There can be absolutely no doubt that drinking tea is one of the most recognisable institutions in this country, with the UK Tea & Infusions Association stating that we consume a combined total of 100 million cups a day. That’s an incredible amount of clicking kettles, stirring spoons and clattering saucers for one relatively small island!
It’s fair to say that of all the different varieties, flavours, and tea experiences available there is none more famous, and popular, than breakfast tea.
Great Rift Breakfast Blend
Our Great Rift Breakfast Blend bursts with a bright, bold and brilliant taste to make it a proud part of this historic tradition. The high altitude, lush volcanic soil and heavy rainfall in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley are the perfect environment for one of the most renowned tea-growing regions in the world. When ingredients exclusively sourced from these estates are combined with five generations’ knowledge and experience of production, the result is the perfect breakfast tea. So much so that Great Rift Breakfast Blend has received honours at The Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Awards for a record breaking 13 years in a row. More than any other breakfast tea on the planet!
The Royal Seals of Approval
The story of our obsession with breakfast tea is a royal tale of two Queens that lived almost 200 years apart. Queen Catherine of Braganza is widely credited as introducing the tea drinking craze to England over 350 years ago. It was first enjoyed as a status symbol amongst the aristocracy before eventually finding its way into every level of society. However, it was in 1892 that a Scottish Tea maker named Robert Drysdale is credited with the idea of making a stronger brew that could be enjoyed in the morning as an energy boost for the day. With a spark of inspired marketing, he called this Breakfast Tea. On a trip to Balmoral, Queen Victoria was so enamoured by this new blend that she took a box home with her, and English Breakfast Tea began its journey into kitchen cupboards all over the world.
Breakfast with Benefits
Drysdale was definitely on to something though. The caffeine content of blended breakfast tea is around half that of a similar sized cup of coffee, but it works with a slower release, so you don’t feel the same sharp highs and lows, providing a more consistent and energised experience. As the breakfast blend is stronger, you are also getting the most from a wonderful combination of minerals and antioxidants like the polyphenols of catechins, theaflavins and thearubigins that are reported to effectively manage and lower cholesterol in the body. With similar evidence pointing to additional benefits in heart health, anti-inflammatory properties that can combat certain cancers, and a more balanced digestive system, it’s easy to see why so many of us reach for that morning cup as part of a daily routine.
A Brew That’s Right for You – The Birchall Guide To “Creating The Perfect Breakfast Tea”
Ultimately, though it’s always the flavour that ensures people return to tea as their preferred day-starter. That’s why we feel it’s important to know how to get the very best out of the Great Rift Breakfast Blend. Brewing loose leaf tea may appear to be a complicated process but as with many of the finest things in life, it’s actually reassuringly simple. For the greatest results, a Stump teapot with a basket infuser is recommended. Something like this particular favourite of ours in the striking Great Rift Red colour.
Preparing these hand plucked leaves for your cup with the same care and attention that they were harvested is definitely worth this easy-to-follow three-step effort:
Step One – Creating The Perfect Breakfast Tea
Get the ratio right. Three grams of loose leaf tea is enough for a standard 180ml cup so get measuring and add the leaves to the basket infuser in the teapot.
Step Two
Now let’s get to boiling point. All black teas like Great Rift Breakfast Blend need water of 100 ˚C to brew. Fortunately, the kettle will take care of that for you. Just wait for the whistle or the click and add the correct amount of freshly boiled water to the teapot.
Step Three
The Steep Step. This is where the magic happens, just allow the water to extract all of that amazing flavour. We recommend waiting for at least 3 minutes but never really more than 5. You could take a little time out for yourself here, empty the dishwasher, or just be.
All that remains is to simply remove the infuser basket, pour into your favourite cup and enjoy!
It’s in the Bag!
Great Rift Breakfast Blend tea bags offer the same award-winning taste that you can take with you everywhere you go. These compostable, plant-based, prism shaped bags are designed to create optimum flavour, as an alternative to loose-leaf brewing, without the need for teaware.
No Faff Decaf
This wonderful breakfast blend is available to suit caffeine sensitive lifestyles too. Our Great Rift Decaf comes in loose leaf or prism bags to ensure that every choice is accompanied by the same deliciously fresh and full-bodied flavour.
Whichever version of Great Rift you find to be your personal cup of tea, we’re sure you’ll find that the pursuit of perfection is infused with every drop.
Take a look at the full range here.
