Having a tough week this morning? Feel like a little extra pick-me-up is in order? Here’s the original energy drink: Irish Breakfast tea.
Three essential words describe a breakfast tea. Caffeine, caffeine, caffeine. This Irish Breakfast tea from Sipology is particularly potent.
The first thing you’ll notice is that it looks different than most whole leaf teas. That’s because it’s not the whole leaf. It’s CTC, or Crush, Tear and Curl tea. It’s made by processing through a series of machines, where the leaves are crushed, torn and bent to transform the tea leaves into hard pellets. Some Irish Breakfast teas are whole leaf but I prefer this kind. The advantage of the CTC is a quick-brewing, bold flavored, high caffeine content tea. The disadvantage is you lose a lot of the subtlety and delicate flavors of whole leaf teas.
From the first hint of the aroma rising from the cup to the final sip there is a strong, malty quality that is brisk yet still smooth. It is perfectly fine on its own but is quite enjoyable with milk and sugar, or even with some Irish whiskey.
I’ve had my Irish Breakfast tea. Look out world!
Thank you for explaining the CTC method and how that produces a different tea. Love your “Look out world!” My friend said this and I thought it should be on a t-shirt: “Be careful, I’m caffeinated.”
That would be an awesome Tea-shirt! I’d buy it.
I would buy it too!