What is English Breakfast Tea?

22. 07. 2024

There's nothing like one original recipe for English Breakfast tea. It is a category of black teas rather than a specific tea, and there can be as many English Breakfast recipes as there are tea lovers. It's a mood tea associated with the morning, designed to help start your day off right. It is helped by natural caffeine, tannins and phenols, which will give it enough strength to handle even the rush of milk and sugar. The right dose of desirable astringency emphasizes the morning need to wake up quickly and prepare for the day ahead.

1843 will probably forever be remembered as the year the world's first Christmas card was sent, but 1843 is also the year Englishman Richard Davies emigrated from Hull, 200 miles north of London, to New York. Although he knew no one in town and had only a few dollars in his pocket, Mr. Davies rented a space in lower Manhattan near City Hall and started the Canton Tea Company. Despite having insufficient funds and no one to provide a reference for him, Mr. Davies was able to find an importer willing to provide him with a loan to purchase several hundred dollars worth of tea for his new business. Mr. Davies took great pains in the presentation of his goods, each pack being in a strong case with a decorative label, which led to a rapid increase in sales and a name for himself as a merchant of good repute. Wanting to make his mark, he soon began experimenting with blending his own teas to create something new. He decided on a fine Chinese black tea from the Fujian province to serve as the base for his new blend. To this he added golden Orange Pekoe and Pouchong, which was a partially oxidized Oolong with leaves almost green in color. Mr Davies named his new tea English Breakfast and marketed it with the explanation that it was the most popular tea in England at the time.

English Breakfast tea traditionally includes aromatic Chinese black tea such as Keemun, as well as high grade Sri Lanka Black Tea and Indian Assam. Each of the components has its role in the blend with the aim of achieving a harmonious tea that is fragrant, full-bodied, but at the same time not lacking in delicacy. A good English Breakfast tastes well prepared both mild and strong, typically softened with milk and flavored with sugar. Good Tea's English Breakfast is based on exactly this trio of teas, quality Chinese Keemun tea for flavor and aroma, Indian Assam for full body and highland Ceylon black tea to harmonize the blend. The ratio of ingredients has evolved and changed over time and finally reached the point where customers buy it in bulk to be sure they don't run out. English Breakfast is mainly about emotions and mood, and these are worth supporting in the morning with a good cup of tea.