O' Sullivan's Favourite

My daughter has perfected the art of sleeping ‘til noon, so when she woke up and asked for breakfast at lunchtime I thought I’d join her. I settled on bacon, toast, homemade fig jam, and this tea. This is such a good Irish Breakfast tea. Robust and strong. Lots of malty notes, but not at all bitter. I added cream and sugar and enjoyed thoroughly.

So the reviews weren’t kidding. This is a STRONG breakfast tea. I steeped it for 4 minutes, and the result was a tea so dark that it might be confused with coffee. It makes my whole mouth go numb with that tacky-dry astringent feeling. It does get better after a few sips, but I thought I’d just try a dash of milk – yep. This is a tea that shines with milk! (And thankfully not much because I don’t like having to add to tea in order to enjoy it).

I guess it’s silly to want strong tea but not astringent tea eh?

ETA: Oh snap! This was my 300th tasting note. I had planned to pick a more exciting tea (or a more exciting entry). Oh well! 300 is pretty impressive since I’ve only been active since October!

I am perplexed by this tea! It sure smells like other Irishy/Englishy breakfast teas I’ve had, but it doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before. Well, I take that back. It looks like coffee. Coffee grounds. Super weird, but exciting! Used a big-ish teaspoon and boiling water…immediately when the water hit the tea, it darkened up considerably. Like, to a color that I would perceive as done in other teas (I sometimes judge my tea’s doneness by it’s color, which is okay sometimes…but definitely not others. I have a problem overbrewing more delicate teas). Oof, this is a dark, STRONG tea. Definitely will keep me awake for a day of studying! I’m too much of a wuss to drink it without sugar. Hmm, upon poking at the used up leaves, they almost seem to mush together. Like coffee grounds. Mysterious.

I was so confused by these little leaves before I tasted them. I’m accustomed to my black tea turning large and leafy during brewing, and these just look like coffee grounds! But rest easy—this is not tea dust.

The taste is best summed up in one word: Robust. More robust than any English or Irish breakfast I’ve had before. If you like your tea weaker you might want to give it a pass (or brew with half the recommended amount), but if you’re like me and you want a strong, flavorful tea to knock your socks off in the morning this is a worthy contender. It’s like the hardy Dwarven warrior of teas coming down from the mountain halls to smack you awake, and I respect that.

Very, very strong robust Irish Breakfast tea. Unusual looking and I echo the mysterious sentiments below. Definitely gives you a kick start for the day. Care not to oversteep and I add a little sugar to mine. Plenty of flavour and a rich aroma. Doesn’t have much scent before brewing. If you want like your breakfast teas hearty and strong, this is one for you. Thanks to Zen Life Tea for the sample!

Oh wow, this smells pretty intense!

You know, never in a million years would I have thought that I’d like this straight, but I do. There’s a malty, almost caramel note, another one that reminds me of when you cook with beer for that depth of flavor? that’s present! Which now makes me wonder about dumping a strong cup of this into my next stew!

w/ sugar – good with sugar, but a bit more sour which doesn’t make immediate sense. But I’ve realized it enhances the caramel note, making it taste like caramel that is close to being scorched.
w/ milk – mmm yum.
w/ milk and sugar – okay, prefer without sugar

Overall, this tea really surprised me in a positive way. I’d consider keeping a small amount in my cupboard as I have friends who enjoy really strong dark blacks, and have the odd cup myself from time to time.