This very full-bodied organic tea is even stronger than its English counterpart. Preferring a cup of organic black tea so strong that one can stand a spoon up in it, the Irish are among the highest tea consumers per capita in the world. The strength and quality of this organic, Fair Trade Certified Irish Breakfast is achieved by blending smaller leaf grade tea from the Assam region of India with tea from Vietnam. Takes milk well.
Ingredients: organic and Fair Trade Certified Indian and Vietnamese black tea
What are Blended Teas?
Our delicious blended teas use the same top-quality organic teas and/or botanicals offered in our single origin varieties, but are comprised of teas, herbs, fruit, and/or flowers of multiple origins and/or varieties. When blending our teas, our goal is to create a cup with a specific flavor profile in mind. Unlike single origin teas, which can vary from harvest to harvest (just like wine!), blended teas trade seasonal variation for year-to-year consistency. As a result, the formula and/or appearance of our blends may change over time, but you can rest assured that you’ll always receive an organic cup of tea with consistent flavor.
Steeping Instructions
At Arbor Teas, we believe tea should be brewed to suit your personal taste. We’re happy to make recommendations to get you started, but don’t hesitate to experiment! When brewing your tea, your main considerations are tea quantity, water temperature, and steeping time. We recommend black teas to be steeped for 3 to 5 minutes in water heated to a full, rolling boil. For the best flavor, use fresh water whenever possible, and avoid overboiling. Try not to steep your tea longer than necessary, as you’ll extract undesirable bitterness from the leaves. If you want a stronger brew, don’t steep longer, just use more tea. And don’t forget to re-steep your tea leaves to get the most out of your leaf!
"This is a strong cup of tea! Especially if you let it steep a little longer. It's really good with a little milk and brown sugar."
Jeremy
"Brew this one long enough and you actually could stand a spoon upright in it!"
Aubrey
"I don't typically prefer milk in my tea and, fortunately, this Irish Breakfast tastes so good (despite its strength) that I can enjoy it without."
Health Benefits
Like all true tea, black tea offers many potential health benefits. Research has found that tea (Camellia sinensis) can have many positive effects on human health, including improved cardiovascular function, cancer risk reduction, improved immune function, improved oral health, and help with weight management. Tea is also full of polyphenols, which are a class of antioxidant that help your body maintain homeostasis and balance your stress levels. Black tea specifically has been found to regulate blood sugar in diabetics better than other types of tea, according to a study done by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
For more information about the health benefits of black tea and other types of tea, and for direct sources of the above information, check out our Tea Health Benefits page!
Please note: the information above is for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
British Afternoon Tea
Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, is credited with the origination of afternoon tea in the early 1800s. In Anna's day, lunch was served at noon, with dinner often put off until well into the evening. As the story goes, Anna decided that a light meal over tea in the late afternoon would be the perfect solution to her between-meal hunger. Given Anna's social stature, the concept took off among the upper class, proving to be an excellent social venue. The term "high tea" is actually owed to England's working class, who transformed the afternoon tea into their primary evening meal, serving much heartier fare such as meats, cakes, bread and pies. High tea is a reference to the table the working class sat at while taking their tea - tall in comparison to the low, delicate tables at which the gentry took their lighter, more formal tea. Queen Victoria introduced the English to the Russian custom of adding lemon to their tea after visiting one of her daughters in Russia - before that, the English took only milk with their tea.
For even more information about this and other traditions, visit our Tea Traditions Page!
Customer Reviews
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not what I was looking for, but still a beautiful tea
Posted by Skye on 11th Nov 2022
When it comes to British style breakfast teas, I really crave a maltier flavor than this Irish Breakfast tea. It's a delicious tea that tastes great with cream but if you're like me and are looking for a malty breakfast tea, then you will be as disappointed as I was.
5
New favorite!
Posted by Emma Marshall on 16th Apr 2021
I bought this tea when I was starting my zero-waste journey (and because I love a good cup of tea). It's now my absolute favorite! Great on its own, great with milk (and with sugar, and yes, I know I'm a heathen), and even great in a hot toddy! I will be ordering the bulk size soon, and hope to drink it with every rainy Saturday breakfast from now on!
5
Perfect Pick Me Up
Posted by Stephanie Smith on 28th Mar 2021
This is my go-to tea on mornings when I just want to crawl back into bed. I appreciate its full body and vigorous flavor; this is an excellent, strong tea.
4
Pretty Good
Posted by Willie Dillon on 8th Mar 2021
Solid black tea. I think I like this one more than the English breakfast.
5
Irish Breakfast
Posted by Mariko on 8th Jan 2021
I ordered the sampler to get an idea of the flavors and quality of your teas. I also ordered the Irish Breakfast based on your description. It just sounded good. We have now had all of the teas and I am ready to reorder. I am ordering the Irish Breakfast Tea. We enjoyed it more than any of the sampler teas. I will order the bulk size because I know that we will want to drink this tea for a long time. We drink it every morning with a heavy cream we get from the Amish Farmers in Pennsylvania. We live in San Diego so its a big commitment. This combination is so delicious. We have coffee from time to time but always return to ur tea ritual. It is the perfect start of any day. Thank you for your dedication to the quality and support of tea growers around the world.
5
An excellent cuppa
Posted by Brady on 29th Dec 2020
It is so hard to find a decent breakfast cup of black tea that holds milk well. Rarely do I find a tea that pleases my English & Irish senses this well - but this tea hits the spot. Elegant and floral, yet bold, it’s a tea I plan to continue restocking going forward.
5
Irish breakfast
Posted by Jeffrey on 27th Aug 2020
By far the best tasting Irish breakfast tea I have ever had. Can not wait to try other flavors, but this will be my everyday tea. Thank you so much.
2
the tea
Posted by ross on 23rd Mar 2019
Was really surprised how weak my tea was. I had to add a ton of leaves and left it to steep for ages but even then was disapointed. Love this company but not this tea. I hope I just had an off batch.
5
Lots of flavor layers
Posted by Libby on 1st Dec 2016
I usually drink Darjeeling 2nd Flush and English Breakfast. I decided it was time to branch out a little for variety and got this Irish Breakfast. It was a great choice. It's strong, sure. But it also has lots of layers in the flavor. I'm glad I got it and intend to add it to my regular rotation.
5
The Perfect Black Tea
Posted by Ashley Freelove on 25th Sep 2016
I grew up sipping on black tea along with every other member of my family. Black tea was preferred over coffee, and was sipped in the morning with breakfast, and as decaf in the evening as we chatted together. This tea was always grocery store bagged tea. When I began using higher quality loose leaf teas instead, I knew I had to find the perfect black tea to bring me the comforts of childhood in every sip. In order to find the very best black tea, I knew it had to be a strong brew, because in my family, we like to add a splash of milk to our cups. I also simply prefer stronger brews in general, anyway. After searching on Arbor Tea's site, it seemed clear this was the tea for me. It also seemed fitting as we are an Irish family! One sip, and I was reassured that this was the perfect black tea for me. It is indeed very strong, and takes milk superbly well! I ordered this as a sample, and now I am sure I will need to repurchase the larger size!
4
Good black tea
Posted by Jo on 23rd Jan 2016
This is what I feel like a black tea should be - it's strong, but not too strong, does really well as iced tea, with a nice full flavor.
4
Not bad
Posted by Kara on 12th Dec 2015
This tea is smooth, rich, and dark. It has a milder "Irish" flavor than Trader Joe's or Twinings' Irish breakfast tea but is still good. I love that it's Fair Trade!
2
Not True Irish Breakfast Tea
Posted by Jonathan on 24th Apr 2015
This is a lovely, flavorful, delicious black tea, but it is not true to type. I gave it only 2 leaves to attract a little attention! If you are looking for a Lyons or Barry's sort of tea (or even the Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast) that steeps as dark as porter in 2 minutes, this one may disappoint. It does not seem to be produced using a CTC process and somewhat lacks the characteristic robust body. Jeremy, it would be so great if you could source a closer match! P.S. This review was written by an Irish-born tea lover!
5
Favorite Tea
Posted by Gail on 22nd Apr 2015
I am a long time fan of Irish Breakfast tea, it is my favorite black tea. This version is especially wonderful. Has a rich aroma when you open the bag and pairs beautifully with milk. Will be a staple tea in my house.
5
Lovely tea
Posted by Katie on 12th Jan 2015
I'm really pleased with this tea. I enjoy Twinings Irish Breakfast and it's certainly more convenient to buy, but I really wanted to start buying Fair Trade tea. This is a great substitute and in fact, the leaves look a million times better (you can actually tell that they are leaves!). As an added bonus, it's organic too! The taste is wonderful- nice and bold. A very classic black tea flavor. I brew it for about 4 or 5 minutes for what I consider a moderately strong tea and add a splash of whole milk to it. It's the perfect wake me up first thing in the morning!
5
My Genes LOVE This Tea
Posted by Janet Binion on 8th Apr 2014
My maternal grandfather's mother came from Ireland. Though my grandfather never visited "the old country" (Brooklyn, where he lived, doesn't really count), he inherited the Irish love of strong tea. As a kid, I watched him put three Lipton tea bags of common into an eight-ounce cup, pour in boiling water and steep it for ten minutes. I inherited his tea-gene, which enjoys my morning cup of Arbor Tea's Irish Breakfast Tea steeped for ten minutes, just like my grandfather did. However, I also enjoy knowing that my tea has not been sprayed with insecticide and that its growers and pickers have been fairly compensated for their efforts. Talk about a win/win!
4
Solid Irish Breakfast Tea
Posted by Sam K on 9th Nov 2013
I often use to term 'red' to describe Irish breakfast tea (especially when comparing it to English breakfast tea). While this Irish breakfast tea is not as 'red' as some I've had it still has a distinct Irish breakfast tea flavor and is one of the more sweet and floral Irish breakfast teas I've tried. Very good overall.
5
Great Transition from Coffee!!!
Posted by Jason Sheets on 5th Nov 2013
I'm from the South and we're very big coffee drinkers down here. When I was transitioning from coffee to tea, I was advised to pick a Pu-erh tea because the consistency was closer to that of coffee. I was very disappointed as it was terrible advice for me because I wasn't going as much for the texture of the way it felt in my mouth but rather the lingering taste afterwards. This is perfect for the coffee drinker transitioning to tea. When people talk about how strong this tea is remember they're talking about TEA. Not COFFEE. The strength is not even close to a black cup of coffee however it is perfect for the transition. This tea has a very good tea flavor and a bit of a bite compared to other teas I have tried. Get it! You'll like it!!
5
This One Will Clear Your Fog!
Posted by Jeremy on 17th Aug 2013
Irish Breakfast is easily bold enough to clear your morning fog, but don't let its name fool you! It's also a superb afternoon pick-me-up, whether you enjoy at "tea time" or just after lunch. I find that a few drops of organic honey rounds out the bold flavor without over-sweetening it.
5
My favorite morning tea!
Posted by Lauren on 7th Apr 2013
This tea is my favorite morning tea from Arbor. It's flavorful, bold, and is the perfect way to start my day. Very satisfying!
4
Bold with a touch of floral
Posted by Kyle on 16th Dec 2012
This is a dark bold tea with a mild floral after taste that makes it deeply satisfying a great everyday tea for me.
3
Definitely Irish
Posted by Joseph Paulson on 19th Jul 2012
I was surprised with the size of the dry leaf. Very small, mostly broken. Also many flashes of gold among the stubby brown leaves. But the scent of the leaves was inviting. Sweet. It brews up with a musty aroma, not off-putting. The taste is not very complex or brisk, but not bitter either. Peat, leather, a little smoke? Indeed, something charmingly "Irish" about it.
5
Fantastic, Rich Tea
Posted by Steve Kaye on 22nd Apr 2012
This tea has a fantastic, full flavor. It's my favorite black tea.
5
It's My Favorite Now!
Posted by Donna, Livonia, Michigan 5* on 25th Oct 2011
My favorite used to be Lipton--that is--until they started adding non-tea additives to their regular black tea (orange pekoe). They now add orange juice, cranberry juice, and/or broccoli! But now my favorite is Irish Breakfast. It's very rich. There's NO mistake that you are drinking 100% black tea! I have tried a few of the samplers, so I think I have all of the black teas covered, but the strong Irish is now my favorite!
5
Irish Breakfast Tea
Posted by Gudrun Matthaus on 17th Apr 2011
This is my favorite tea. I enjoy it with or without honey or agave nectar. It is delightful with soy creamer.
4
Non Irish welcome
Posted by Bill Edwards on 12th Nov 2007
So far I am not a major fan of the blacks but this is popular in my household and gets 4 stars because of my wife and older son (a three from me). Aubrey I think it is against some law not to have milk in your Irish tea! Now I will have to try that. This tea is quite versatile and you can make it however you want it. I have even used soy milk (I know that's another law right?) I have used flavored honey also. This is definitely a hearty tea to enjoy with a meal.