Irish Breakfast/Barry’s Tea -Karatics

by Karatics
Photo Credit: Barrys Tea

Greetings fellow tea drinkers! I come with a review that is from my ancestor’s homeland of the Emerald Isle. After a good search, I found that Barry’s Tea is one of the most popular Irish tea brands. And being that it has been family owned since 1901 I believe this was the best way to taste my Irish heritage. And as a bonus, this brand is from County Cork which is where most of my family is from!

Now I believe that this blend has the typical blend of black teas featuring Assam. But this tea has a lot smoother finish to the malty flavor. Now I am not saying that is better any of the other Irish Breakfasts that I have had but it is definitely different in its flavor compared.

Now I bought my box from Amazon for $7.84 for a 40 count box of bag tea. And it seems for US customers Amazon seems to be the best option. It also not surprising that you can’t get samples of this tea but I don’t think spending about $8 for a 40 count of tea is not too bad. Also looking on the official site they don’t seem to have samples either so if you are not in Ireland I would just use Amazon to order the tea. So doing the math it is basically .20 cents a cup of tea if you get the 40 count box.

In summary, this was a good tea to help me experience my heritage and also to enjoy what I believe to be a true cup of Irish Breakfast. While this tea won’t be replacing my other Irish Breakfasts I believe it still belongs in the ranking of a good Irish Breakfast tea.

See you for the next cuppa!

Kara

Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Barry’s Tea

Description

Blended for the Irish Palate, our Irish Breakfast Tea has a brisk refreshing taste and a bright golden colour.  We select this blend from the Assam Valley of India and the gardens of Rwanda and Kenya,  but it’s the bright freshness of the African leaves that make this tea so refreshing.  It’s the perfect blend to enjoy anytime of the day.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Karatics

I am an old soul and a tea lover and my days are even better when I have a nice cuppa and a piece of classic literature. I have an appreciation for most teas but my most favored ones are of the Earl Grey variety, especially Lady Grey. Even though my tea tastes are more of the classical range, I would not turn down something different. P.S. I am also a lover of video games especially ones of the RPG genre.

This post was posted in Barrys Tea, Black Tea

Irish Breakfast Tea from Twinings of London

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Twinings of London

Tea Description:

The Irish really love their tea and are amongst the most frequent drinkers of tea around the world. In celebration of this tea drinking tradition, Twinings blended a special Irish Breakfast Blend. This tea is best taken with milk and sweetened to taste to bring out the best flavour.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Before I get in to this review, I want to say that Twinings is a company that confuses me.  I guess I am somewhat easily confused, so that is no great feat, really, but, it seems to me that there are two separate tea companies called “Twinings” – there is this Twinings from which this tea was acquired:  Twinings of London.  And then there is another company:  Twinings.  I really don’t know if these are indeed the same company or different companies, but to me, they appear to be different.  Am I correct on that?  Anyone in the know, please feel free to comment and educate me!

Now… on to the review of this tea.  I received a bag of this tea from a tea friend, and it was one that I’ve not tried before but I’ve enjoyed other Twinings of London teas and tisanes in the past so I figured I’d also probably like this one.  And it is good for a bagged tea.  Of course, bagged tea does have its limitations, but I think that this tea manages to still be a good, strong tea despite those limitations … although I can’t help but think how much better it might be if it were loose leaf.

I brewed it in boiling water for three minutes, and I’m pleased with the result.  It is bold and has pleasing notes of malt, as well as a good hearty flavor to it.  Something that would, indeed, make a good breakfast tea as it has a certain vigor to it.  A light, caramel-y sweetness.  As I continue to sip, I also can taste the tea bag … which is not nearly as tasty as the other qualities of this cuppa.  Yes, indeed, I taste a “paper-y” kind of taste … and I am wishing I didn’t taste that, as it is lessening my enjoyment of the tea.

It’s drinkable, certainly, and it would be good for when you might have one of those busy kind of days when you don’t have time for loose leaf.  Let’s face it, loose leaf does require a few extra steps compared to a bagged tea, but, if I’ve got the time, I’d rather go with the loose leaf.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea