I wanted to give this a try as soon as it arrived yesterday. But I was worried I’d be up all night as this is billed as their strongest tea! So I waited to try it on this cool (for now) July 4th morning. At first sniff of the dry leaf I worried that it was too similar to their Irish Breakfast, so much so that I took out my tin of that for comparison. Well, let me tell you they are two very different teas. This one is made from two very VERY dark black tea leaves. It says a Ceylon black tea and a strong black from India. I’m guessing Ceylon and Assam. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so.
Wow is it strong! But it is good. There is a tiny hint of astringency (or I over steeped – which might be true) with my first few sips. Even that isn’t bad, usually I find to be a huge turn off. I have to say it is bold, rich, and slightly oaky to taste and I like it a lot. I didn’t add anything to this tea and I usually don’t. I’m sure this would take milk and sweetener if you were so inclined to add it. I’m glad I bought the tin…would have been very sad had I only ordered the sample size!