Organic Fairmont Breakfast (Organic Black Tea)
Cup Characteristics: A perfect breakfast tea with burgundy depth and malt highlights. Bold and robust with a bright golden cup.
Ingredients (Loose Tea): Luxury black tea, Natural flavors.
Ingredients (Tea Bag Tea): Luxury black tea, Natural flavors.
Tea Story:
Tea with breakfast seems quintessential British doesn't it? For many years however, the traditional morning drink in England was locally brewed ale. This was inexpensive and readily available, but made people rather sluggish. At the time, tea was known on British shores, but was priced well out of reach of most of the population. The reason was simple: until the Victorian era, the British Empire hadn't yet produced its own tea and relied on expensive imports.
Tea had been shipped to Britain in quantities large enough to supply the upper classes since the 1600s. Fresh leaf was supplied by Dutch merchants who exported it from holdings in Sumatra, Indonesia and from dealings with China. The drink was popular among those who could afford it and even as far back as the 1600's its healthy properties were well known. In 1650, the proprietor of Garway's Coffee House in London proclaimed that tea: "makes the body active and lusty; preserving perfect health until extreme Old Age". Sounds a little better for the body than ale doesn't it?
The general pattern of the wealthy classes drinking tea while everyone else drank ale continued into the mid 1800s. Then something happened: the British Empire succeeded in growing her own tea. In the 1830s British interests had planted, and succeeded in producing tea, deep in the Assam jungles in northern India. The first shipment reached the London auction in 1839. As these shipments increased, prices came down. Over the next few years, owing to much PR and the strength and fabulous flavor of the Assams, tea quickly displaced ale as the breakfast beverage of choice.
When Fairmont Hotels and Resorts asked us to develop a custom breakfast tea the above story immediately came to mind. We knew that to reach Fairmont quality we'd need the top 2% of teas in the world, but more than that, we thought the blend should reflect the history of morning tea itself. As such, it should rely heavily on full-bodied Assams. The tea we created began with a base from the estates at Borengajuli, Dirial and Keyhung, three of Assams more prominent. This being a Fairmont tea, we didn't stop there however. To the Assams we added teas from South India, China, Kenya and Sri Lanka, each with their own regional subtleties and nuances. For an added Fairmont touch, we finished the blend with a dash of Earl Grey to add a note of intrigue to the cup. The resulting infusion is superb. Bright and piquant on the nose, the cup is deep and malty, peppered with hints of jam, toast and delicate tones of citrus. Paired with a traditional English breakfast this one tea you're customers will pass the bar for!
To make the perfect cup of Fairmont Tea: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Use 1 teaspoon of Fairmont Breakfast luxury loose tea or 1 tea bag of Fairmont Breakfast luxury tea for each 10 ounce/300 ml serving required. Pour boiling water into teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes to desired strength - the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea. Although milk and a dash of sugar may help enhance the flavor of this tea, it is perfectly acceptable to consume it 'straight-up.'
To make the perfect cup of Fairmont Iced Tea: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 teaspoons of Fairmont Breakfast luxury loose tea or 6-8 tea bags of Fairmont Breakfast luxury tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Strain the tea into the pitcher. Add ice and top-up 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!
To purchase the tea from the Fairmont Store - Click Here