Irish Breakfast Green

Ireland is a country famous for its green flag, green beer, and little green men. How fitting that after all this time the country would finally have a green tea to call its own. After all, Ireland is home to the world’s greatest tea drinking population. Since the late 1800’s Irish per capita tea consumption has held steady somewhere around 3.2 kg or about 7 pounds annually. While most people in the country still drink a hearty black tea with their morning meal, many Irish are slowly converting to green tea varieties as its health benefits become better known.

Sociologists have long theorized as to why the Irish consume so much tea. One theory is based on a long standing folk belief in some counties that drinking tea will make them lucky. Another theory is linked to a belief held in some rural communities that the scent of freshly brewed tea will keep away evil Leprechauns - the mischievous and perpetually inebriated variety. (You know, the ones that paint livestock!). Most likely however, the reasons that have the Irish coming back cup after cup an average of four times daily are far simpler, like it tastes great, and it energizes in the morning.

In the spirit of the Emerald Isle, we’re pleased to offer this robust blend of some of the world’s finest green teas. Like a nice strong Irish Breakfast black tea, this is a toasty blend with some chutzpah – a tea that demands to be noticed! That said, like most green teas, Irish Breakfast green also has a distinctive mellowness with lively fresh undertones that make it a perfect morning palate cleanser. To create this distinctive blend, we’ve used tea from three corners of the world of green tea production – a fabulous Shizuoka varietal from Japan, a Chinese from Zhejiag province and a Kenyan green tea from Nandi. Unlike Japan and China, Kenya is better known for its robust black teas but is gaining a reputation for producing green teas with a similar substantial cup. We hope you’ll enjoy this tea as much as we do. There really is nothing better than waking up on a blustery morning, brewing a pot, and breathing that sigh of relief when you notice that your livestock remain unpainted. It is truly one of life’s joys.

Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into 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). Like most green teas, Irish Breakfast Green is best consumed without milk and sugar although milk and sugar may be added to taste.

Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. [A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to double the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water].