There’s something about English Breakfast tea that’s like coming home to me. It hasn’t always been that way– in fact, let me take you on a brief history of Mary’s Experiences with English Breakfast Tea (abridged).
5th grade: to celebrate the end of a history unit on the Boston Tea Party, Mary’s teacher throws a traditional British cream tea party, whilst wearing a giant pink satin hoop-skirt-dress and powdered wig. Mary tries to sip black tea with milk and sugar and promptly gags. End of attempts at caffeinated black tea for many years to come.
(brief interlude, in which Mary begins to drinks herbals and green teas and becomes obsessed, but still won’t touch black tea with a ten foot pole. Ah, such wasted time!)
Junior year of college: Mary goes to England to study abroad. On first full night in town, students are treated to a traditional cream tea welcome party. Mary eats finger sandwiches. (Verdict: delicious.) Mary tentatively pours a cuppa. Mary adds milk and sugar because monkey see, monkey do. Mary takes a sip. Decides nope, still not a fan. Two days later, Mary starts her internship, and boss makes her a cup of tea during break because this is what all Brits do, right? And who is Mary to buck tradition? Sip. Sip sip. Siiiiip. WHOA. This is really good. PROMPTLY OBSESSED. Never goes back.
The end!
I know. Great story, yes? All of this to say, my past with English Breakfast tea is storied and vast. And every time I try a new good one, I’m brought right back to those formative moments. This one from Rishi is no exception– rich and malty, it takes milk and sweet perfectly, it’s well-balanced and rounded out, with no obvious acidity. Is it a life-changer? Probably not. But is it comforting, reminiscent of good things, warm and delicious and just what I hoped it’d be? Yup. Just like home.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Description
What makes a great breakfast tea? Our buyers have spent years studying tea bush cultivars that present the most robust character, bright red cup color and awakening aromatics. Through extensive travel and tasting, we have found some of the very best in the Assamica gardens in Thailand’s remote northern mountains. This unique origin yields an English Breakfast that is full-bodied, lively and brisk with accents of raspberry and lingonberry. Perfectly balanced on its own or gratifying when smoothed out to taste with milk and sugar.
Tasting Notes: Lively, robust red cup with a brisk flavor and sweet caramel undertones.
Ingredients: Organic black tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rusper Black Tea From Edgcumbes Coffee and Tea
Hi Tea Friends!
Recently I received two wonderful teas from Edgcumbes Coffee & Tea shop to review for you guys. I have a bag of Rusper and a bag of Blend No.45. Both are black tea based blends from different regions to achieve a desired flavour. I’m going to be reviewing Rusper today so keep your eyes peeled for the Blend No.45 review.
What is Rusper? “Top quality Assam and Kenyan teas have been expertly blended by Edgcumbes to produce a rich, full and malty brew. Our most popular House blend”. This was the information from the front of the packet.
Here is a little information about the company that coincides with this tea.
Back in 1981, Frank Edgcumbes Rendle retired from his job as a jute and tea trader in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and moved back to the UK.
He was distraught to discover he couldn’t find any decent loose leaf tea. So he sat at the kitchen table with a set of scales, and blended some high-quality Assam and Kenyan tea leaves.
He called the blend Rusper after the West Sussex village where he grew up, decided to sell a few bags, and named the newly formed company Edgcumbes – our traditional family name.
We still believe that locally, fresh-roasted coffees and hand-blended loose-leaf teas ALWAYS taste better than commercially packaged products.
The packet by the way is a brown paper food style bag with bendy wire clips on the top to keep it sealed. It also has air holes for the tea to breathe. I would recommend moving the tea to a canister/caddy to make the freshness last which is also stated on the front of this packaging on the label.. Otherwise it’s good, basic packaging with the following details on the front:
Origin – Assam, India. Kericho, Kenya. Grown 1000-7200 ft above sea level.
Ingredients – Premium black teas.
Flavour – Rich Assam Malty notes with the characteristic brightness of top quality Kenyan teas.
Brew Guide – 2-4 mins, 1 cup, 100C.
Opening the packet I can see very finely chopped leaf remnants in brown and red colours. It bares a dry, sour wood scent.
I will be using the steeping parameters as recommended above. Once steeped a drop of milk will be added.
The resulting tea liquid is mahogany in colour (before milk) and bares a rich, malt and wood scent.
This tea is hearty and heavy, filled with rich flavour and strong enough to call itself a true British cuppa. Malt and wood tones dominate the strong yet dry tea and it has a slight sour after taste.
Adding sweetener reduced the sour after taste though ti is still present. It also smooths and blends the malt and wood a little better. Meaning that milk and sweetener make this a very nice builders cuppa.
As a fan of strong tea in general I like the strength and classic quality that this blend offers. Simple yet tasty and sure to win the heart of any tea lover, Brit or otherwise!
Until next time,
Happy Steeping!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Edgcumbes Coffee & Tea
Description:
Rusper tea is our original house blend of tea and it is perfect for your everyday cup of tea! It is a blend of Assam and Kenyan teas and makes a very easy to drink cup of tea which still has a great taste!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
