Irish Breakfast

Single-origin Assam, broken small and brewed strong.

The Irish drink more tea per head than almost anyone on earth, and they drink it a particular way — very strong, very milky, several times a day. That habit shaped the blend. A delicate leaf vanishes under that much milk, so Irish tea leaned hard on Assam, the maltiest and most robust black tea in the world, until the two became inseparable. For most of the nineteenth century Ireland bought its tea through London. Wartime rationing in the 1940s forced the country to source directly from the growing regions for the first time, and the Irish houses went straight to Assam and stayed there.

Ours is single-origin Assam, no blending, graded Broken Orange Pekoe. BOP means the leaf is deliberately broken smaller before firing — more surface, faster extraction, a darker and stronger cup in less time. It is not a lesser grade, it is a different intention.

Deep russet in the pot, malty and bracing, with the tannin to hold its own against a generous pour of milk. A morning tea in the truest sense, though the Irish would tell you there is no wrong hour for it.