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“I bought this from the English Tea Store during their free shipping promo, although you can buy it directly from Davidson’s if you are so inclined. My box from ETS was completely brutalized in...” Read full tasting note
“This is now my morning and sometimes afternoon tea when I need a boost. Has low bitterness, and an almost creamy quality. The only tea I’ve had that I think tastes better is Teavana’s English...” Read full tasting note
“Not very impressed. It isn’t horrible but like another reviewer of this tea said, “It is uneventful.”” Read full tasting note
“Having a rough morning and this really helped cheer me up today. I had the tea-bagged sampler packet from Davidson’s “Classic Tea Sampler”. I’m a regular drinker of Barry’s Irish Tea and this is...” Read full tasting note
A full-bodied black tea blend of premium Ceylon and Assam teas.
I bought this from the English Tea Store during their free shipping promo, although you can buy it directly from Davidson’s if you are so inclined. My box from ETS was completely brutalized in transit, but I’ll discuss that further in a later post.
The tea is packaged inside a rather cheap, re-sealable ziploc-type bag, which is then placed inside a pressboard/cardboard pouch-shaped box. This is a 63 gram box. If you buy larger sizes from Davidson’s, perhaps they have better packaging.
I’m wondering if the packaging is a factor in the fact that the dry tea has almost no aroma at all. I had to practically ingest this in my nose to get even a faint scent of anything. This Assam-Ceylon blend brews a coppery brown cup. The ratio of Assam to Ceylon is good-more Assam than Ceylon. This is malty, but a bit bland and boring for an Irish Breakfast. It’s not very brisk or robust at all. I think I am going to call the company and see if I can get a production date, because I have a feeling this may have been on a shelf in a warehouse for entirely too long. It’s not stale or bitter, but it is uneventful. If I’m going with Irish Breakfast, I am in the mood (or NEED) something lively and bold and this just isn’t it at all.
EDIT-I just got off the phone with a very nice rep from Davidson’s and apparently the tea was produced in January (by them). Of course, the Assam and Ceylon must be 2011 harvests-but they shouldn’t be so weak so fast. Not sure how ETS stored this, but I am inclined to call this blend “Irish Breakfast for Wimps.” Of course, I am sure that even wimps enjoy good flavor-and there’s not lots of flavor here. Disappointing.
This is now my morning and sometimes afternoon tea when I need a boost.
Has low bitterness, and an almost creamy quality. The only tea I’ve had that I think tastes better is Teavana’s English Breakfast. Compared to Teavana’s English Breakfast, this tea is weaker in overall flavor (negative for me), less bitter (positive for me), has a creamy taste/feeling (positive), and is about half the price (biggest positive for me).
This is the only Irish Breakfast I’ve had, so I don’t have anything to compare it to; but from what I gather, Irish Breakfast should be stronger than an English Breakfast. Either way, this is going to be my daily tea until I can find one better at a similar price.
Having a rough morning and this really helped cheer me up today. I had the tea-bagged sampler packet from Davidson’s “Classic Tea Sampler”. I’m a regular drinker of Barry’s Irish Tea and this is a weaker version of that (tea bag to tea bag version). Moderate smell from the assam portion and that aroma quickens your pulse just inhaling it after steeping.
Great flavor while drinking, and this doesn’t have any aftertaste when steeped properly. I’m going to do a back to back with Barry’s today and determine which will be my new “everyday” loose leaf irish breakfast.
