A classic black tea that, per the vendor’s site, is a blend of Indian and Chinese whole leaf black teas. From the looks of the dry leaves and the aroma of the tea in the cup, this little teapot is guessing Golden Yunnan and an orthodox Assam. I, your humble little teapot, took a back seat to Bruno, a sturdy 6-cupper teapot from Louisville Stonewares, who was excited to steep up a tea with such robust aroma and, as it turned out, flavor.
Fresh from the pouch, the tea leaves emit a wonderful raisiny aroma (so there might be some black Ceylon tea in here) but also a dry hay quality. We steeped in boiling water for 3 minutes (the vendor recommends 3-5 minutes, but my humans had a feeling that this tea would steep up strong). The steeped liquid, served up in a mug that coordinates visually with Bruno’s bachelor button motif, was a rich red-brown color and had a distinctly peppery aroma, most likely from Yunnan black tea. The flavor was not bitter when piping hot, but took on that bitter edginess as it cooled. Some milk and sweetener dispelled it (you could just add some sweetener, if you don’t want the milk).
We were adventurous and tried a second steep, using the same amount of water and steeping for 4 minutes, and were pleasantly surprised that it was almost as strong and tasty as the first steeping but with a hint of astringency. My guess is that Bruno, under my able supervision, was partly to be credited, although having great tea leaves to steep makes the job easy for us teawares.
A great tea to celebrate St. Patty’s Day or for any day. My humans dished up some apple pie to go with it. And Mr. Hedgehog, in his tall, green hat and holding his own shamrock, was on hand to make sure all went well.
Try some of this wonderful, if slightly unusual, version of Irish breakfast tea (most often made with CTC Assam). You humans everywhere can enjoy these teas by ordering from the vendor online.
Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.
© 2012 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.







