Second Cuppa

Barry’s Tea Gold Blend Review

The first thing I notice about the aroma of Barry’s Tea Gold Blend (tea bag version) is the last thing my palette is left with after sipping it: a sharp citrus quality that reminds me of the clementines (mandarin organges) that are now in season.

This full-bodied Irish tea is both robust and smooth. Three minutes of steeping does not produce significant bitterness. It has the maltiness you’d expect from a tea of this kind with a bright, mildly astringent finish that lingers on the tongue for a while.

Barry’s Tea Gold Blend goes well with a splash of milk. A small amount of honey or sugar is good too.

Aroma (brewed):	Sweet and citrus like
Body:	Full
Flavor:	Bright finish with moderate astrigency
Color:	Dark amber (even though it’s advertized to be golden)

Clipper Organic English Breakfast Tea

While Clipper produces a wide range of teas, US residents are mostly limited (at the time of publication) to a few varieties offered through Amazon, which is where I ordered their Fair Trade Organic English Breakfast Tea. You may order the tea you want directly from Clipper; however, you probably won’t want to pay the $64 postage fee.

The tea arrived in 6 packages of 20 individually wrapped stringed tea bags. If available, I would’ve opted for the larger, non-stringed tea bags (or even loose tea) because, true or not, I’ve been conditioned to believe larger tea bags lead to a better brew. I’m certain the Clipper spokeswoman, Sophie, in the video below — discussing how to make a proper pot of tea — would agree.

What Clipper Organic English Breakfast Tea lacks in body (compared to other builder’s teas like PG Tips, Tetley, Typhoo, Barry’s, Punjana, etc.) it makes up for in quality. You can easily discern both the malty characteristic of the Assam and the brightness of the Ceylon without having to contend with bitterness or astringency. Five minutes of steeping and nudging the tea bag a bit did not result in any bitterness for me.

Yearning to try their Fair Trade Organic Assam Tea with Vanilla, I hope access to Clipper’s full range of teas in the States will one day become more economically justifiable. Until then, I’ll happily work my way through the English Breakfast packs.

Aroma:	Mossy, malty with a hint of citrus
Body:	Medium
Flavor:	Bright and smooth
Color:	Dark amber

Who’s Drinking PG Tips?

CBS Sunday Morning did a story on Norah Jones the other day. She was being interviewed in her New York apartment when I noticed a large box of PG Tips tea in the background.

Who else in world of celebrity drinks “England’s No. 1 Tea”? A few minutes of internet research yielded the following list: Julie Andrews, Piers Morgan, Helen Mirren, Paul Rudd, David Gilmour, Sheryl Crow, Lady Gaga, Joss Stone, and Nicole Scherzinger. Yep, they all claim allegiance to the PG Tips brand.

Norah Jones, a celebrity who drinks PG Tips — Norah Jones drinks PG Tips

So there you go. If you enjoy the occasional PG Tips, you’re in the company of some very talented individuals. What’s in your cuppa?

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf: English Breakfast Tea Review

In the same Dallas shopping center as In-N-Out Burger, another company with Southern California roots opened its doors: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL). With ‘Tea Leaf’ in the name, they must be more knowledgeable about the Camellia sinensis plant than those other coffee chains, I figured.

Unlike other English or Irish breakfast teas I’ve sampled, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s English Breakfast blend features Keemun (China) and Taiwanese black instead of the more common Assam (India) and Kenyan (Africa) teas, resulting in a notably more complex aroma. Ceylon (Sri Lanka) tea is also included in the blend.

I purchased the whole leaf, loose tea version of this product (a tea bag version is also available) and prepared it at home in a teapot with boiling water. If you order this tea in-store, CBTL will use a whole leaf tea bag infused in water that is 200° Fahrenheit — a temperature slightly below boiling.

I’m introducing a new, condensed tea review format to appease my blog visitors who’d rather quickly scan my tea reviews than read my long, rambling introductory comments. Here it goes.

Aroma – Dry Leaf:	Fruity, earthy and smoky
Aroma – Brewed:	Sweet and earthy
Body:	Medium
Flavor:	Bright finish and very astringent
Color:	Light amber
Thoughts:	There is so much more depth to this Keemun-based English Breakfast tea than any Assam-based English Breakfast tea I’ve ever tasted. It is pleasantly aromatic and brisk. Its medium body does not hold up so well to milk.

Whittard Original (Loose Tea) Review

What makes a good breakfast even better? A good tea, that’s what. And not only is Whittard Chelsea 1886 Original a good tea, it’s readily available on the international aisle at my local grocery store. No need to wait for delivery.

This blend of Assam, Ceylon, and Kenyan teas has a pleasant aroma that I liken to freshly cut grass. On the tongue, it’s full-bodied, malty, mildly sweet, and moderately astringent. It has the kind of bright finish I’ve come to expect from Ceylon.

Whittard Original rivals, in both freshness and taste, the loose teas I’ve purchased from online merchants. Also available at the grocery store (and another perfect day starter) is Whittard English Breakfast, previously reviewed at Second Cuppa.