All our teas are hand packaged the moment we receive your order so you get the freshest teas available anywhere, always with at LEAST one year of shelf life.  We ship in stay-fresh, vapor proof decorative bags to ensure that our teas remain at the highest quality.  Remember, vapor proof bags prevent your tea from being spoiled by outside tastes or odors.  Always store your tea in our specially designed bag or in a sealed tin in a cool, dry area that is not exposed to sunlight.  Never store your tea in the refrigerator.

Each order will ship the SAME BUSINESS DAY we receive payment, so you will have your teas within days of your order. 

 

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Tea Information:

Per capita, Irish consumption of tea is amongst the highest in the world.  The Irish prefer a full bodied cup of tea that if brewed long enough one could almost stand their spoon upright.  The strength is achieved by buying the best teas available from seasonal production periods in Assam and Kenya. This means that the Assam teas are from the second flush period during June, and the Kenyas are from February and August growth.  2nd flush Assams give a deep malty astringency and the best make your mouth feel dry they are so astringent. This astringency leads to a malty character that is almost so thick you feel like you could chew it. The seasonal Kenyas have a golden coppery color with an almost floral note that give a complex depth to the tea. Furthermore, you will see that the grade is CTC - cut, torn curled. The green leaf whilst it is being processed passes through a machine the cuts, tears and then curls the leaves into tiny balls. This ‘mash’ ferments very quickly after which firing takes place to ‘lock-in’ the flavor. These tiny tea balls when infused release their full flavor, more so than whole leaf tea. The reason is that there is more surface area on the tiny balls which can infuse as compared to the whole leaf tea. This is how the Irish like their tea!

Regarding the addition of milk, there is the age old argument of when to add the milk to the cup -before you add the tea or after.  Milk-firsters argue that adding milk last scalds the milk noticeably and therefore the milk should be warmed slowly with the addition of tea.  Milk-lasters argue that adding milk after the tea has been poured is the only way of judging the proper amount of milk to add by watching the color of the tea change.  Non users of milk regard the whole issue as silly.

Brewing Information:

Hot tea brewing method:  As with all top quality teas, scoop 2-4 teaspoons of tea into the teapot. Pour in boiling water that has been freshly drawn (previously boiled water has lost most if its oxygen and therefore tends to be flat tasting), steep for 2-4 minutes (to taste), stir (virtually all the leaves will sink), pour into your cup, add milk (do not use cream) and sugar to taste. When you are making a pot of tea - using loose tea of course - you will see the tea leaves uncurl and expand dramatically. This uncurling and expansion is called ‘the agony of the leaf.’

Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart):  Place 5 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]. Please note that this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice; a perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and nothing to worry about!

 

Visit Our Store for the Finest Tea and Tea Accessories