Cuppa’T had a flash sale recently for the beginning of September, so I stopped in to see if there was anything I wanted – I ended up restocking my favourite herbal that they carried this summer and picking up 50g of this for myself, and then because I’d bought 100g in total I got another free 50g of tea as part of the sale which I also used in this tea so that I could give 50g to the boyfriend.
I actually like Irish Breakfast a fair bit, and generally prefer it to English Breakfast or all the other ‘breakfast tea’ derivatives. However, my boyfriend really likes Irish Breakfast. Prior to meeting me and having his tea world explode with possibilities, Irish Breakfast was actually the only tea he owned and drank regularly and even with my introducing him to a whole bunch of other options it’s stayed a favourite. He goes through it like no bodies business, so I thought it might be nice for him to have something similar but just a little different on hand to play with/alternate in between different cups so that he doesn’t go through his Irish Breakfast quite as quickly.
My first impression of this one is that it’s nice but not mind blowing. Certainly, like Irish Breakfast, it’s a VERY full bodied, bold and brisk flavour. I thought the creamy element of this one might soften it a little, but not the case. I’m undecided on whether or not that’s good or bad. It is creamy, not as in your face as anticipated? The dry leaf smells creamier to me than the steeped tea actually tastes. The biggest thing that personally I was “meh” about was the fact it was really astringent? Like, almost uncomfortably so.
I can’t help but wonder if that’s because I made this in my tea press and it sat for a while? However, that’s 100% not been an issue for me with other teas with more finicky bases so I can’t be certain. I think, in my case, the best thing to do is going to be to retry it the exact same way as before – except in an infuser mug rather than the press. Then, I’ll know for sure if it’s the tea itself or the method of making it.
As for the boyfriend, he tried it today and while he liked it he said it definitely needed some sugar. Also, he always adds milk to his teas, so his cup wound up with milk and sweetener though I drank mine completely straight. He does prefer the traditional Irish Breakfast, though.
Anyway – for now, I’m holding off on rating this one.
