Barry's Tea

So yesterday I worked until 11:00 and instead of waiting to catch the bus at 11:30 and getting home after midnight, one of my supervisors very nicely offered to drive me home. I kind of felt like a charity case, but it saved me like an hour of time so I humbly accepted. And God – I’m so glad none of my coworkers are on Steepster, because damn. The supervisor who drove me home? He is fine. He’s European (but I can’t for the life of me remember what country he immigrated from – I think maybe Bulgaria?), so he’s got a really sexy accent. And, he’s sarcastic and witty and is very, very artistic. It just all comes together to be…

Well to be damn. He is literally “damn”.

So he drove me home last night and like the whole time I was mentally thinking stupid stuff like “Don’t do something awkward” and “Shit you’re in his car” and “This is so sweet of him”. Stupid, stupid really God awful cutesy shit. But really, it was no big deal. And he’s SO VERY out of my league anyway, in addition to him being my superior at work. But that’s not the point; the point is more…

He is a CRAZY driver. Now, my belief is sort of that since I can’t drive myself I don’t really have a right to criticize the way other people drive – but he like sped the entire way home, and because we’re in fucking Saskatchewan and there’s snow and ice and shit everywhere we were sliding around the road. I felt kinda unsafe, not gonna lie. He’s maybe kinda fucking crazy? Just a little. And, I think he noticed that I noticed he’s a crazy driver ‘cause just before we got to my house he said something along the lines of “Yeah, I used to race a lot”. What the fuck!? We’re in fucking Snow Central, Saskatchablah Canada! And it’s nearly midnight! Not the time for ‘racing’…

And that’s the other story I kind of wanted to share…

As for the tea…

This sample comes from MissB. I, admittedly, wasn’t really looking forward to this one but during the brief time I was in Steepster chat this morning we were talking about bagged teas and something (I’m sorry – I don’t remember who) mentioned this one by name as a really decent bagged tea, so I definitely had to try it sooner, rather than later, to understand what the fuss is about.

Dry it didn’t smell very monumental at all, but steeped up there was something very rich and comforting about it. Maybe it was the faint baking bread aroma; but it reminded me of home and my Grandma’s house? As corny as that sounds.

Taste wise, it was very brisk and bold without any astringency or bitterness and it had a lovely baked bread flavour with just a touch of malt to it. I don’t know why; I just really, really liked it! I only have one my bag left, but I got the impression that with just a splash of milk this would be very, very good – a smooth, comforting breakfast blend. So, I think I’m going to finish it that way.

But again, thanks MissB – this was delightfully surprising, and really good for a teabag.

Another tea from MissB. Sadly I can’t find the ingredients anywhere on the internets.

And I’m curious, because it smells like there’s nettle leaf or parsley or something in it! Haha. It’s pretty good, all things considered. It is indeed lemon and ginger. A bit sweet. Slightly savoury from whatever the green leaves in the tea bag are (probably nettle!). I wonder if the bit sweet is from stevia or licorice. It doesn’t have too much of an aftertaste, so I can’t tell.

All in all, this is a nice lemony-gingery easy herbal tea.

(Oh, and I’m wrong! There’s lemongrass and lime flowers and BLACKBERRY LEAVES. So that explains the herbaceous touch, the delicate lemon, and the sweetness.)

*mistakenly logged over in another section. Oops! Now it has been moved…

Review:
Thanks for the sample MissB!
Not a bad black tea. But then again, not a memorable one either. Definitely needed some milk and sugar to boost things up. Next time, I’ll let it steep longer (I went with 3.5m this time)
Overall, its a basic breakfast black. A little bit of everything. Very balanced.
It went very well with the book I’m reading. I did like this cup!

Thanks for the sample MissB!
Not a bad black tea. But then again, not a memorable one either. Definitely needed some milk and sugar to boost things up. Next time, I’ll let it steep longer (I went with 3.5m this time)
Overall, its a basic breakfast black. A little bit of everything. Very balanced.
It went very well with the book I’m reading. I did like this cup!

Awesome! Thanks for the sample bag MissB!
Sans any sugar or other additives, this tastes just like a lemon ginger candy. The kind you sneak for sore throats. Except I actually really like them and have trouble not having any just because :)
I love how potent yet balanced the two flavours are, without being overwhelming.
Its very comforting and yet energizing in a non-caffeinated way. Five Noms for the win!!!

Another one from MIssB this is for sure a milk tea! lol without it, it’s quite strong, but i’ve had it a couple times now with either milk or honey and lemon and its quite nice for a bagged, no fuss tea :)

Another one from missB I’m trying to get through as many of her teas as possible since the girls are going to be picking up the box this weekend. I actually quite enjoyed this one. It’s got a nice balance of lemon and ginger and for a bagged tea…quite nice! :)

Wish I’d written down the ingredient list on this one; I’ll just have to grab more! This is box #2 so far of this, and I’m finding it a decent, if boring, cuppa before bed. Why this tea? Well, in Ireland, this is what’s readily available in every corner store without any sort of caffeination, and I love both ginger and lemon. Nothing fancy (nor expensive), I can count on this to settle me.

If you get tea at a shop or restaurant in Ireland, this is most likely what you’ll be offered. It also lines the shelves in plentiful supply at every grocer, Spar, or Dunnes. So of course, I’ve had plenty a cup now in almost a month in Ireland.

Do I love it? No. Yet I get why it’s so popular here. It’s a solid, robust tea. It stands up to oversteeping impeccably, and it’s definitely tea, as opposed to coffee (that foreigners drink). As an Irishman informed me before I came here from Canada: our tea is strong and dark, you must have it with milk or it will rot your stomach.

Good call. And so, I enjoy at least a pot of this daily, pretending I’m a local until I open my mouth, and enjoy the conversation that invariably ensues over every cup.

The other night I was out for pizza and ordered an iced tea, which ended up being so weak and watered-down that I couldn’t taste much tea at all. Clearly they know not how to brew tea. The waiter claimed that the sweet tea was better, but it was just as weak. By the time I got home I still needed tea, so I figured I’d go for the most assertive tea in my cupboard. It was a gazillion percent improvement over the water I had with dinner. Stout, malty goodness.

This is my favorite tea to drink in the morning with a splash of milk. Always smooth, very little (if at all) astringency compared to other black teas. Faint caramel notes.

It’s not my favourite bagged milk&sugar tea, but it’s pretty much around no.3 (after Taylors Irish Breakfast and Yorkshire tea). It’s mostly because it’s more on the bitter side of things, without actually being bitter. It just tastes a bit more strong or something, so I only have it when I’m in a mood for that. But it’s lovely and it reminds me of Ireland, because I was staying in an Irish cottage with my fella one time and we bought a big box of Barry’s tea and just drank that the whole week. The first time I had this tea again after Ireland I just got a woooosh of Ireland memories come back to me – very Balzac. Unfortunately, that has since gone away, but a lovely tea nonetheless.

When I am watching my 7 mo. old daughter, making breakfast and putting a lunch together, at dawn, this is a go-to tea. I love loose leaf tea, but a bag of Barry’s and a splash of milk is hard to beat in that situation.

I brew one bag with 12oz water in a 17oz porcelain teapot. With a generous splash of milk, it comes out to one of the smoothest tasting strong black teas I’ve found.

It’s a white Christmas in New York! :-) I’m visiting home, so this is what’s in my cup. Merry Christmas, Steepster!

Solid tea. Seems to be more brisk than your traditional english tea (PG/twinings/yorkshire). I’m glad i bought a box of 80. This will be a good workhorse tea.

This is my “go to” tea when on travel. Great wake-up tea, strong with a wee bit of milk. I am not a fan of tea bags, but perfect when traveling. This is not always easy to find as loose tea.

1 bag for 300mL water @100C, steeped four minutes, drunk bare.

Here in St John’s, the store that carries Barry’s tea has it in the green box, but the green box says nothing about it being “Irish Breaskfast.” This seems to be a marketing label for tea drunk outside of Ireland. I could be wrong. This box of Barry’s came direct from Ireland, though, so I do wonder.

I’ve had this teamany times before. Sometimes, yes, even Michelle the Tea Snob just wants to plop a bag in a mug, pour in the boiling water, and get some tea with minimal fuss. Call it lazy. I don’t care.

The first tea I ever drank was King Cole, a blend once very popular in Atlantic Canada. The bags were generously filled and would get very plump, tea leaves straining against the gauze — yes, gauze, not paper. King Cole only in the last year or so stopped using gauze, as gauze was getting expensive and hard to source. King Cole was a blend that satisfied with English war bride grandmother and being “almost” strong enough. In my memory, it was heavy on the Assam, very malty and pungent.

Barry’s in the green box tastes a lot like that. This blend’s got some Kenyan in it, too, and that’s fine. The result is strong black tea that can help you through bad weather, bad news, bad days …

Decent caffeine punch. Malty, with a medium to heavy body. Some Assam fruitiness, and a very strong pucker at the end. This is not a smooth tea, not after the China oolongs and blacks I’ve been drinking, but it is perfect for what it wants to me: unpretentious, dependable, everyday, blended black tea. There’s much worse out there than Barry’s.

Last time I tried this it was like I was the 98lb weakling at the beach getting the sand kicked in his face by the muscle bound bully. Glad my girl wasn’t with me. Whew! Just because its St Patrick’s day I thought I would try this Irish Breakfast again. This time I first signed up for the Ju Jitsu lessons in the back of my Batman comic. Ooh-Wah! I am so ready!

Just for giggles I only steeped this about 30 seconds. It is still very dark but the taste is far more to my liking. It is NOT astringent in the least. The flavor is kind grape/wood. This is a nice cup but I think it would have been a little better at 45 seconds. A little stouter I would like. I am definitely not a 3-5 minute person with this strong tea.

I got this from Brett who seems to have vanished. Like the PG Tips of yesterday (also from Brett), this is another I have heard about for years but never tried.

What did I think? Hmmm. (snippet from my blog review) I am not sure how to describe this tea. The sip starts nice and gentle, polite even. Just as I start to relax in its company, I am grabbed by the throat, terrified of what comes next. Then, just as suddenly, it releases me and walks away with a grin. My eyes are wide open. I am left unscathed with but a memory. Yeah, this tea is like that. It won’t hurt you. It just wants you to think it will.

Edit – Once the cup cools down the big scary late sip calms down to an enjoyable level.