Tea Consultant Cupping: Tasting 12 Breakfast Blends
In this series, we bring to you our favorite step in the tea selection process: the “tea cupping.” During a tea cupping, a wide variety of teas are steeped, sipped, and evaluated for quality and taste. Here at Upton Tea Imports, we cup hundreds, if not thousands, of teas every year to bring you the best loose leaf teas in the world.
In our last installment of Tea Consultant Cuppings, we tasted each one of our Earl Grey teas. This time, we invite you to join us as we delve into the world of our popular breakfast blends.
What is a breakfast blend?
Rich and full-bodied, a traditional loose leaf breakfast tea is a blend of black tea leaves from India, Sri Lanka, Africa, and Indonesia, however, many variations of morning tea may be found. Whether enjoyed plain or with a touch of milk, these breakfast blend teas promise a morning tea experience that is both comforting and rich in flavor, making them an essential part of any tea lover's collection.
Our vast tea collection boasts 2 dozen unique breakfast blends to wake you up in the morning. In this cupping, we tasted 12 of our favorites.
- To cup the tea along with us at home, we recommend that you purchase the sample size of each tea. Each of our sample sizes makes approximately 2-5 cups of tea, depending on the cut of the tea leaf and how strong you like your tea.*
ENGLISH BREAKFAST BLEND ORGANIC
Item Code: TB01
Tea Origin: India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Catalog Description: A hearty blend of rich CTC Assam and BOP Ceylon teas, yielding a cup with robust flavor and a brisk finish. This is an organic version of a classic, bracing breakfast blend.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 3 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: English Breakfast blend is a classic staple of tea lovers around the world. There is no single tea blend that makes up an English Breakfast, though it typically contains Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka and Assam tea from India. Our take on this classic is nice and strong with a tingly, brisk astringency. We would describe the bright Ceylon flavor as brisk, lively and rich, with a hint of cedar. While drinking this tea black is an exhilarating experience that will certainly wake you up, most people enjoy it British-style with milk and sugar.
BOND STREET ENGLISH BREAKFAST BLEND
Item Code: TB10
Tea Origin: Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and India
Catalog Description: A hearty blend of Ceylon and Assam teas, this tea is rich and flavorful, even with extra milk.Top of Form
Steeping Suggestions: Leaf Quantity: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep Time: 3 min; Water Temperature: 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: Though our Bond Street English Breakfast contains teas from the same countries as TB01 (above), it is slightly more gentle than the organic version, smooth, and a little smoky. The strong tea makes for a rich, dark cup with or without milk, yet there is an undercurrent of a toasty caramel smoothness. We find it to be strong and bright, with a sweet aftertaste.
Item Code: TB14
Tea Origin: India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and China
Catalog Description: Blended from select teas of India, Sri Lanka, and China to appeal to those who favor an eye-opening experience in the morning, this broken-leaf tea yields a cup with a round, full flavor, malty notes, and brisk character. A perfect choice to start the day.
Steeping Suggestions: Leaf Quantity: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep Time: 3 min; Water Temperature: 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: The Scottish Breakfast Blend is a tea for those who like their tea so thick “that the spoon stands up in the cup.” During this cupping, we found the TB14 to be biscuity and dry, stronger than TB10. Its charming bittersweet finish balances with hints of spice, a complexity lent to the blend by the China black tea. Its smooth, smoky undertones may appeal to fans of whiskey.
Item Code: TB51
Tea Origin: Teas from India, blended in Germany
Catalog Description: A classic Ostfriesen blend of Assam teas. Authentic 100% orthodox tea blended in Germany for those who like a hearty, malty tea.Top of Form
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 3-5 min.; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: The strong malty flavor of Assam is the star of this East Frisian tea, traditionally enjoyed in Germany with rock sugar and a dollop of cream. Its flavor is not toasty or sweet, but dark and rich, crisp and chocolatey.
LEADENHALL STREET BREAKFAST BLEND
Item Code: TB02
Tea Origin: Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and India
Catalog Description: A tribute to the famous London tea auctions, our Leadenhall Street Breakfast Blend is a blend of two classic British-style teas: a brisk Ceylon and a thick, malty Assam. The result is a bright cup, full of sweetness and dark, rich malt, which lends itself to the addition of milk.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 3 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: Another distinct blend of Ceylon and Assam teas, the Leadenhall Street Breakfast Blend is medium-bodied, mellow and smooth. Many components contribute to the variety in these blends, including proportions, the cut of the leaf, and steeping instructions. In this tea, the Assam lends a nutty, toasty character with a hint of honey sweetness.
Item Code: TB20
Tea Origin: India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Catalog Description: A blend of Tippy GFBOP Assam teas for strength, plus a distinctive, bright Ceylon tea for briskness. This Orthodox Process Irish Breakfast style loose leaf tea is very flavorful.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 3-4 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: This Irish Breakfast blend does not disappoint. With a full mouth feel and notes of cocoa and amaretto, it is sure to put pep in your step. This is a go-to morning blend for many of our customers, and with its eye-opening character, it’s easy to see why!
Item Code: TB30
Tea Origin: India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and China
Catalog Description: This English Breakfast-style tea is a rich blend of Assam, Ceylon, and Keemun. The aroma introduces hints of Burgundy and cocoa, which are also present in the flavor, enhanced by a rich mouth feel and overall sweetness. With a mellow smoothness and lingering finish, this eminently drinkable cup is satisfying all day long. May be enjoyed neat or with a splash of milk.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 4 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: The Ceylon tea in this blend stands out with its amber color and brisk character. The aroma carries floral hints, with a clean, rich finish. We recommend this tea as a relaxing morning cup, or even an afternoon blend for a little pick-me-up!
Item Code: TB15
Tea Origin: Indonesia
Catalog Description: A rich breakfast blend especially suited for those who enjoy a powerful cup in the morning. This also is a great choice for iced tea. Java teas are never expensive, so you get the best produced for a few cents a cup.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 4 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: In the aroma, we detected sweet toasty notes reminiscent of baked goods. This medium-bodied tea is versatile, delicious piping hot or served chilled over ice. Its agreeable nature makes it a good candidate for drinking black, sans milk and sugar.
Item Code: TB89
Tea Origin: India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and Colombia
Catalog Description: To celebrate our 30th Anniversary, we created a robust breakfast blend of teas from new origins - Colombia, and old origins - India and Sri Lanka. The dark amber liquor is thick and rich with a silky smooth mouth feel and complex flavor. Enjoy this eye-opening cup to start your day or as an afternoon pick-me-up.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 4 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: You are in for a treat with rich, chocolatey notes of cocoa, sweet brown sugar and smooth toffee. The components of this tea are 3 decadent black teas frequently used for milk tea, so milk and sweetener are advised at your own risk. You will never want to drink it another way!
COLOMBIAN BREAKFAST BLEND ORGANIC
Item Code: TSA6
Tea Origin: Colombia
Catalog Description: With its robust character and full mouth feel, this organic black tea selection from Colombia is a great morning eye opener. Notes of sweet milk chocolate predominate in both the aroma and the dark ruby copper cup. Hints of Burgundy and malt provide a lively complement to the rich flavor. A smooth finish completes an exceptional tea experience. A staff favorite.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 4-5 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: Colombian tea is grown from the same cultivar as Assam tea, with the benefit of Colombia’s earthy terroir. Sweet notes of dried fruit round out the cup with a hint of Burgundy in the finish.
Item Code: TB05
Tea Origin: India and China
Catalog Description: For this blend, we paired a hearty Assam with a smooth and flavorful Yunnan, for a cup that is highly enjoyable. The invigorating liquor has a full mouth feel, subtle spicy notes, and a lingering aftertaste. While milk is recommended, it is enjoyable plain.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 5 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: Medium-bodied, smooth and silky! Some of us found notes of cherry while others noted a hint of spice or oak. Whatever words you use to describe it, the Mincing Lane blend is earthy, rich and refreshing.
Item Code: TB11
Tea Origin: Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Catalog Description: This rich Ceylon breakfast tea is a blend of black teas from Kandy, the tea growing region where James Taylor produced the first crop of Ceylon black tea back in the 1860s. The aroma is sweet and toasty with hints of raisin and citrus. The smooth, deep-amber cup is bright and lively with a full mouth feel and well-balanced flavor that hints of cocoa, citrus and a crisp evergreen nuance that lingers into the finish.
Steeping Suggestions: 2.25 g/6oz cup; Steep 5 min; 212 degrees (boiling)
Tea Consultant Notes: The James Taylor Breakfast Blend is our newest breakfast blend, strong, astringent, and crisp. The Ceylon tea hints of notes of grapefruit, bright and full. The perfect palate cleanser after a long tea cupping.
We hope you enjoyed cupping these breakfast teas with us! The next time you find yourself in need of a new morning cuppa, try some samples and have your own tea cupping to discover which tea you like the best!
*Steeping tea for a cupping: As tea professionals, we set up a tea cupping with professional tea cupping sets to control the variables. We must ensure that we steep each tea at its recommended steeping time and temperature, and use measured, consistent amounts of water and tea. For a tea cupping to be effective, you need to be able to replicate the results. If you sample a tea by steeping a large, unmeasured scoop of leaf in a small teacup, the taste will be strong and pronounced. But what would happen if, when that same tea arrives, you happen to use a more level spoonful and steep it in a larger mug? That same tea will seem like it has lost its flavor because the ratio of leaf to water is incorrect. Take control of these elements to master the key to a good cup of tea!