English Breakfast

I drink this tea every morning. If I don’t, I’m lost! I probably have two cups a day.

I have to have this for breakfast, even if I’m running late or not in the mood for anything else.

Sipdown! (31 | 111)

Sipped through most of this tin with milk, but having this last cuppa plain. This new (to me) Chobani oat creamer I got tastes just like Lucky Charms marshmallows LOL, which is not what I expected from a creamer called “Sweet & Creamy” but it’s very nostalgic and goes well in a plain breakfast blend like this tea.

Anyway! Plain, it’s okay. Definitely tasting some Sri Lankan black tea in there. Actually, it looks like from the ingredients that this is just Sri Lankan black tea and not a blend of teas. It’s perfectly fine, it has that metallic note to it but also some biscuity flavor. Fairly smooth even though the leaf is quite fine, but I did only steep it for two minutes.

Seems decent, but I’m not a breakfast blend person so what would I know ha ha. The only tin I have left from my T2 sampler is French Earl Grey, which is the only T2 tea that I really like and repurchase, so that one will be hanging around for a while yet.

Weak, very weak compared to T2’s. Barely any flavor, barely infused into water.

It’s ok but for the price I was expecting more. But I suppose you can’t get any better for English Breakfast teas. I just wouldn’t buy this again as it’s not far from standard English Breakfast. Trust me you won’t really be able to tell the difference between this and supermarket ones.

It’s ok for the price I guess, I’m not sure why it tastes stronger (better) than their Irish breakfast tea, I kinda like it. Typical breakfast tea flavour.

After a couple of more exotic holiday blends earlier today, I was down for a nice, brisk, proper black tea with requisite caffeine by late afternoon, and this seemed the likeliest suspect in my current arsenal (still seeking my personal ideal Keep Calm and Carry On no-nonsense iconic British tea!). It did the trick nicely, and despite the fact I apparently overdid it on the tea to water ratio (I mean, we’re talking it came out Vantablack), it handled the insult with aplomb, and wasn’t bitter at all. Good choice!

This is a nice, solid traditional black tea to me. It is a touch lighter than some breakfast teas I’ve had, making it just as nice in the afternoon. It is definitely tannic but not bitter. There is a certain brightness to its fragrance, and it is extremely smooth. I know this probably won’t help anyone else, but to me, this is what a good basic tea should taste and smell like. This is my first tea from T2, and I’m looking forward to trying my other ones! I should note that this was a tea bag, in a 6 oz mug. I tend to like my tea stronger than average, but this was plenty strong for me. (I probably average 1 tsp/4 oz with most teas.)

So this was my pot of tea to accompany my dark chocolate covered digestive biscuits, because I wanted to feel properly British while watching the Doctor Who Season 11 Premiere with my friend today! Another T2 sampler down, and I’m getting pretty close to having cleared out most of the English/Irish Breakfast samplers in my stash, too.

This one is only a blend of Ceylons, so even among English Breakfasts, I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite (I prefer the ones that add a little Yunnan or Keemun), but still better that ones I’ve tried that were extremely Assam-heavy. The leaf was CTC so I steeped it briskly since I personally don’t prefer my blacks too biting, and it turned out quite nice; it was quite malty with a rich baked bread flavor, and actually had a lot of sweet molasses mid-sip, that led to a sharper, slightly woody flavor toward the finish. The astringency following the sip was quite mild and it made for a nice late afternoon pot, especially paired with the sweet dark chocolate biscuits.

That was a most enjoyable Doctor Who premiere. Full of tea and biscuits and got to geek out with my mate… life is good.

Can’t start the day without a beautiful cup of this Tea. The tea bag turns my morning tea into a very stylish and delicious experience. I think I’m going to officially give up coffee!