimes require a shorter steeping time, though this one in particular brews for about three or four minutes at a full, rolling boil. Like greens and whites, milk and sweetener would destroy the fragile body and taste of this type of tea; thus, it's best drank by itself, letting the delicate tea speak on its own.
And it does speak! My first sip of Soom Gunpowder Darjeeling is an unexpected pleasure. The flavors are mellow, and not as bold as say an Assam, but I find several different delicate and balanced notes that go together very well. The initial note is a mild natural smokiness. This is not a smoke dried tea like Lapsang Souchong, but instead, has a naturally dry and smoky characteristic that I find very appealing. The smoke is balanced with a slight toasted or nutty flavor that I have found in Oolongs, and further back on the tongue, restrained fruit and peppery spices. All of these flavor notes mingle and complement each other very well. You can almost feel different aspects of the taste hitting different flavor receptors on the tongue.
Darjeeling tends to have a lighter body, and can have a fair bit of astringency. These show up in Soom Gunpowder Darjeeling as a light texture and a very refreshing and crisp mouthfeel. The finish is short, but leaves my mouth feeling clean and reminiscent of the Gunpowder green I had a few months back.
My overall impression of Soom Gunpowder Darjeeling is excellent. Based on a bad impression a few years back, I've been ignoring Darjeeling, but now I have a whole new world to high quality tea to explore. Score: 95 (A)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A Belated St. Patrick's Day Review -or- Irish Breakfast Tea/Cream Irish Breakfast Tea
The Irish drink more tea per capita than anyone else on Earth--an average of four cups per person per day. Irish Breakfast tea is often the preferred blend, to the point that a request for "tea" will bring Irish Breakfast. Barry's and Lyon's are the top competitors in Ireland, while Twinings is the most common Irish Breakfast blend in the states, but aside from bag tea, there are many different fine Irish Breakfast blends available here in America. I traveled to London and Ireland in 2008 with every intent of drinking many a cup of fine tea. Unfortunately, between jet lag, lack of sleep from unfamiliar conditions, and the general need to get up and go, I spent the entire trip subsisting on bad instant coffee and never actually had a cup of tea. It's a matter of some regret; though I probably would have ended up being served bag tea anyway.
So then, today's review is based on a quality blend of Irish Breakfast tea from a small company somewhere in Pennsylvania (a bag given to me by a good friend), but I've had fine cups of the blend from many different companies. I've mentioned Irish Breakfast here before, often as a point of comparison to other breakfast teas. The blend is based on Assam, like most other breakfast teas, mixed with Nilgiri (some blends feature Ceylon, which is fine as an addition, but not a replacement for the Nilgiri). The Assam brings a malty base, while the Nilgiri brings a distinctive toasty aroma and light, fruity flavors to balance the astringent Assam. This tea brews up an intense dark brown, almost the color of coffee, and has a full, strong flavor. Irish Breakfast is intense enough that I don't think I'd even try to drink it without milk and sugar. I find I also need to be careful with steeping time and the amount of tea I use. The astringent character can almost dry out the tongue, and it's increased by too much tea or too long of a brew. Again, this is more of a problem in cheaper blends that feature Ceylon in lieu of the more refined Nilgiri. Sugar helps balance the bitter taste and texture some, but nothing can save a cup that's been steeped too long. Indeed, the chalky mouthfeel has led me to prefer Scottish Breakfast, but I sometimes get nostalgic for a cup of the Irish Breakfast. After all, it's the tea that really introduced me to the bigger world of teas outside of generic Red Rose and Lipton bags, many years ago.
Culinary Teas offers an Irish Breakfast blend that I should try sometime, but they also offer a Cream Irish Breakfast tea that is simply amazing. (This is not to be confused with their Irish Cream tea, which is a less strong tea base flavored with Irish Cream, and is also good, but not as good.) Cream Irish Breakfast is Irish Breakfast tea flavored with actual cream. The addition of cream flavoring adds balance and sweetness to the malty and astringent tea. The resulting brew is nothing short of fantastic; creamy with a velvety, smooth texture, sweet and strong and astringent all at the same time. Cream Irish Breakfast may not be strictly traditional with the addition of cream flavoring, but it's one of the best cups of tea I've had in a long time.
Scores: Irish Breakfast 80 (B-) and Cream Irish Breakfast 95 (A)
So then, today's review is based on a quality blend of Irish Breakfast tea from a small company somewhere in Pennsylvania (a bag given to me by a good friend), but I've had fine cups of the blend from many different companies. I've mentioned Irish Breakfast here before, often as a point of comparison to other breakfast teas. The blend is based on Assam, like most other breakfast teas, mixed with Nilgiri (some blends feature Ceylon, which is fine as an addition, but not a replacement for the Nilgiri). The Assam brings a malty base, while the Nilgiri brings a distinctive toasty aroma and light, fruity flavors to balance the astringent Assam. This tea brews up an intense dark brown, almost the color of coffee, and has a full, strong flavor. Irish Breakfast is intense enough that I don't think I'd even try to drink it without milk and sugar. I find I also need to be careful with steeping time and the amount of tea I use. The astringent character can almost dry out the tongue, and it's increased by too much tea or too long of a brew. Again, this is more of a problem in cheaper blends that feature Ceylon in lieu of the more refined Nilgiri. Sugar helps balance the bitter taste and texture some, but nothing can save a cup that's been steeped too long. Indeed, the chalky mouthfeel has led me to prefer Scottish Breakfast, but I sometimes get nostalgic for a cup of the Irish Breakfast. After all, it's the tea that really introduced me to the bigger world of teas outside of generic Red Rose and Lipton bags, many years ago.
Culinary Teas offers an Irish Breakfast blend that I should try sometime, but they also offer a Cream Irish Breakfast tea that is simply amazing. (This is not to be confused with their Irish Cream tea, which is a less strong tea base flavored with Irish Cream, and is also good, but not as good.) Cream Irish Breakfast is Irish Breakfast tea flavored with actual cream. The addition of cream flavoring adds balance and sweetness to the malty and astringent tea. The resulting brew is nothing short of fantastic; creamy with a velvety, smooth texture, sweet and strong and astringent all at the same time. Cream Irish Breakfast may not be strictly traditional with the addition of cream flavoring, but it's one of the best cups of tea I've had in a long time.
Scores: Irish Breakfast 80 (B-) and Cream Irish Breakfast 95 (A)
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