English Breakfast - Black Tea 100 g - Café du Jour loose tea

A straight, strong morning tea

English breakfast tea is the classic blend of black tea, and this Café du Jour version is built for the way it is usually drunk here: hot, strong and with a drop of milk. It comes as loose leaf in a 100 g pack.

The character is full-bodied and robust, with a rich aroma that you notice while it is still steeping. Strength is the whole point of a breakfast blend: it holds its shape against milk instead of thinning out. Drunk plain it is deep and warming rather than delicate.

Brewing it loose

Loose leaf means you set the strength yourself, which is harder to do with a bag. Use an infuser, a strainer or a teapot with a built-in filter. Bring the water to a full rolling boil, allow roughly one heaped teaspoon per cup, and steep for three to five minutes — nearer three for a lighter cup, five for one that stands up to plenty of milk. At that dose a 100 g pack works out at around 40 to 50 cups.

English breakfast or Earl Grey?

English breakfast is pure black tea, nothing added. Earl Grey is black tea scented with bergamot oil, so it carries a citrus, floral note. If you want a bold, straightforward cup without flavouring, this is the one to reach for.

At a glance

• Type: loose-leaf black tea
• Ingredients: black tea
• Net weight: 100 g
• Character: strong, full-bodied, aromatic
• Brewing: 1 heaped teaspoon per cup, boiling water, 3–5 minutes
• Yield: around 40–50 cups per pack
• Blended and packed: in the Netherlands