Scottish Breakfast

Second Review.
I forgot that I had this tea because I poured it into a short canning jar, and it traveled to the far back of my tea cupboard where I found it huddled with my teacups. Nice surprise to find it since it is so tasty at breakfast time.
I love malty, full and robust tea in the morning (anytime really). Listen folks, when you get older…you need a kickstart to let your system know it’s time to get moving. Tea is my axle grease! This tea does the job in the A.M.!
I’m not going to go into all the details of how I brewed this cuppa and the blah blah color of the leaves and such. That was the first review. I like this tea. Simply put, I add my cream (I don’t like grey tea so 100% milk, can milk or cream is for me) and sweetening and this brew tastes great. The maltiness is not overly heavy and the astringency is there but not too strong either. I noticed that when I got up to do a few chores…my second cup cooled down, but the tea really tasted good. Ha! Of course this was going to be a good tea to use for iced tea also. Hoot man! A Scot’s gotta do what a Scot’s gotta do! The next steeping will go into the frig!
The temp will be in the 80’s today…and when you live at 5000 feet that means the air conditioner comes on. Monday my pool opens..hooray! (Grandkids will arrive more regularly for a swim and Grandma’s tea!)

I do have so much to be greatful for! God has really blessed me!

My afternoon pick me up. Back in my cupboard thanks to Brandy3392. Ah yes! I remember why I like this one so much. Malty. Bright. I would also say hoppy/floral. Hoppy because the wet leaf smells like wort. If you don’t know what wort is then let us consult Wikipedia “Wort is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wort So you see this is a beautiful thing when your day is dragging at work. Some might say that wart smells like wet dog or a pet store, but I tend to air on the side that it is a beautiful thing. Cheers!

This is what I’m talking about for a morning tea! Thanks so much, Azzrian! After steeping for five minutes, I get a burnt bittersweet chocolate flavor. SO GOOD. I’m starting to wonder if this sort of flavor is just what caffeine tastes like, if that is possible. Chocolate = caffeine. Black tea = caffeine. I have no idea. This is so brisk (without being bitter or astringent). Complex, dark and delicious! Teas like this one remind me of how boring coffee is. I don’t think anyone stocks up on varieties of coffee like they do tea. I’d rather have OPTIONS… a different tea every morning! This went perfectly with the S’mores I had for breakfast…. I know, I know. I didn’t know what else to have this morning. Blame it on the perfect pairing with the tea. And I’m having a salad for lunch, so it’s okay!

Loose
Appearance: dark small curl leaf
Aroma when Dry: sweet, cocoa notes, hints of malt
After water is first poured: malty, sweet
At end of steep: malty raisin
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: malty brown
Staple? No
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first?: medium bodied, malty, astringent finish
As it cools?: gets more bodied and greatly astringent
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Slight malt notes, drying astringency

This tea was brutalized in shipping. I have not had this tea before, so I cannot say whether this has affected the flavor.

This is only the 2nd Scottish Breakfast tea that I have tried-Upton’s being the first. I bought a 4 ounce pouch. The pouch is a re-sealable and made out of a plastic-y film and not foiled-lined on the inside. Not sure what teas are in this blend, but it doesn’t taste like Asssam, Ceylon, and Yunnan. Maybe just Assman and Yunnan? Keemun? The dry leaves are full and have a malty and slightly smoky aroma.

The liquor is more brown than orange in color. This flavor is malty and really peppery (black)-especially when the tea is hottest. No smokiness in the flavor, so probably no Keemun in it. It’s somewhat lively, and although not weak, definitely not “smash you in the face” strong. An acceptable first cup-but I have better options. The level of tannins is surprising low. Not bitter or astringent.

I want to note about the shipping here. The box was literally beat to hell in shipping. The top flaps of the box were peaked up almost like an A-Frame house and there was a big dent in the side. I realize that UPS/USPS etc, handle the packages and not the tea shop. However, I have placed dozens of tea orders by now and have never had a box like this show up on my door. My orders from China and Taiwan have never looked anything but great.

The packaging issue is ETS fault. The cardboard was not sturdy and the box was too big for the order. The box had only some brown kraft paper on one side for “cushioning”. This did not work at all and the pouch of this tea had a gouge in it about one-half inch deep and 1.5 inches long (although the pouch was not actually punctured). If this had been an expensive signature tea instead of a ridiculously cheap $1 an ounce blend I would have sent it back un-opened. This company has several other online businesses and I picture all their stuff at a big warehouse-not stored properly and obviously not packed by people who know and/or care about tea. This tea is okay, but not good enough to make me ever want to buy from this company again.

NB – Rating number is for the tea alone. The other issues did not factor into the number.

This tea is my absolute favorite in terms of wake me up breakfast teas. It’s strong enough to stand up and dance on the table. It’s also stiff enough to stand up to a second steeping, which is not a bad thing in tough economic times. I buy this one by the pound, as it’s my daily drinker.

This tea reminds me a little of the Prince of Wales tea, but not as smoky and more drinkable. I added a level spoonful of sugar, no milk.

I see what people mean by malty and bracing, the description fits. I was expecting it to be more like English Breakfast tea, I learned differently very fast.

When I want a relatively austere, non-sweet tea, this one takes the cake.

I like a strong tea and Scottish Breakfast fits the bill. Steeped in boiling water for 4-5 minutes it tastes wonderful. The taste is that of the Scottish Highands, at least its how I imagine it to be. If you like a strong black tea, this is a must try

This tea was a pleasant surprise. Based on its finely chopped appearance, I expected it to be somewhat bland and simple in flavour, but it isn’t; it has a nice smoky note overlaying a rich, slightly astringent malty taste.

The leaf processing style does mean that brewing this in a gaiwan without pouring all the leaves into one’s cup really puts the gongfu in gongfu cha, but it’s worthwhile for the detailed picture of the flavours this presents. It works very well Western-style too, as you’d expect. For being so finely chopped, it re-steeps relatively well. I was able to get four solid steeps out of it in a gaiwan.