Austin Breakfast is an organic Indian black tea. I have the sachets and – BONUS! – they are biodegradable. I love the company’s vision statement.
“We’re a homegrown Austin, Texas company composed of a few die-hard tea freaks, lovers of fine foods, stewards of sustainable agriculture, and passionately dedicated to the human experience.”
I made this for my daughter and myself to have with breakfast. I noted that the website says this will offer some good resteeps, and not to toss the bag until it has given up all of its goodness, so that is what I intend to do.
First steep – My word, this is a super aromatic black tea. At this point, I had noted that the tea was from India as stated on the packaging but I had not looked up the specifics of origin. No matter, there is no mistaking right off the bat that this is a Ceylon tea from the aroma alone.
And it is one of the more aromatic I have tried. There are lovely, deep round dark raisin notes, a nice middle creamy thick feel, and swirling higher notes of orange and lemon. While eating my oatmeal, I detected no astringency at all. After my bowl was empty, I held the tea in my mouth and swirled it around, and there it was! The classic Indian tea briskness.
I take my tea sans additions, and I have a very dodgy stomach that often rebels at tea of Indian origin, kicking me in the gut as revenge. Nicer Indian teas do not have this effect. Dodgy ones get smoothed with milk if I drink them at all.
Happily, my stomach is quite at peace with this tea. Not so much as a burble. I feel like I am drinking a high quality Irish breakfast tea. No milk nor sugar needed, but if that’s how you roll, it can take it.
Steep 2 – While it is piping hot, I think that the low notes have utterly disappeared and the brisk, high lemony notes are mostly what remains. After a couple of minutes cooling time, I find this tea to have its thick and creamy body restored and the briskness is now slightly muted compared to the piping hot sip. Still a good cup of tea, though different from the first steep. I will definitely be trying a third steep.
This would be a great morning tea at work, with the first bracing cup preparing one for the day and tasks ahead, and the remaining cups serving as an easy peasy resteep as you simply add hot water to continue through the morning,
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Description
Our Austin Breakfast honors the intensity and laid-backness of Austin. The Ceylon black tea is at once bold and smooth. It has a deep character and clean finish like a great Irish Breakfast tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Russian Caravan from Tea Queens. . . .
I usually reserve my smokier teas for cool or cold weather since I find them very comforting, but cloudy, rainy days spent gazing out the window qualify, too!
Tea Queens sells through consultants, and you can host a tea break or a tea party to learn about tea and to taste some of their offerings. If there is no consultant in your area, the website instructs you to call customer service, so I assume you can order directly from them.
This Russian Caravan is a blend of Assam, Keemun with lychee, and Lapsang Souchong. There are no steeping instructions on the website so I went with 200F and four minutes just to pamper the Assam a bit.
The resulting tea is so light I thought perhaps I had made a mistake, but I have another Lapsang blend that comes out a similar color.
This went very well with our breakfast of blueberry scones. The company sells scone mix, too, by the way! And teapot cookie cutters and colorful decorating sugars.
There is a touch of briskness from the Assam, and it is nicely smokey. I like smoke, and a few Russian Caravan blends have disappointed me by being a bit too tame, but this one was just right. I really don’t taste much lychee, even the cups I drank after the scone was long gone. I think mainly I pick up a general fruitiness from the the Assam and lychee together.
I have made a lot of new friends by having people over who want to learn about tea, where it is grown, how it is processed, how to prepare it, why to drink. I think the idea of hosting a party where an expert comes to conduct your own personal tea flight is marvelous! Especially since it gives you a discount on your tea, and real teaheads know how outrageous the tea budget can get!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Queens
Description
A blend of Assam and Keemun with Chinese lychee tea imparts a wonderful fruitiness. Lapsang Souchong adds a gentle touch of smokiness to this one of a kind blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sweet Peaches from Blooming With Joy. . . .
We drink a lot of water, but when we are craving flavor we turn to iced tea. Soda bubbles don’t offer the thirst quenching, deep draws from a glass.
The first cold brew iced tea I ever tried tasted as a friend put it like “restaurant tea”. I grew up on sweet tea but have since given up sugar in my hot tea and greatly reduced it in iced tea, with some blends getting no sugar at all.
Making iced tea couldn’t be easier than with these pre-measured pouches. I filled a half gallon (two quart) mason jar with water, threw in a pouch, and put it in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning I had a beautifully clear, deep amber tea that smelled like ripe, juicy peaches. The flavor is light and refreshing. I love the Taiwanese oolong base. I find it “wetter” and smooth going down when you want to guzzle a glass. This is my batch.
Hubby wants his tea sweet and we all know that sugar never dissolves quite right in tea that is already cold. For his batch, I put a little sugar in a jar and added an equal amount of nearly boiling water and stirred like mad. You can as easily add simple syrup, which we generally keep on hand. Then I topped up the jar with cold water and popped in a large sachet. The next day he had his beloved sweet tea on ice. The kids helped him drink it up.
So many flavors to choose from, I don’t know where to start!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Blooming With Joy
Description
Cold Brew Iced Tea is the perfect way to enjoy a cool, refreshing beverage on a warm day. Available in many of your favorite varieties. Cold Brew Iced Tea is easy to make simply pop one pouch in your pitcher, and it will brews cold in your fridge! All it takes is 4-6 hours. Pop in in before bed and awake to find a tea rich in flavor and aroma. You can leave the pouches in for up to 24 hours. Additionally, you can make sun tea by placing the Cold Brew Iced Tea pouch in your sun tea container, it will brew on your porch.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sereni-tea from Because UR Priceless. . . . .
I was never an herbal tisane person…until I realized that my trouble sleeping might be coming from the copious amounts of late night tea. I need something nice and cozy with good flavor that won’t keep me up, so I am enjoying checking out some caffeine free options.
There are a lot of herbal blends that are not just free from caffeine, they actually help promote relaxation.
I turned on a playlist of spa/sleep music and made a small pot of this tisane. A couple of cups later, here is my impression. Use a strainer meant for very fine particles if you mind bits in your cup. I don’t mind them at all. The chamomile is a good one, either lacking the tongue twister some can have or being smoothed by the other ingredients, and the peppermint is very relaxing. It leaves a tingle long after the sip and I do find it refreshing without being stimulating. Peppermint by itself doesn’t thrill me, but in blends I like it. In fact, I am finding it a little difficult to stay up long enough to finish this review.
This was out of stock on the etsy shop at the time of this writing, but may be back in time for publication! May you have Sereni-tea as you sip today! (Or tonight!)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Because UR Priceless
Description:
Take a few moments to sit quietly and enjoy the ultra-soothing taste of SERENI-TEA.
Go ahead, the world won’t end if you take a break. (Unless of course, you are guarding zombies. In that case, please wait for your replacement first.)
Release the tension and bring on the calm.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
English Breakfast Black Tea from We Are Tea. . .
I couldn’t wait to try this breakfast tea, an Assam that promises not to leave a bitter aftertaste. A lot of breakfast Assam teas leave not only a bitter aftertaste for me but a stomach ache as well. I don’t take milk or sugar in my tea, but I will make an exception for Assam tea that is too strong for me. A little splash of milk will usually make it a pain-free breakfast beverage for me.
This teabag (made of biodegradable cornstarch!) says to steep for only two minutes, and guess what I did? That’s right! I tried to multitask and ended up oversteeping it! I have no idea for how long. I added a bit of hot water just in case and still was left with a deeply rich red/brown cuppa. Bracing myself, I took a sip to wash down my scrambled eggs and summer sausage. (Come on, you really have to have good, strong black tea with a breakfast like that!)
The good news is that it IS a strong and hearty, malty and bready English Breakfast, almost what I would consider an Irish Breakfast. The great news is that even with all the hefty body and strong malty flavor, I had no heartburn whatsoever. No stomach ache. No regrets about my morning beverage choice.
I am looking forward to trying some more of their blends!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: We Are Tea
Description
The nations favourite for a reason! Our full bodied breakfast blend of the finest Assam is perfect for those who love a malty and smooth cuppa. Our blend is packed each June in India’s lush Assam region. A cup of this whole-leaf tea is great for any mood at any time of day, promise. Our English Breakfast provides a smoother brew with no bitter aftertaste.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!