Good day, my tea drinking friends! I'm sure you are aware but St. Patrick's Day is this upcoming weekend ☘️. In celebration, below we would like to feature a guest blog post that was submitted to us from the lovely Brenda Kay Ledford! Read on to learn about Brenda's experience with Irish tea and make sure to let us know in the comments of your own personal experiences!
IRISH TEA
By: Brenda Kay Ledford
"My sister and I took a heritage tour to Ireland in 1988 with Western Carolina University. When we landed in Ireland, our tour director served tea and scones in a cute thatched-roof cottage. I don't drink tea at 11 am, and this was a new experience for my taste buds.
They served strong tea with lots of "rich" milk. I had never eaten scones and found them to be a bit dry and not too tasty. This popular pastry was cut into circles, baked, sliced in half and served with berry jam and stout tea. The Irish are known for their hospitality and served plenty of this to us Americans.
My sister and I were amazed how they served the Irish tea. Milk was first poured into tea cups to prevent the hot tea from cracking the china. What started as a custom to preserve the china, became tradition. The Irish have discovered that pouring milk into hot tea makes it taste badly. They call a cup of tea "cupan tae" or "cuppa tay" on the Emerald Isle.
Our tour director told us that "taking tea" is an Irish custom that has been enjoyed for centuries. Farmers and fishermen drank the hot drink to warm up on cold, winter days.
After our trip to Ireland, my sister and I developed a taste for Irish tea. We especially enjoy sipping the hot drink during the holidays and munching sugar cookies. It really "hits the spot" taking hot Irish tea on cold winter days. It's like a taste of Ireland that we brought home to the United States."
As someone who has partaken in experiences very similar to this in Ireland, I can honestly say that I absolutely agree with Brenda. Irish Breakfast Tea can be dark and a bit much upon a first impression. But once it is prepared in the traditional fashion, with a bit of milk and sugar, it is absolutely delightful and I highly recommend! Let us know what you think and we hope that you have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! Wishing you all the luck o' the Irish, sipper! - Kaytea :)
P.S. I should also remind you that the Irish Breakfast tea is 20% off right now for all quantities🍀🍀 ! This won't last, so don't wait! Happy sipping! ☘️
Nothing replaces a proper Irish cuppa. The drier and less sweet the scone, the better. Lovely.
I don’t do milk in my tea. I was shocked in July 2022 when I was in England and they served tea with milk. I had to ask for tea without milk. No sugar either. I recommend honey. Terrific blog post!!