Normally I have a description of the tea as written by the seller. This tea was gifted to me by a very generous friend. It comes from A Southern Season, which is a gourmet emporium and mail-order store based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The problem is this tea is not on the website. Then why bother with the review? It is a record for me to refer in the future. Possibly you, like me, just may be interested in reading about Irish Breakfast tea. While unlikely, it is possible you may live in the area, and there is always the chance this may be added to their site later.
I know I have had Twinings Irish Breakfast sometime in the past. It looks like I never recorded the event. I may have to rectify that in the future. Anyway that is the only Irish Breakfast I recall having before now. I had to look up what makes this tea different than English Breakfast. According to my research, English Breakfast is usually a blend of Assam and Keemun or Ceylon tea (or other balck teas depending on the company). Irish Breakfast is traditionally a blend of Assams (again other teas might be used - read the label).
This one is small leaf pieces and looks similar to Twinings black teas. I used about 2.5 grams of leaf in my press with 12oz of boiling water. I was afraid this might hurt my stomach as I am sometimes sensitive to black teas, so I held the first steep to about 3 minutes.
I expected this to taste very harsh, I mean it's a breakfast tea after all. I was wrong. This is very smooth. No bite and no bitterness. It is slightly malty. Mostly what really caught my attention is the fruity taste. I really found myself enjoying this cup. If you are already a grocery store black tea drinker, then this will at least taste familiar to you, though it is way smoother and more flavorful.
For cup two I found my self not afraid to steep four minutes. The first cup had no ill affect on me. The second, is just as smooth as the first. The fruitiness is enhanced. I look forward to trying more Irish Breakfast teas. This was very good.
