I was in Seattle for a convention not too long ago, and it’s pretty much a requirement that when one is in Seattle, one buys some of MarketSpice’s tea. I had been in Seattle before, and tried their most famous tea, the cinnamon-orange one, and to be honest, I’m not one of its big fans. So this time, I thought I’d try an unflavored tea.
This breakfast blend is a good choice! It’s similar to many other breakfast blends, having what we expect from such a tea: a dark color, a strong, robust flavor, an invigorating sensation.
Oddly enough, the hotel I was staying at was not serving teas from this or another local tea company, but instead was serving a national brand. Well, I always bring a few teabags of my own choosing with me when I travel, for just such an occurrence; buying more tea in a store a few blocks from the hotel meant that I came home with as much tea as I left with – win!
MarketSpice sells their teas locally all around Seattle, and for those not in Seattle, they sell through Amazon.com. Here’s the description of the tea from Amazon:
Product Features
* Our version of English Breakfast tea
* A blend of Darjeeling and Ceylon tea
* Robust blend for those who like their tea with milk
* Wonderful iced
The Darjeeling is definitely the main taste here. Although many breakfast blends have Assam in them, this one doesn’t, but it seems to be strong enough without it – the Darjeeling taste seems as though it’s probably a second-flush blend, stronger than first-flush, and the Ceylon tea blends quite seamlessly with the Darjeeling. (I’ve mentioned before that there are many good Ceylon teas that are indistinguishable from Darjeelings except to highly-trained experts.)
And it does make a good iced tea. Even though it’s November, and raining, as I write this, the years I spent in Texas have conditioned me to drink iced tea year-round, and I know that we have readers in the southern part of North America and in the Southern Hemisphere, so iced tea recommendations are still pertinent. This one tastes fine with lemon and/or mint. I like mine without any sweetener, but the strong breakfast blend black tea will also accept as much sweetener as you care to add.
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Recent Comments
"When I was a kid, in the middle of winter, my friend Penny and I eachbought a quart of ice cream, skated to the island in the middle of our lake and ate them. Soooo good and soooo naughty. It keeps us young to be naughty sometimes. I would just go for it an enjoy!"
marlena said, in reply to Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud on August 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm
marlena on:
Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud
"Well, as someone who has tasted a lot of chai tea, I can attest that this really is not very similar in taste to Chai. Chai tends to focus on the spices, whereas this tea’s focus is on the orange, with the spices being very gentle and more of an accent to the orange."
liber-teas said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:00 pm
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Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea
"How fun! I love drinking tea so I love that you have a whole blog related to reviewing them. One brand that I really love that I don’t see on your list is the Portsmouth Tea Company. When I lived in Boston I used to buy lots of their teas and they were oh so unique. They had some really great fruity and floral blends. It’s interesting that..."
Kelly said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:25 am
Kelly on:
Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea
"Haha!! My co-worker told me that she purchased this tea after having purchased the Matcha Latte at Seattle’s Best, and her and another co-worker purchased this because they believed it was what was served there. She stated to me today that “it didn’t seem the same exactly…it felt like their was something..."
The Tea Guru said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:55 pm
The Tea Guru on:
Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea
"I’m not absolutely certain, but I believe that this is the concentrate that Seattle’s Best coffee shops use to make their matcha latte. The lattes I’ve enjoyed there were sweet with a definite melon flavor… and I have noticed that they sell other Tazo teas there. If it IS the concentrate that they use… I am..."
liber-teas said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:47 pm
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Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea
"I Love this tea!! This flavor is my favorite. I am so addicted to it! Thanks
"
Betsy said, in reply to Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea on August 20, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Betsy on:
Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
"Steph: Thank you for your information about the naranquilla. I didn’t find the flavor to be very tart at all – which is what I would have expected from the combination of lime and rhubarb. Perhaps the maraschino sweetened it up a bit and made it much more peach-like. It reminded me a bit of candied apricots or peaches."
liber-teas said, in reply to Easter Tea from Dammann Frères on August 19, 2010 at 7:42 pm
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Easter Tea from Dammann Frères