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English Breakfast

BLACK TEA  50g

GRADE – FP(Flowery Pekoe)

CAFFEINE/ANTIOXIDANT LEVEL: Medium/High

Cup characteristics:  A perfect breakfast tea with a good body and full tea flavour notes. Coppery bright especially enticing with milk.

Luxury ingredients:  Black tea.

£ 3.00

In stock

PRODUCT ID: 291
SKU: 771541390041 Categories: ,

Description

English Breakfast

Today the habit of tea drinking is inexorably linked to the British despite the fact that the British were fairly late on the tea scene in historical terms. Ironically the first mention of tea in English literature is a translation of a Dutchman’s travels to the east. Tea was first brought to England via Holland on Dutch ships. Since tea was becoming an ‘in’ beverage the British the which being government became quite incensed that a tiny nation such as the Netherlands would control shipment of tea to the UK, in 1651 the British government passed the Navigation Acts which

forbade the importation of any products on non-British ships. Traders and Dutchmen, being resourceful, continued the trade in the usual manner but for one little wrinkle he transshipped in Holland onto British ships!

Early in British life tea was known as a health beverage and claimed all sorts of curative powers. In the 1650’s, Garway’s Coffee House proclaimed that tea amongst other things: “Tea makes the body active and lusty. Tea is declared to be the most wholesome: preserving perfect health until extreme Old Age ” Afternoon tea was the invention of Anna, wife of the seventh Duke of Bedford. AL that time custom dictated only two planned meals per day: a hearty breakfast and a late evening dinner. Anna in an effort to ease the “sinking feeling” began instructing her servants to prepare tea and cakes in the late afternoon.

Thus began a fashionable habit which still exists today. Britain is steeped in tea history. Think of: High Tea, The Brown Betty, The American War of Independence, The Opium Wars, The Boxer Rebellion. The Clipper Ship races from Fuzchou, China to Portsmouth UK, The Earl of Grey, English Breakfast etc. etc.

HOT BREWING METHOD:

Bring filtered or freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea 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). Add milk & sugar to taste. Ideal Brewing Temperature: 100ºC/212ºF

ICED TEA BREWING METHOD

(Pitcher): (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 slightly heaping teaspoons of loose tea 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. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. A rule of thumb when preparing freshly 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.)

(Individual Serving): Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea 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. 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 freshly 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!)

We strongly recommend using filtered or freshly drawn cold water brought to a rolling boil when brewing all types of tea. Today’s water has been known to carry viruses, parasites and bacteria. Boiling the water will kill these elements and reduce the potential incidence of water-borne illnesses.

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