Petit Tea, American Breakfast

Petit Tea Description:
A perfect blend of the finest black whole leaf teas from Darjeeling and Assam. This full bodied blend has the vitality to awaken and stimulate the metabolism. The name probably came from this tea’s ability to help digest a full American breakfast.

Ingredients:
Black Tea

Sample provided by Petit Tea

My Review:
It is a snowy gray day outside. I have been awake since 4:00 am, having not fallen asleep until after midnight. Yep, one of those days. When trying to decide what tea to have this day, this one seemed like the obvious choice.

I have reviewed a couple teas so far from Petit Tea. I am finding them to be a very good choice. I especially love the infuser. It is quick, convenient, and easy like a tea bag but with a loose leaf taste. I am not opposed to bags. I use some myself, but there is no denying they, more often than not, mute the flavor of the leaf or worse, they add a paper taste. These single serve infusers are aluminum with rows of holes to allow water to circulate around the enclosed leaf.

This American Breakfast is a blend of Darjeeling and Assam tea. Let's get started and see what we think.

I heated fresh filtered water to boiling and poured over the infuser in my mug. I noticed the infuser contains 2.5 g of leaf. That is the amount I would normally scoop out for a mug if I were using loose leaf. The dry infuser has a really nice clean leaf scent.

I steeped for 4 minutes. I meant to go 3 but, well, you know how those things go or more correctly don't. The result is a reddish brown liquor. It is shiny, bright, and clean.

I appreciate the use of Darjeeling in this tea. It gives the mug aroma a fruity woodsy scent. When tasting, I first notice the fruity (grapey) muscat flavor combined with the woodsy or nutty flavor of the Darjeeling. Although I am not a big fan of straight Assam, I like it in this blend. It adds a briskness that Petit calls cleanly astringent. I often hesitate to use the word astringent as people usually freak out thinking I mean bitterness. That is not the situation here. Without some astringency tea tastes flat and boring, while too much may make you pucker. Here Petit has achieved that balance that adds character and interest to the cup without distraction.

I added a little sweetener halfway through the cup and while it did not bring out any new notes, it took sweetening in stride. If you normally use additives, this one can handle it. I did not add milk as it is not my custom to do so except occasionally with chai. I feel confident this tea could handle it fine.

Once again, I find myself pleased with Petit Tea. If you are looking for a solid compromise between the convenience of a bag and the full unobstructed flavor of loose leaf grab a box of these infusers and see what you think.  

You can find Petit Tea's American Breakfast on Amazon and from the Petit Tea website