tea question

January 31, 2009 7:02 PM

Do Brits drink "British Breakfast" tea, and the Irish drink "Irish Breakfast" tea?

I drink tea every day. Usually Twinnings British Breakfast, or Irish Breakfast. It occured to me... Do Brits drink "British Breakfast" tea, and the Irish drink "Irish Breakfast" tea? If not, why are they named this way? Or are these marketed in the US and not in the UK?

posted by ecorrocio to food & drink (40 comments total)

I've always seen it as "English Breakfast", by the way.

In Ireland, I've seen "Irish Breakfast" marketed as either "Irish Breakfast" or as "Assam". I believe that it's a somewhat stronger-tasting blend than the English Breakfast blend, and it's said that the Irish prefer that stronger blend -- the same way that Americans "prefer" catsup on their french fries and Canadians "prefer" vinegar. Just as some Americans prefer vinegar on their French fries instead, though, I'm sure that different people in the UK and Ireland also prefer each other's "breakfast" teas.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:07 PM on January 31

Oh -- "Assam" is the region of India where that particular tea is grown, kind of like the way that Burgundy wine is from the Burgundy region of France.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:08 PM on January 31

Brits drink English Breakfast tea - it happens to be my favourite. I have never seen any blend marketed as "British Tea".
posted by WPW at 7:16 PM on January 31

Yes... English Breakfast... sorry.
posted by ecorrocio at 7:16 PM on January 31

Then: yes.
posted by WPW at 7:17 PM on January 31

Most British people just drink what they call "tea", with P.G. Tips and Tetley being amongst the biggest brands. English Breakfast seems to be a marketing term for more expensive brands which sell a range of different kinds of tea, like Twinings or Taylor's of Harrogate.

It seems Twinings have introduced "Everyday Tea" in the U.K. market, presumably to compete with the mass-market teas that ordinary people drink. Although at least one link out there reckons that they did so to "reinvigorate" a declining mainstream tea market.
posted by galaksit at 7:21 PM on January 31 [1 favorite has favorites]

People here pretty much drink "tea". It's drunk in massive quantities, so you buy teabags in boxes of 80 or 160, and monster your way through them at a great pace. People have their brands -- we drink Tetley, others drink Typhoo or PG Tips.

There are some who'll drink specific things like Earl Grey or herbal teas, but the vast majority drink undifferentiated tea. At any time of day.
posted by bonaldi at 7:23 PM on January 31

I don't supose it would make much sense for Brits to drink "British tea." To us, it is just tea. I used to prefer assam when I lived in the UK ... :-)
But tea varieties are very much a foodie thing. Most working class people would just drink "tea" (PG Tips, Typhoo, Tetley's etc.). The sorts of tea that you refer to would be marketed by tea variety (Assam, Darjeeling, Earl Grey) in the UK, rather than "British" or "Irish" tea. These names seemed designed to appeal to Americans ... :)
posted by Susurration at 7:27 PM on January 31

"These names seemed designed to appeal to Americans ... :)"

Ahah! as I suspected... a marketing ploy!
posted by ecorrocio at 7:38 PM on January 31

Fwiw ... as an English person living in the US my preferred tea is English Breakfast style (provided the person making the tea knows how to make it -- which is rarely the case except at home) but the tea I buy is PG Tips (from Longs Drugs, in the vitamin section!.) As pointed out above, though, in Britain it's just "tea".
posted by airplain at 7:39 PM on January 31

Do Brits drink "British Breakfast" tea, and the Irish drink "Irish Breakfast" tea?

No. Brits drink PG Tips, and Irish people drink Barrys. Whatever the peccadilloes of the export market or someone's single data point Anglophile friends, these are the market leaders, respectively.

The ads for both brands are also iconic.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:46 PM on January 31 [1 favorite has favorites]

English Breakfast, as others have said, is usually considered "posh tea" or "the tea your grandma serves in her china teapot when you're visiting" as opposed to "tea". I'm pretty sure that Irish Breakfast (esp. in the old yellow Bewley's tin) has a similar cachet in Ireland. Twinings is posh tea. Taylor's Assam/Eng. Breakfast/Ceylon is posh tea and sold at a premium; its Yorkshire Tea is not posh.

The US has a commodity tea market as well, just for iced-tea tea (Lipton, Luzianne, etc.)
posted by holgate at 7:47 PM on January 31

It's really not a marketing ploy, so much as brand positioning. There's basically no "good cheap supermarket tea" in the US, since the iced-tea tea is bottom-tier dust, and imports of PG Tips or Barry's are expensive. (The one exception: Tetley British Blend.) With such a limited market for commodity tea that can cope with being served hot, they've chosen to go with blends that are considered top-shelf back in the UK and Ireland.
posted by holgate at 7:57 PM on January 31

You can buy English Breakfast tea in supermarkets, but I've never seen it in any form aside from tea leaves and most British people tend to use teabags (and there are many many brands). Personal anecdote: I just emigrated to the US from the UK and used a massive portion of my suitcase to stash 240 PG Tips teabags, as I heard the imported price is horrendous :D

airplane, thanks for the Longs Drugs tip off!
posted by saturnine at 8:01 PM on January 31

Saturnine -- you've never seen "English Breakfast" teas in the U.K. in bag form? The Twinings stuff comes in bags, IIRC.
posted by galaksit at 8:24 PM on January 31

There's also Scottish Blend, specially blended for Scotland's soft water. Water hardness has a lot to do with the flavour.
posted by scruss at 8:31 PM on January 31

There's basically no "good cheap supermarket tea" in the US,

Weeeeeeeell, maybe there is...there are cheap supermarket teas in the U.S., Lipton and Red Rose being the two I've seen.

...Whether they're good may be debatable. But for a lot of the U.S. Lipton is "tea", drunk hot.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:49 PM on January 31

Lipton is pretty awful (but no one in the US knows how to make tea properly so it doesn't matter ;) ). There are some other normal tea brands you can get in the US in Asian or smaller local markets that are pretty good though the brand names escape me at the moment.

imho, the irish breakfast blends you get in the US are the closest to what is drunk in Ireland, though sadly usually prepared by chucking a tea bag into a mug of warm water.
posted by fshgrl at 9:24 PM on January 31

In 4.5 years in the UK, I found that Twinings "English Breakfast" tea was omnipresent. I'm baffled by the suggestion that this is something not seen the UK.
posted by grouse at 9:42 PM on January 31

I was always led to believe Co-op 99 was the most popular brand of tea in the UK. Not sure if that's still true but attempted checking online reveals it's now gone fairtrade. Good old co-op.
posted by Abiezer at 11:26 PM on January 31

Eyes teapot

In UK cafes / hotel bars and those kind of places, they'll often serve something like Twining's English Breakfast blend.

But most people just drink vast quantites of the classic brands, as others have said above.
posted by pharm at 2:20 AM on February 1

Abiezer, Co-Op 99 was the tea of choice when I was a kid, and I think that's because the Co-Op was really the leading supermarket around at the time (1960s) in working-class communities where most people didn't have cars (I'm talking about the Midlands and the North of England where only 'posh' people had cars). Co-Ops were usually convenient for people to walk to. I can still remember my mum's 'Divi' number (98949).

But with the rise of the supermarket behemoths and the increase in general standards of living for the working-class, including a car for most families, the local Co-Op supermarket has been relegated to the status of a corner shop that you only use when you've run out of something.
posted by essexjan at 2:53 AM on February 1

Yep, that's what it was like in the big northern village I grew up in in the 70s essexjan, the Co-Op was the main grocery. I must be years out of date thinking it might still be the most popular now.
posted by Abiezer at 3:01 AM on February 1

DarlingBri: When you say Barrys ads are iconic, you aren't thinking of the ads with Lyons Minstrels?
posted by Iteki at 3:37 AM on February 1

"There's basically no "good cheap supermarket tea" in the US".

Speaking as an ex-Ceylon tea planter, Publix Tagless teabags here in Florida are good everyday tea bag tea.
posted by lungtaworld at 5:14 AM on February 1

Lipton is pretty awful (but no one in the US knows how to make tea properly so it doesn't matter ;) ).

Hey, I beg to differ! ...Although, I was taught by Irish folk, so I may be messing up the curve.

Speaking of which -- my box of Barry's does indeed say "Irish Breakfast" on it. However, I bought it in New York, so it might have been a box produced for the export market, which would be labelled differently, perhaps? (It does have a jaunty little shamrock and "product of Ireland" on the box also, which may also indicate it's an export-specific product.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:21 AM on February 1

Breakfast tea is supposedly stronger flavoured, and has more caffeine, than normal tea. I don't think drinking a special blend of tea at breakfast was a normal working class thing to do, I suspect this is middle-class fanciness.

The difference between Irish breakfast tea and English breakfast tea might be like the difference between 'Turkish delight' and 'Cypriot delight'.

(I'm not a tea enthusiast but I buy groceries for one)
posted by BinaryApe at 7:59 AM on February 1

Grouse, do you mean omnipresent in people's homes or omnipresent in restaurants?

If you meant restaurants, then fair enough. If you meant people's homes then you clearly run with a classier crowd than me.
posted by the latin mouse at 8:09 AM on February 1

DarlingBri: When you say Barrys ads are iconic, you aren't thinking of the ads with Lyons Minstrels?

No. I'm talking about within contemporary culture, not black and white ads from whenever that was. The Barry's ad arcs are part of Irish pop culture; they're a rip off of the UK Gold Blend ads, but massively lamer. Then again, that's very Irish in and of itself, so we like it.

my box of Barry's does indeed say "Irish Breakfast" on it. However, I bought it in New York, so it might have been a box produced for the export market...

The Barry's range you'll find in a supermarket here is typically Gold Blend, Green Blend and Classic Blend, known as the red box, the green box and the other box. Barry's does make a range of "Specialty teas" that included Irish Breakfast, but it is less typical supermarket fare and more commonly found in export. Domestically, these are premium teas and stocked on a specialty shelf.

In 4.5 years in the UK, I found that Twinings "English Breakfast" tea was omnipresent. I'm baffled by the suggestion that this is something not seen the UK.

It's not that it isn't found, it's that it isn't the standard for domestic consumption. It's the ubiquitous tea offering in restaurants, and while you'll find it in all grocery stores, it's the sort of thing I'd stick in a Christmas hamper or possibly bring out when we have guests.

It's not inferior or superior as an everyday drinking tea but it just isn't what most people drink routinely. This may be a reflection of price points; I can't check UK prices, but in Ireland, Twinings English Breakfast 100 Teabags 250g is €6.09. Barrys Green Tea Bags 80pk 250g is €2.99.

Considering that we buy our tea in packs of 160 due to sheer quantity of consumption, that's a major price difference.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:11 AM on February 1

Thanks for this question, I've often wondered exactly what the difference is and why it's specifically for breakfast and there's not, more appropriately, "English Tea Time Tea."

I really love P.G. Tips (and I've found it in Stop & Shop/Shaw's in the u-SOFA) - it's definitely a step up from Twining's English Breakfast, but I'll confess, I really can't tell the difference between English & Irish Breakfast. I think I remember hearing somewhere that Irish Breakfast is stronger? Somehow? More caffeine? I could totally be making that up.

Random data point: In Iceland, everyone drinks Melrose's, which is a Scottish brand that is apparently impossible to find outside of Scotland or Iceland. I've certainly never found it here, and I'd put it as equal to Twinings in quality.

That is to say:

"American Tea" (read: Lipton) < Twinings = Melrose's < P.G. Tips
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:59 AM on February 1

I think English Breakfast, as mentioned, was just a means of brands that sell multiple varieties to distinguish the normal (PG Tips/Tetley) style. Because PG Tips has one blend ('Tea') they don't need any more definition. If you have loads of others like Assam, Earl Grey and the like, you can't really just call it "Tea" any more. This is why the more upmarket lots use it - because the have several blends in their product line; to give it some kind of name other than "the same tea you are used to seeing" or "tea, but not one of the fancy ones".

So yes, it is what British people drink in the majority. Any suggestion that it has links to working class or not is a little ignorant. In my experience it is only linked to how much people consume or just preference of taste. Earl grey is generally expensive if you drink large quantities of tea. You've got to like it A LOT to stay with it all teh time if you're drinking several cup a day.

Also, to kind of second some of the above, I blame Liptons/Red Rose and the inability of the US-ians as a whole to be bothered to want to make tea properly for the vast majority of the reason they don't understand why we (UK-ians) go on about tea so much. Tea made badly is pretty bloody awful, and even when I tried to make Liptons properly it really is like holding a bag of rats droppings in a cup for 2 minutes in terms of taste. I was delighted to discover that Loblaws sold Tetley Tea.

When I first got to the US and tried the Iced Tea they have (Lipton brand) I thought it was just an expression, not a true descriptive name of something 'Tea'-like. I tasted it, decided it was foul and just assumed it was made with the same process (hot water and some leaves) but used a different plant. God awful stuff, Liptons is.
posted by Brockles at 9:04 AM on February 1 [1 favorite has favorites]

Sorry if this is a derail, but how is it possible to mess up making tea? Plz explain.
posted by Hildegarde at 9:38 AM on February 1

Hildegarde, there are lots of ways. Stewing, scalding, using insufficiently hot water and trying to make it in a goddamned microwave will do for starters.

I usually just switch to coffee when I'm in the states. Ordering hot tea when eating out is a crapshoot.
posted by the latin mouse at 9:48 AM on February 1

DarlingBri: No worries, I just didn't really think of the Barrys as iconic, more, as you say, lame- Didn't even realise they were an arc as I only see them when visiting.

The Lyons ad linked was from the 60's, but they were using the minstrels at least till the late 80's, and did Boyzone as whiteface minstrels in the late 90's.

As for myself, Barrys, Lyons or Bewleys by choice, PG-Tips by neccessity as it is the closest I can get to proper tea here. Bought in bags of over a thousand pyramids at a time.

Considering buying the freeze dried granuals for emergencies next I am over, but I don't hold too high hopes for them.

So, yeah, another Irisher who drinks "tea", and if offered something called "breakfast" tea I know I am going to need about 3 bags for a cuppa.
posted by Iteki at 9:48 AM on February 1

Sorry if this is a derail, but how is it possible to mess up making tea? Plz explain.

Same as it's possible to mess up coffee (though without measurement snafus): water's too hot, water's not hot enough, filtered water is better than tap water. Also: I've found that tea is best if the water is poured *over* the tea bag and in many American eateries, they hand you a cup of boiling water and a tea bag, which just doesn't work as well since the tea bag just sort of floats on top of the water and you have to shove it into the cup with a spoon to get it to steep properly.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:52 AM on February 1

... and you have to shove it into the cup with a spoon to get it to steep properly.

OH THE HORROR!
posted by odinsdream at 10:54 AM on February 1

Brockles - "Earl grey is generally expensive if you drink large quantities of tea. You've got to like it A LOT to stay with it all teh time if you're drinking several cup a day."

Hm - I drink EG at home as my main tea, with Lady Grey for the one when I get home from work, and later evening teas. I also have Lapsang Suchong for when I fancy one, Assam for my friend Ali, Chai teabags and tea for Sunday afternoons on the sofa... oh, and "normal tea" for workmen and people who, unlike me, aren't "middle class and fancy".

I have the Twining's tin even, though that houses my fruit teas.

I think I'm a typical English mid-30s librarian type lady.
posted by LyzzyBee at 1:03 PM on February 2

Grouse, do you mean omnipresent in people's homes or omnipresent in restaurants?

I just saw this. I meant it was omnipresent at the retail level—restaurants and supermarkets. To be honest, I didn't always pay attention to the brand of tea I was served in people's homes, so I can't speak to that.
posted by grouse at 1:40 PM on February 2

oh, and "normal tea" for workmen and people who, unlike me, aren't "middle class and fancy".

Are you confusing my point? I was saying that describing PG and Tetley as 'working class people's tea' is ignorant (and erroneously classist). Not that 'only fancy people drink Earl Grey'. You seem to be refuting my post, yet making the same point I was.. Confusing. Unless you consider yourself middle class and fancy, and don't give your nice tea to normal people on principle.

I've always found Earl Grey expensive (and horrible), but if people like it, they'll pay for it. They won't 'upgrade' to a different tea depending on their social status. PG is 'normal tea' as in the most common/usual/prevalent etc.
posted by Brockles at 2:32 PM on February 2

Yorkshire Tea. Accept no substitute.
posted by vbfg at 2:35 PM on February 2