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“I felt that it was only fitting to start St. Patrick’s Day with a big, super strong (steeped for 15 minutes….yea, I’m a bit crazy) mug of Irish Breakfast….not that I really needed an excuse to have...” Read full tasting note
“Happy 4th of July, U.S. Steepsters!!! Tea of the morning here (in teabag form). Not at home again and the BF picked it out. Still, it’s pretty good even for a teabag. Some nice malty notes provided...” Read full tasting note
“Last bag of my box! I’m excited to be finishing up teas. I’m not sure if I would buy this again because I found a tea that I like drinking in the morning better. But it is good. I just think I’m...” Read full tasting note
“Hospital tea. I generally like this, pleasant and strong with no bitter bite; but there’s just something about Styrofoam that messes with the leaf, no matter what.” Read full tasting note
A strong, full-bodied black tea from the regions of Ceylon and Assam expertly blended with a hearty flavor and delightful aroma.
The Irish really love their tea and are amongst the most frequent drinkers of tea around the world. In celebration of this tea drinking tradition, Twinings blended a special Irish Breakfast Blend. This tea is best taken with milk and sweetened to taste to bring out the best flavor.
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Say what you will about crappy bagged teas, I can’t hear you! This is something I was raised on, and it is a tremendous comfort to me, just as all the Twining’s teas are. Sometimes I’m a tea snob, but in this case I just can’t be. Guess it’s like tea junk food? And believe me, that comforting quality comes in handy during midterms. Steep it strong with just-boiled water, and then add some milk, and sugar / stevia.
This is my 2nd round caffeine lift of the morning before lunch time sets in. I unfortunately got distracted and left the bag in for 10 minutes! A total black tea faux pas, unless that’s what you’re going for. I’m recommending a 5 minute steeping time because that’s my gold standard for robust black teas. It surprisingly didn’t turn the tea bitter, or perhaps what bitter there was smoothed out with the milk and sugar I added. Twinings Irish Breakfast is indeed nice and malty (more like pulling a nice malt blanket over your shoulders for comfort and care). A deceptive note in that I was expecting a bigger robust flavor to go with the divine caffeine kick. But you know what? The buttery smooth maltiness will suffice as I am officially in full blissful caffeine swoon! Oh Assam, our relationship continues to grow and deepen. My malty faith in you has grown. :)
Oh, this sounds really good! Great descriptions!
So, if you had to pick the PG Tips or this one, which would it be? Your description of the tea being “malty” is making me lean towards the Twinings-yummy sounding!
Thanks! Malty is definitely comforting for me. However in the past I was a total Ceylon gal. I think my tastes are slowly expanding. Ceylon is a perfect delicate black tea for flavoring. It can stand up on it’s own, but I don’t think it is as robust as Assam or maybe Kenyan (I haven’t tried Kenyan on it’s own yet). If you’re going for straight malt, then Assam or Irish Breakfast is great. If not, I would head back to a tri-blend like PG Tips. They both are great morning teas. I keep reading that Irish Breakfast gives a bigger morning kick than English Breakfast. I’m still trying it out for myself.
I would second the motion towards Twining’s Irish Brekkie, rabby! At least if you’re looking for a strong tea to get you moving in the mornings (hehe), and it is definitely stronger than their English Breakfast.
Malty and strong, without being overly astringent. This is my go-to when I want black tea iced. Drinking right now – three tsp/8oz, iced with a bit of whole milk. Super creamy, very rich. Definitely not a high quality tea, not something I’ll drink straight, but it’s good like this!
3 tsp for 8 oz!!….Oh, it’s iced. Seemed like alot for hot tea but not iced…….still strong though. Milk in iced tea, I’ll have to try that!
My dad had stomach problems, I think ulcers, when I was very young. My mother made a gallon of iced tea a day in summer. Dad loved it, and when he had a flare up the only way he could drink it was with milk. He called it “tilk” and I suppose the milk neutralized some of the more irritating poly phenols or something.
Milk is definitely soothing – I remember my mum saying something like it coats the stomach. And @ScottTeaMan – it seems like a lot… But with the milk, especially since I was using whole, it just gets soooo creamy!
Oh man, Scott, you’re missing out! You’ve never had a Chai Latte?
Depeche Mode’s song “I Just Can’t Get Enough” sufficiently sums up how I feel about this tea. I just can’t get enough and always say I’m just going to have “one more cup”.
Seriously dying to compare this to Barry’s, though, since I hear that is the tea of choice in Ireland. Just can’t decide which one I should get- the Barry’s “Gold” or the “Original” that comes in the green box. Then I’ll let Twining’s and Barry’s duke it out for my morning start :)
Ooh, I hadn’t heard of Barry’s before! I’m a big fan of trying the teas that are popular in big tea drinking areas. I’ll have to look into this one!
Great — now I have Depeche Mode stuck in my head. Anyway, Barry’s Gold is FAB. Store it in a cool, dry place and it’ll last for years. That being said, I haven’t had Twining’s Irish Breakfast in ages.
haha, glad to help Rena ;) Thanks for suggesting the Barry’s Gold. Went by World Market this week and didn’t see it like I was hoping too. Next time I see it I’ll be sure to pick it up!
I got four bags of the Irish Breakfast that I don’t want. You want ’em?
So this morning marks a milestone for me- my first cup of loose leaf! I chose this lovely Irish Breakfast, since I love it in the bagged version, and I was not disappointed! It is definitely a more complex flavor, with a less harsh edge to it. There were nuances that I didn’t get with the bagged version, too, and I can tell you this is my go-to tea. For now, anyway.
I had a craving for Irish Breakfast tea today so I brewed it the way I usually do. Two bags, 5 minutes, no milk, raw sugar. It comes out looking like espresso. Very malty with a fruity raisin note. There is a bit of astringency. Perhaps more than most would like but I love it like that. I will always compare every Irish Breakfast tea I have to the lovely Irish Breakfast tea from Butiki but, in the absence of that, Twinings will do just fine. And I can brew this one just as crazypants as I want without feeling guilty.
Now normally I am a fan of Twinings for its simplicity, budget friendly nature and tea flavors… But I am a bit disappointed in the Irish breakfast line. I may have gone from several robust sensory excitements of prior teas to this and I could lend some fault to that but I think it left more to be desired overall. The mouth feel was a bit heavy, and the heaviness carried on into the taste, just felt like a gloomy cloudy morning in a cup. It wasn’t what I need in the morning to start my day. I figured maybe it was just one of “those mornings” so I gave it another try later on… Same thing, after I went to dump out the leaves, even that was disappointing, there really wasn’t. Much to them, as one of my friends refers to bag leaves, it was just “tea dust”. I’m Irish through and through, but I guess some mornings when it’s cold dank and wet a cup of tea is just something to get you going, but I think I need a bit more.
This time of year, a cup of gloom is exactly what we don’t need. Sorry it didn’t work for you!
Try 2 bags/8oz with a shorter infusion at a higher temp. I do just boiled for 1.5 to 2 minutes. Fannings tea can still be okay when the fannings are from a good base leaf, which twinings generally is. It just infuses hard and fast.
Or was this their loose tea?
This was the loose tea. I looked over it again last night and realized the strength chart that Twinings adds to the side of their tins, and this obviously is meant to be a stronger cup, but I think the flavor just wasn’t there. I took the time to steep at different temps for different periods of time, still it’s just a flavor profile not the steeping time. But thanks for the inquiry.
Gotcha.
You could give Harney and Sons Breakfast teas a shot. They have several variations. And a quite extensive section of black teas in general. I have not tried any of the breakfast blends, but adore Earl Grey Supreme, Tower of London, liked Pomegranate Oolong. They have fair priced samples for the majority of their stock, too.
Thanks for the idea, I may have to give them a try for sure.
Good for you! Like what you damn well like, I say. My mom drinks Good Earth’s Original tea and has for as long as I can remember. Even after converting to loose leaf I still drink a cup of it every now and then.
I second that. About 1/3 of my tea cabinet is bagged teas. Sometimes I just want something simple® and easy.
Twinnings might not make anything terribly special or exotic, but they still know how to make a good, solid tea. I love their Lady Grey in particular, so what if it’s bagged?
I’m coming around to bagged teas a bit more. I had a very strong stance against them over the last couple of years after tasting the difference with loos leaf. However it is the high quality tea bags that have been convincing me that all bagged teas should not be grouped together as dust and fannings. I just purchased the Twinings Irish Breakfast bagged tea last night, and will be trying it out today. Like the lovely commenters are also saying, sometimes it’s just easier with bagged tea. Thanks for being bold and standing your ground!!! :)