Whilst each and every one of those 60 million people has his or her own favourite brand, 10 black teas are consistently popular- as gifts, as a treat or for everyday drinking. Always a good starting point for a tea-gift list, here they are- the Teafiend definitive list of the "greatest all-time classic black teas"-
10) Lapsang Souchong
A very distinctive smoked black tea from the Fujian region of China, "Lapsang souchang" literally means "Small variety from mountain Lap". The leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, giving the tea a powerful and unique taste- people either love it or they hate it-
you can buy lapsang souchang online here-
Lapsang Souchong Tea
9) Assam
Named after its place of origin, this North East Indian tea is mostly grown at or near sea level and is known for its "body, briskness, malty flavor, and strong, bright color". It is made from the assamica variety of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) and is popular with milk. It has a fairly high caffeine content so is often sold as a Breakfast tea.
Check out loose-leaf Assam
here- Assam Tea
8) Oolong
This Chinese tea is partly oxidized, which means that it is strictly part way between being a green tea (unoxidized) and a black (oxidized)tea- in fact, the Chinese describe it as a "blue-green tea". For consumers, this means it has a softer flavour than a lot of true black teas. The name Oolong comes from the Chinese "O·-liông tê"- "black dragon tea". It comes in quite a number of different types and is also grown in Taiwan.
If you like the sound of Oolong, you might also want to check out this impressive gift set from Amazon, complete with tea cups, pot and green and oolong tea-
Gift Set - Tea set black red plum blossom Green & Oolong teas
Once of our Sponsors- "Tea from Taiwan" also does a range of Oolongs- you can take a look at those here- Oolong Tea
7) English Breakfast
This is a slightly vague name- English Breakfast is generally a blend of Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan teas with the exact combination depending upon the brand. It has a fairly high caffiene content compared with other teas and a fairly strong taste, often with some bitter flavours, making it popular with milk and sugar. A very popular tea.
You can buy loose-leaf English breakfast tea here- English Breakfast Tea
6) Irish Breakfast
Similar to English Breakfast tea, Irish Breakfast usually contains more Assam tea and has a slightly softer and less bitter flavour than English Breakfast. Again, a mix with a fairly high caffeine content. You can buy it online here- Irish Breakfast Luxury Loose Leaf Tea 100g
5) Lady Grey
"Lady Grey" is a trade marked tea produced by Twinings, however, very simliar teas (usually described as "Afternoon Earl- Grey" or similar) are manufactured by a number of companies. It is a perfumed black tea, scented with oil of bergamot, lemon peel and orange peel. The Twinings variety also contains cornflower petals, which have a warm but slightly bitter flavour to them. Overall, this is a gentle, fruity tea with a pleasing perfume. It is soft enough to be drunk without milk, even when prepared strongly. Like Earl Grey, it is designed as an afternoon tea and has a lower caffeine content than the breakfast teas. Highly recommended
Twining's Lady Grey is onsale here-
Twinings Lady Grey Tea Bags 50 125g
4) Lord Grey
Again, a trade-marked tea variety- Lord Grey is produced by Wissotzky and sold widely in supermarkets in Israel. It is a variant on Lady grey with lime, lemon and bergamot flavouring. Internationally, for reasons I really don't undertand, this tea is a little more difficult to acquire; however, amazon have it onsale here-
Wissotzky Lord Grey Tea / Box Of 25 Bags
3) Prince of Wales
This is a mild afternoon tea, originally developped for King Edward VIII, when he was the Prince of Wales. It contains a mixture of Chinese teas -traditionally from the Anhui province - and now from Yunnan province and other southern regions of China. This tea is perhaps less popular than it deserves to be and really comes into its own when used to prepare iced tea: I have never found a better variety of tea to use for making iced tea.
2) Darjeeling
Named after the mountainous region of North East India where it is grown (in the state of West Bengal)- this tea has traditionally been very highly prized by the British. It has a fairly light colour, a slightly floral flavour. It is often made from the small-leaved Chinese "sinensis" variety of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) rather than the larger-leaved variety used for Assam. Darjeeling is also often incompletely oxidized- much like Oolong -which is part of the reason for its softer flavour.
One of our sponsors- Adagio teas does both Spring and Summer Darjeeling teas- You can get their
"Summer Darjeeling"
Summer Darjeeling Tea
check out their
"Spring Darjeeling" here-
Spring Darjeeling Tea
If you prefer your tea in sachets/bags, Harney and Sons does a box of 20-individually wrapped gourmet Darjeeling sachets- for details click- here - Harney & Sons Darjeeling, Box of 20 Wrapped Sachets
1) Earl Grey
A famous and hugely popular black tea flavoured with oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange. Generally drunk with lemon rather than milk. A tea that thoroughly deserves its enormous popularity.
Single Earl grey gift boxes are onsale here-
Twinings Tea Bags Earl Grey Fine High Quality Aromatic Ref A00801 [Pack 100]
3-packs of Earl grey with Darjeeling and English Breakfast are onsale here-
Premier's Tea Gift Set - Darjeeling - English Breakfast - Earl Grey
