Cream Irish Breakfast

Description

Luxury Ingredients: Black tea, Natural flavors (organic compliant)
Grade Composition: OP (Orange Pekoe)
Manufacture Type(s): CTC (Cut, Torn and Curled) and Orthodox (Traditional leafy)
Infusion: Bright with coppery.
Caffeine Content: Medium

Here’s to Ireland, the country that can lay claim to the honor of having the most tea drinkers per capita in the entire world! The average Irishman, when not hoisting a Guinness, imbibes an average of 6 cups a day. Even with the country’s relatively small population of 3.9 million, that’s almost 24 million cups a day!

Tea and Ireland go way back. The drink was first introduced to the country in 1835 by British traders when Ireland was still part of the British Empire. Maintaining a secure supply was never a problem as Ireland relied on British importers for a steady flow of the drink – that is until WWII. During the war, Britain was forced to ration foodstuffs of all kinds, tea included, throughout the Empire. The problem for Irish tea-drinkers arose when part way through the war, much to the consternation of the British government, Ireland declared itself neutral in the global conflict. The British retaliated for what they saw as an act of subversion by cutting their tea ration down to almost nothing. Undaunted, the enterprising Irish government set up its own tea importing company, Tea Importers (Eire) Ltd., and tea drinkers throughout the Emerald Isle rejoiced!

In honor of the tea drinking spirit of the hardy Irish, we’ve developed this good strong blend. This blend, like most tea consumed in Ireland these days is made from East African and Ceylon varieties with a special addition – a good strong Assam. The addition of the Assam adds a depth to the tea that is beautifully offset by the addition of cream, another Irish favorite. This is one tea that’ll have you standing up singing Danny Boy in no time!

Either way, t’is a strong blend. Enjoy in the morning with toast, or a traditional Irish “fry-up!”

Hot tea brewing method: Bring filtered or freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea, 1 tea bag or 1 Q3 portion pack for each 7-9oz/200-260ml of fluid volume in the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea).

Iced tea brewing method (Pitcher): (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 slightly heaping teaspoons of loose tea, 6 tea bags or 6 Q3 portion packs into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 1¼ cups/315ml over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the tea or removing the bags. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about.)

Iced tea brewing method (Individual Serving): Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea, 1 tea bag or 1 Q3 portion pack into a teapot for each serving required. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 6-7oz/170-200ml per serving over the tea. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Add hot tea to a 12oz/375ml acrylic glass filled with ice, straining the tea or removing the bags. Not all of the tea will fit, allowing for approximately an additional ½ serving. Sweeten and/or add lemon to taste. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about!)

ANTIOXIDANT BENEFIT: More antioxidants are extracted from tea (L. Camellia Sinesis), or rooibos (Asphalatus Linearis), the longer it is brewed….and the more tea or rooibos that is used, the greater the antioxidant benefit.