11.18.2010

Tea of the Week: Irish Breakfast


No winner last week. We have a big new batch of Irish Breakfast tea in this week, please leave a comment to win your 4 ounce bag!

I found a recipe for a typical Irish Breakfast to go with your tea, yummy!

Per capita, Irish consumption of tea is amongst the highest in the world. The Irish prefer a full bodied cup of tea that if brewed long enough one could almost stand their spoon upright. The strength is achieved by buying the best teas available from seasonal production periods in Assam and Kenya. This means that the Assam teas are from the second flush period during June, and the Kenyas are from February and August growth. 2nd flush Assams give a deep malty astringency and the best make your mouth feel dry they are so astringent. This astringency leads to a malty character that is almost so thick you feel like you could chew it. The seasonal Kenyas have a golden coppery color with an almost floral note that give a complex depth to the tea. Furthermore, you will see that the grade is CTC - cut, torn curled. The green leaf whilst it is being processed passes through a machine the cuts, tears and then curls the leaves into tiny balls. This ‘mash’ ferments very quickly after which firing takes place to ‘lock-in’ the flavor. These tiny tea balls when infused release their full flavor, more so than whole leaf tea. The reason is that there is more surface area on the tiny balls which can infuse as compared to the whole leaf tea. This is how the Irish like their tea!

I have some inventory updates. Back in stock, Keemun Three Monkey (it's actually here this time!), Chocolate Mint teabags, Maple Foil teabags and at last Sugar Cubes.

Looks like Holiday sales are almost in full swing here, have a great week!

11.03.2010

Tea of the Week English Breakfast


We have a winner for 4 ounces of Assam Tarajulie and it's Kevin! Sending you off an email to get your snail mail addy tomorrow. This week we have one of the all time favorites English Breakfast Tea. Leave a comment to win 4 ounces! Don't forget it's also 20% off at the store. We also have a 10% off coupon on everything!


English Breakfast Tea was actually invented in Edinburgh, Scotland. A tea master (Drysdale) came up with the idea of marketing his blend as "Breakfast Tea". The concept soon spread to England where tea was very popular. Tea houses in London began adding "English" to the name and the tea became and remains one of the most popular teas in England. It is a robust, full-bodied beverage with light floral undertones (coppery). When blended with milk, it's aroma is similar to warm toast and honey.

Have a great week!