English Breakfast tea and Irish Breakfast are some of the most famous traditional blended teas.
How are the tea blends made?
Teas from different regions with different characters can be mixed to achieve new, dimensional flavors. The art and the challenge of tea blending is to get a consistent result with every batch. Once the tea master successfully created a new tea blend, he would need to reproduce it, again and again, so the loyal customer would get the same cup of their favorite English Breakfast every morning.
Black tea is a great starting point for tea producers to get creative with blends and flavors. Some blends are made with additional flavoring agents like fruits and spices; others only include different types of Camellia Sinensis leaves.
What is the difference between English Breakfast and afternoon teas? 
There are two main types of traditional black tea blends – morning blends (English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Yorkshire Tea) and afternoon teas.
Afternoon blends are the lighter, refreshing types of tea, such as Darjeelings or Chinese Oolongs.
Mornings blends are full-bodied, rich, and robust, usually based on Assam, Ceylon, and Keemun teas. Whether to have them with milk and sugar is up to you. However, that’s a longstanding British custom.
Why is it called English Breakfast tea?
It’s easy to see why once you’ve sampled the tea. English Breakfast tea will hold up to a traditional, protein-rich English breakfast. But here’s the fun part – the tea didn’t get its name in England. New York City was the first to hear of it, thanks to some clever marketing by a British immigrant named Roger Davies. In 1834, Davies created a strong black tea blend using Chinese and Indian black teas. Once NYC retailers started selling this blend, it became so popular that letters were sent to London enquiring about its origins. And that was how England came to hear about English Breakfast tea. Up until then, the strong black teas consumed there had simply been known as ‘morning teas’ (as opposed to lighter, gentler afternoon teas).
What does English Breakfast tea taste like?
When tasting a good English Breakfast tea, you may appreciate the earthy scents and smokey undertones. The bull-bodies, rich teas are perfectly suited to a bit of cream and won’t fail to wake you up and get you going. The strong flavor will hold up to the heartiest of breakfasts and coldest of mornings.
Where to buy the best English Breakfast tea online?
We feature only the best tea vendors and earn from qualifying purchases.
Curated blend of robust and flavorful Assam black teas - 100% Pure Unblended Single Region Tea Strong, Bold and Flavorful Black Tea Leaves Tastes characteristically malty with hints of caramel and cocoa Has a soothing woody aroma with a whiff of chocolate Makes for a bold breakfast cuppa Can be served with or without milk and sugar Can be brewed both hot and cold Popularised in Indian by the British monarchy, our Classic English Breakfast tea brings together the finest bounties from the divine region of Assam in India. A curated combination of robust, full-bodied, and flavourful Assam black teas makes for a bold breakfast cuppa! The dark black leaves are interspersed with beautiful golden tips. The bright, reddish liquor is rich, full-bodied, and is characteristically malty with hints of caramel and cocoa. It also has a soothing woody aroma with a whiff of chocolate. Truly regal and energising. Citrus, grassy, spicy. Robust with flavor, our traditional blend of organic loose leaf black tea is perfect for starting the day. This Sri Lanka black tea brews smooth and malty, with a clean finish. An invigorating blend of organic black teas. A fine blend of high quality black teas, this English Breakfast Tea provides a robust and flavorful experience that promises to enhance your morning. This exceptional tea, however, finishes so smooth and welcoming, it can be enjoyed throughout the day. The classic sweet-smoky flavors come round in this strong malty cup. Rich and robust, this stays true to the classic English breakfast, Its stand-out features are its flavors that are of a progressively gradient nature. They start mellow and sweet going all the way to strong and high-fired. Along the way, you taste notes of honey and malt, with a hint of tobacco. Reliably strong; perfect to kick-start a day. Peppy and unabashedly euphoric, the flavors in this breakfast blend are bold, uplifting and utterly stimulating. Perfect with a dash of milk, an Irish breakfast tea is your bet for a pick-me-up tonic in the mornings, and then every other hour of the day Tea Blends. Unique Uncommon Kosher A Black Tea Blend of Ceylon and African Teas. English Breakfast This full-bodied yet mellow tea is a great way to start each day. We have chosen Kenya and Kenilworth for this blend. The golden tips of Milima are reminiscent of Assam and the bold leaves of Ceylon's Kenilworth are very mellow. Created to match the style favored by the tea-loving Irish, this blend features a blend of Organic Black Teas, giving it a dark full-bodied, malty flavor that's slightly stronger than the English Breakfast Tea. As its name implies, Irish Breakfast Tea is an ideal accompaniment to a morning meal, and the addition of milk and sugar to this tea creates a warm, solid flavor and aroma, providing a velvety smooth texture. Earthy, round, woodsy. Start your day anywhere with our smooth and malty English Breakfast teabag. Biodegradable and eco-friendly, our organic English Breakfast teabags brew sweet and woodsy with a clean finish.
More tea, please!
Isabelle is a freelance writer, self-taught tea nerd, and tea blending enthusiast. She is a herbalist with a strong interest in Ayurveda. Each year Isabelle travels extensively, returning with tea samples from around the world. She is a big fan of handmade teaware and Japanese green teas.