It seems everywhere in the British Isles there is a region specific tea. I can accept Yorkshire tea, as it is a tradition there for strong tea, and to a certain extent accept Welsh tea, as that is also strong, but not quite as strong as Yorkshire, but none of the other places that claim regional significance have any particular tradition. But, it is fun to have these teas, and there is some pleasure in the association. This is an Irish tea, and it's a breakfast blend, so I somewhat expected a strong tea, and was both disappointed and pleased that it turned out to be a soft and drinkable tea. Disappointed because I wanted some guts and glory, but also pleased because it is easy drinking and thirst quenching. There is, yes, a lack of character, but sometimes that's exactly what you want. This is a good drinking tea that quenches the thirst and washes down the breakfast without intruding. So it works as well with the fry up as it does with the jam and croissant. Flexible, refreshing, undemanding, everyday tea. Not one to offer your guests nor for that quiet reflective moment in the garden with a book, but certainly something easy to slurp down.
Date: April 2017 Score: 4
Founded in 1896, Thompson's are a family tea firm based in Belfast who have recently started marketing their tea outside of Ireland. Their Irish Breakfast Tea is based on the traditional English breakfast tea, which is a blend of teas based on Assam tea from Northern India, Kenyan tea, and often one or more others. This blend just uses Assam and Kenyan, and as such lacks character. It's probably done to save money. We found the tea to lack brightness and flavour, no matter how we brewed it. If brewed stronger or longer instead of getting more flavour, we simply got tannic bitterness and cardboard.
Not a successful blend for us.
Date: Dec 2018 Score: 3
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