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Hello Steepster, it’s been a while! I was recently contacted by The Teaguy and asked if I’d like to review some of their teas. Who would say no to that? Anyways hello, and sorry it’s been so long since I last posted.

The samples arrived today, St. Patrick’s Day, and with an Irish Breakfast among the samples. So of course that’s the first tea I’ll try.

It appears to be a blend of CTC and other broken leaf; not unusual for an Irish Breakfast. The dry aroma is sweet with notes of honey and barley.

I followed their brewing instructions: 2tsp for 3-4 minutes at 90C. 90C is lower than I normally brew blacks, but that makes sense to balance out the strength and bitterness of the CTC and broken leaf leaves.

The result is quite good! Mildly sweet with honey, malt, and barley notes and a slightly floral background. It’s bold and slightly bitter, but not overly so in comparison to how Irish Breakfasts can be, and none of the metallic quality they sometimes have. It reminds me of Grape Nuts cereal in beverage form. Very drinkable with or without milk, this would make a great first cup in the morning.

*Editing to say that this tea definitely has a lot of caffeine! I felt a coffee-like punch after drinking it, so I wouldn’t recommend drinking it late in the day.