What tea did you have this morning...or afternoon?

[Blackhorse]

Barry’s Irish Breakfast with eggs & toast this morning. First morning with tea for a few days. Power was down due to a freezing rain event. Had 1”+ of ice on top of snow on top of everything. Lines and trees down everywhere. Lost a prize Vine Maple. Neighbors lost many trees. 300,000 in our county (Clackamas) alone had power down. Very, very cold in here for a few days. We got to bundle up triple layer and feel sorry for ourselves. Looked like Arctic explorers. We got power back last night. Whew! Still no internet.

Still one Green Jasmine to try before I get to your suggested Earl Grey. Those are on the menu here every few days...not daily and only in the early afternoon. Will certainly post impressions.

 

[Carlos]

Yorkshire Gold as an after lunch cuppa. Gift from a friend. That tin will be very useful as handy tea bag storage for the future.

Bolder than the red. A slight bitterness where the red is naturally sweet. I think the Gold might be best with a bit of milk, or Half&Half. Cathy really likes the Yorkshire Red. If she likes the Gold as well, it's a good thing these come in large quantities.

 

[Blackhorse]

Had a nice stiff cup of Glengettie at tea time. It’s one of what I understand are the two big brands in Wales. Malty and rich. Very nice indeed.

 

[Blackhorse]

I went off schedule this morning to try a recommended blend...Dilmah Earl Grey. I can see why this is a popular blend. It’s very enjoyable. I saw at least one review that captured my experience really well. I did a three minute steep in my 12 oz mug.

“To be honest, I'm not a huge Earl Grey drinker, but rather enjoy the odd cup during the hotter months. Dilmah's take on this famous tea is very good. The black Ceylon base is perfect, using its characteristic refreshing notes to mingle with the citrus, bergamot flavouring. Lovely aroma and a nice, clean refreshing taste. I find some Earl Greys to have an overbearing and cloying citrus taste to them but the Dilmah to my taste buds is just right. Would probably make a superb ice tea as well...”

Yup, that’s it. Good stuff. Makes me look forward to Summer even more.

 

[Brewdude]

I like an occasional cup of Earl Grey with a small slice of lemon.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Blackhorse]

Gotta admit...I enjoyed the cup of Earl Grey...but as soon as it was gone I went in and brewed up a steaming mug of Yorkshire Gold. To me, the Earl Grey is like a Darjeeling in that it’s a choice for the afternoon to go with the typical biscuit, piece of cake, muffin, scone or tart. There’s nothing like a proper cup of tea enjoyed with a tart (waggles his eyebrows like Groucho Marx).

 

[Blackhorse]

Yorkshire Gold as an eye opener. Then with an early lunch (La Brea Artisan Sourdough toast, organic butter, fried egg & turkey bacon...open faced) and I did up a mug of Thompson’s Irish Breakfast. The Thompson’s is very brisk and refreshing. It’s stellar stuff.

Top Three (equally fabulous but with different profiles that suit them to different applications).

1. Yorkshire Gold (Taylors of Harrogate)
2. Taylor’s Scottish Breakfast (Harrogate, County of York, England)
3. Thompson’s Irish Breakfast (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

 

[Brewdude]

Yorkshire Gold as an eye opener. Then with an early lunch (La Brea Artisan Sourdough toast, organic butter, fried egg & turkey bacon...open faced) and I did up a mug of Thompson’s Irish Breakfast. The Thompson’s is very brisk and refreshing. It’s stellar stuff.

Top Three (equally fabulous but with different profiles that suit them to different applications).

1. Yorkshire Gold (Taylors of Harrogate)
2. Taylor’s Scottish Breakfast (Harrogate, County of York, England)
3. Thompson’s Irish Breakfast (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

I take it you drink your teas without any milk and/or sugar. My preference is for a splash of milk (no sugar) for an English type tea blend.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Blackhorse]

I typically drink mine without anything. But some teas like a strong Assam are greatly improved by adding milk & sweetener. Other teas like a subtle light floral Darjeeling I think are spoiled by milk, etc. With breakfast black teas the cleaner and more brisk I leave straight...the more malty ones I’m more likely to add something to. It’s all personal. I guess the milk thing is American, as those in the UK are said to really use cream...or at least half and half. If I only drink some of my mug I will often add raw Sage or Blackberry honey to it and pour it over ice. Yummy.

 

[Timbo]

Glad you liked it mate, I normally kick off the day with a cup or two of the Dilmah extra strong Ceylon tea then switch to the Earl Grey late morning, so pretty much in your bailiwick there.

I need to dig up the Dilmah version of English/Irish breakfast to see how they compare with thier straight Ceylon tea. I happen to love their Ceylon tea as it brings me straight back to sitting in the tea rooms in Sri Lanka 25 years ago.

As for milk, us Aussies tend to add it to tea depending on upbringing/personal preference and from what I hear it's the same in Kiwi land.

 

[D.L.Ruth]

Small pot of Barry's for breakfast. Yes with milk and sugar.

 

[Blackhorse]

To both Timbo and DL...both your chosen brands, the Dilmah Ceylon and Barry’s, have numerous blends. ForvDilmah, under Ceylon they have the regular green box plus Premium, Single Estate, one noted as Extra Strong...etc. With Barry’s there’s Irish Breakfast, Classic, Gold plus a few others. So which of the blends are you sipping? It’s like saying this morning I drove a Ford to work when it could have been a T-Bird, an F 150 pickup or an Explorer! Inquiring minds and all that...right?

For me it’s Yorkshire Gold...while watching the women’s finals of the Australian Open. Go Brady!

 

[D.L.Ruth]

Barry's Gold Blend

 

[Timbo]

Mine's the Dilmah Extra Strong, puts hairs on your chest it does.

 

[Blackhorse]

Thanks both of you...good to know.

I brewed up a mug of the Barry’s Gold this morning. Very good stuff. I think I prefer their Irish Breakfast blend (green box). The Master Blender at Barry’s is said to favor their Classic Blend (black box). I think the market in Ireland buys more Gold Blend. Choices. It’s all about choices I guess.

So much tea...so few mornings.

 

[Timbo]

Just ordered from Dilmah their loose leaf English Breakfast and some loose leaf Earl Grey, Will update here once they come in, sadly they don't appear to do an Irish Breakfast.

 

[Blackhorse]

Taylor’s Scottish Breakfast Blend. I have loose and bags individually sealed in foil-like envelopes. I used one of the bags, 12 fl oz fresh water, steeped for just over 3 min. The result? Perfection!

 

[Blackhorse]

Had a few sips of PG Tips decaf this evening. It tasted HORRIBLE! Maybe my taste buds were off. I’ve had it before and it seemed OK. Oh well...nobody bats 1000.

 

[Blackhorse]

This morning it was Bewley’s Gold Blend. Very delightful brew. You know...even though Barry’s and Lyons claim the distinction of being the two most popular tea companies in Ireland...I’m liking the blends from Thompson’s and Bewley’s as much or more.

Sidebar: I’ve read in several places that the Breakfast type teas are more blended for export. In other places I’ve read that the “Gold” blends of the various companies are the top tier in terms of leaf quality...and more what the “locals” would choose. Like Yorkshire Red is viewed as middle tier, Yorkshire Gold is top tier. True or not it’s kinda interesting.

 

[Blackhorse]

Ooo! Ooo! I found a great tea biscuit (read that “cookie”). On Amazon, they are Ulker Tea Biscuits (5 packs of 200 gm each) so that’s 2.2 lb. in the pack. There are 30 “biscuits” in each individually wrapped sleeve for a total of 150. They’re about $9 USD delivered in 2 days. They taste like big, crispy, animal crackers. To me, they are incredibly tasty. I’ve bought the Marie’s Gold brand before which ate good...these are much better.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00701XMA2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1