Irish Breakfast Tea: A Popular Blend

Irish breakfast tea is a well-known blend of black teas, often comprising a mixture of Assam and Ceylon teas. This blend is heavily used by popular Irish tea brands such as Barry’s, Bewley’s, Lyons, and Robert Roberts in the Republic and Nambarrie’s and Thompson’s Punjana in Northern Ireland. It has become a staple in Irish tea culture and is enjoyed by people from all walks of life.

History of Irish Breakfast Tea

The introduction of tea to Ireland in the mid-18th century was mainly limited to the wealthy due to its high cost and low demand. However, by the mid-19th century, Irish breakfast tea became widely available to people from all socioeconomic classes.

Serving and Flavor Profile

Due to its robust taste, Irish breakfast tea is commonly served with milk, but it may also be enjoyed black, with sugar, or even with honey. Its strong flavor and red color make it a popular choice for tea drinkers. As dairy products are a major part of the Irish economy, most people prefer to consume it with milk. Being a black tea, it has a higher caffeine content than other tea types, including green, oolong, or white teas. Irish breakfast tea is not limited to a particular time of day, as it is enjoyed throughout the day.

The Blend

The Irish breakfast tea blend has no standard formula for its manufacture. However, most blends have common traits that define “Irish breakfast” compared to British tea blends. The base of the blend is a strong black Assam tea from India, known for its dark color, malty aroma, and robust flavor. This tea is often blended with a softer tea, usually sourced from Kenya, such as Kenyan Broken Pekoe, to bring out different flavors and support the Assam. The proportion of Assam tea to the ancillary leaves gives Irish breakfast tea its unique flavor.

Packaging

The majority of tea is sold as boxes of tea bags. However, all major brands of Irish breakfast tea are available in loose leaf form, allowing consumers to inspect the proportion of hand-picked buds and whole tea leaves versus broken fannings of indeterminate origin. The processing of the leaves before packaging, where they are broken, allows the tea to steep more quickly and release more flavor per leaf.

In summary, Irish breakfast tea is a popular blend of black teas, often comprising a mixture of Assam and Ceylon teas. It has a robust flavor and red color, is commonly served with milk, and can be consumed throughout the day. The blend has no standard formula for its manufacture, but the proportion of Assam tea to the ancillary leaves gives it its unique flavor.