I’m on a weekend vacation and forgot to bring my tea and the international grocery didn’t have it, so I settled for Darjeeling. I can barely notice the difference. It’s so subtle that it might as well just be a different tea brand.
IBT is on the stronger/darker side, Darjeeling is on the lighter side.
IBT should be rich, dark, high in caffeine, with a strong flavor that doesnt get overpowered by milk, or ruined by a little oversteeping. It can still be burned if you use water that’s too hot.
Darjeeling should be amber-colored, light tasting, moderate in caffeine, and should have some floral notes. The flavors can be drowned out by milk or oversteeping in my opinion. Best black and lightly steeped in sub-boiling water.
I’d have to assume that the Irish breakfast tea you had before just simply wasn’t Irish breakfast tea.
Darjeeling is one of the lightest teas, not good for much other than “afternoon tea and cakes at Gleneagles hotel” kinda thing
Try giving a cup of that to Bunny McGarry and see how fast he shoves a hurley up yer arse
Sounds like you’ve been drinking some shit twinings level Darjeeling.
Alternative
I think the £3 bottle of prosecco I got from aldi and the £100 Champaign taste the same.
yeah thats definitely not true at all though. i dont like champagne or prosecco, but ive had good champagne and it absolutely annihilates cheap sparkling white
I think you got ripped off. Darjeeling has a different taste than Irish Breakfast, but I’m terrible at describing tastes.
Try scottish breakfast! Its similar to irish, but much darker and “punchier” imo. It’s my go-to when I’m out of coffee and need the closest thing to caffeinate up in the morning
Are you comparing bagged tea or looseleaf? I feel like bagged tea tends to taste pretty similar, especially if sourced from a grocery store vs a tea shop.
Seconded. Most grocery store brands are low quality tea. Think grocery store tea is to good tea as Folgers instant is to a decent coffee shop fresh grind.
Good tea isn’t easy to find, at least in the US.
If you can find a place that sells good tea loose leaf you’ll enjoy it much more and be able to taste differences.
