This smells smoky – I can definitely pick up the Keemun. Surprisingly, it smells rougher than their Irish Breakfast, which seems a bit counterintuitive to me. And actually, it does seem to be a heavier cup. The Keemun is very obvious but then I taste bright sparkles of Darjeeling – not enough to make it bitter or tart, just enough to give it a citrus-like top note of additional depth of taste. There is a stoutness to it that I don’t normally find with Keemun so I’m gonna say that’s the Assam, though I don’t taste cardboard/malty so much as feel it. I can’t really say I pick up the Ceylon, but honestly, that’s the hardest tea taste for me to pin down.
All in all, a good breakfast blend but nothing overly special. I think it would hold up really well to milk and sugar (the Assam mellows out the Keemun, making it thick enough to deal, I think but also decreasing the smoky – I’m not a fan of milk in my Keemuns). Because of that it is perhaps a better take-to-work-in-my-travel-tumbler tea than the Irish Breakfast from yesterday but in general a less exciting cup.
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When you say “smokey” do you mean russian smokey or lapsong soushong smokey or just the hint of smokey that a good keemun has? I thought I had gotten a sampler of this once recently but I don’t remember it if I did. I don’t find any tasting notes on it either. This sounds intriguing to me. I agree, Ceylon is the most non-descript tea I know. That’s why I say I have yet to find a Ceylon tea that stands out enough to say I really like it and would buy it routinely. Thanks for the review.
I noticied this with Adagio’s English vs. Irish breakfast too! The English was really smoky and the Irish robust but not smoky – I liked the Irish much more. I’m going to be ordering the Golden Moon sampler very soon and I can’t wait to try their versions myself :)
@Teaman – Russian/Keemun smoky for sure. Not even a hint of lapsang smoky. (Which, when put that way, makes me sad). And I’ve had one standout Ceylon (it had strong raspberry notes) so I always think Ceylon should be fruity… but none of them ever are.
@JacquelineM – Honestly, I haven’t had that many English Breakfasts. Any idea what the ‘standard’ English taste is vs. ‘standard’ Irish?
I didn’t know, but here is what wikipedia says:
English Breakfast tea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English Breakfast tea is a black tea blend usually described as full-bodied, robust, and/or rich, and blended to go well with milk and sugar, in a style traditionally associated with a hearty full English breakfast. It is the most common style of tea in the United Kingdom.
The black teas included in the blend vary, with Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan teas predominating, and Keemun sometimes included in more expensive blends. There are many common brands of English Breakfast tea.
Accounts of its origins vary. Drinking a blend of black teas for breakfast is indeed a long-standing British custom. The practice of referring to such a blend as “English breakfast tea” appears to have originated not in England but America, as far back as Colonial times.
I read somewhere that Irish BT is mostly Assam, and is supposed to be more smoky and robust than English BT. I don’t think I’ve ever had Irish BT, but English BT (especially Twinings) usually tastes caramelly-milky to me, and not smoky.
@JacquelineM – Hahaha – okay, the Wikipedia info made me laugh. If I’m reading it right, basically an English Breakfast blend is made of… wait for it… Tea. Though I suppose since this has Keemun, perhaps this one is a higher class EB?
@Shanti – I’ve heard the same about the Assam and more robust but haven’t heard anything about the smoky status of other teas. I tend to like the chew-ability of the IBs so far. Hehe.
Auggy – sounds like it ;) And I remember when I first had the smoky Adagio EB I said to myself that I liked Twinings better! I am a low class gal! What can I say!
Twinings EB is the best! It’s less bitter than the premium brands I’ve tried.
When you say “smokey” do you mean russian smokey or lapsong soushong smokey or just the hint of smokey that a good keemun has? I thought I had gotten a sampler of this once recently but I don’t remember it if I did. I don’t find any tasting notes on it either. This sounds intriguing to me. I agree, Ceylon is the most non-descript tea I know. That’s why I say I have yet to find a Ceylon tea that stands out enough to say I really like it and would buy it routinely. Thanks for the review.
I noticied this with Adagio’s English vs. Irish breakfast too! The English was really smoky and the Irish robust but not smoky – I liked the Irish much more. I’m going to be ordering the Golden Moon sampler very soon and I can’t wait to try their versions myself :)
@Teaman – Russian/Keemun smoky for sure. Not even a hint of lapsang smoky. (Which, when put that way, makes me sad). And I’ve had one standout Ceylon (it had strong raspberry notes) so I always think Ceylon should be fruity… but none of them ever are.
@JacquelineM – Honestly, I haven’t had that many English Breakfasts. Any idea what the ‘standard’ English taste is vs. ‘standard’ Irish?
I didn’t know, but here is what wikipedia says:
English Breakfast tea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English Breakfast tea is a black tea blend usually described as full-bodied, robust, and/or rich, and blended to go well with milk and sugar, in a style traditionally associated with a hearty full English breakfast. It is the most common style of tea in the United Kingdom.
The black teas included in the blend vary, with Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan teas predominating, and Keemun sometimes included in more expensive blends. There are many common brands of English Breakfast tea.
Accounts of its origins vary. Drinking a blend of black teas for breakfast is indeed a long-standing British custom. The practice of referring to such a blend as “English breakfast tea” appears to have originated not in England but America, as far back as Colonial times.
I read somewhere that Irish BT is mostly Assam, and is supposed to be more smoky and robust than English BT. I don’t think I’ve ever had Irish BT, but English BT (especially Twinings) usually tastes caramelly-milky to me, and not smoky.
@JacquelineM – Hahaha – okay, the Wikipedia info made me laugh. If I’m reading it right, basically an English Breakfast blend is made of… wait for it… Tea. Though I suppose since this has Keemun, perhaps this one is a higher class EB?
@Shanti – I’ve heard the same about the Assam and more robust but haven’t heard anything about the smoky status of other teas. I tend to like the chew-ability of the IBs so far. Hehe.
Auggy – sounds like it ;) And I remember when I first had the smoky Adagio EB I said to myself that I liked Twinings better! I am a low class gal! What can I say!
Twinings EB is the best! It’s less bitter than the premium brands I’ve tried.