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English brakfast tea

English Breakfast tea is a black tea blend usually described as full-bodied, robust, rich and blended to go well with milk and sugar, in a style traditionally associated with a hearty English breakfast. It is the most common style of tea in Britain.

The black teas included in the blend vary, with Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan teas predominating, and Keemun included in more expensive blends. Common brands of English Breakfast tea include Typhoo, PG Tips, Twinings, Tetley, Taylors of Harrogate, and Dilmah, and many own brands.

Over a hundred years ago in Scotland a man named Drysdale went into the speciality tea business within sight of the castle of Edinburgh and offered a tea called Breakfast. Another explanation of its origin cites a Journal of Commerce article which dates the blend to 1843 and a tea merchant named Richard Davies in New York City. Davies, an English immigrant, started with a base of Congou and added a bit of Pekoe and Pouchong. It sold for 50 cents a pound, and its success led to imitators, helping to popularize the name.

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