Barry's Tea

This is my favorite everyday tea. I enjoy it best served with milk and sugar. I would forewarn everyone not to steep this tea for too long or it does go bitter. 4 minutes is my top, it makes a nice dark golden cup that is great in the morning.

I always keep a small stash of this hearty tea on hand. Like others have said, this is one of the best black tea blends in a bag that I’ve tried. I have a few non-tea drinking friends who love this as a breakfast drink.

If you haven’t had it yet, I recommend looking for some at the grocery store. Be warned though, it comes out a bit stronger than some other popular tea blends (I’m thinking Tetley, Salada, Lipton…)

A final note: I see on here that they offer a loose leaf version that I am not familiar with. I’d imagine it is the same blend, except with the obvious omission of tea bags. So the loose-leaf purists can give it a shot too!

This is my Go-To breakfast tea. It’s subtle enough to appeal to even my coffee-loving friends (I’ve converted two of them to tea drinking with this brand), yet complex enough not to get boring. In fact, this was the very tea that turned me into the avid tea drinker I am today. My taste has become more nuanced since then, but I am still a huge fan of this brand.

So strong, but so good. I first got a taste of this tea when my boyfriend’s father brought me a box for Christmas. I don’t bother with milk for this one, just some sugar, raw if I’ve got it. If nothing else wakes you up in the morning, this will. It can be a bit bitter, but so can chocolate, and I still love chocolate as well. And just a quick note for migrane sufferers, mother tried a cup of this tea when she had a migrane one day (sometimes the caffeine helps her), and she claims that the headache was gone before she finished the cup!

This is the tea I drink most often, and it’s a perfect one. The taste is comfortable and substantial enough that its satisfying to drink and sufficiently warms you up, but it’s not an overpowering flavor. I always add a bit of sugar and milk.

Drank some with a halibut-shaped sugar cookie (adorable!) at the Acapelicans concert the other night. Couldn’t bring myself to drink any of the other offerings on the table, so I went for my good old classic!

The scent is so refreshing. Reminds me of Typhoo in its strength, but is obviously an Irish Breakfast blend instead. Super quick steep, and didn’t become bitter although I left the tea bag in and never added milk or sugar. Probably downed the mug-ful in no more than 10 minutes, which is plain crazy. I put this on par with the Twining’s blend I’ve been raised on, as it has so many sentimental connotations for me…

This is my favorite bagged tea. It is strong, yet simple. It works well with milk and sugar, and is really just your basic Irish Breakfast. I’d give this to a new sipper, but for the more experienced tasters I would offer something a bit more high brow. Still, when I’m on the go it is easy to throw a few of these into a bag and jet. It doesn’t need much steep time.

Taste: very strong and full-bodied, with a nutty first sip and a heavy finish. Very tea-ish. Simple.

This tea is legendary in my household. Before I moved to England, Mom had been given a large glass container of this tea by a freind who visited Ireland. She made me a pot. It was bloody brilliant.

I moved to England. After five years, things did not go well. Mom volunteered to take me and my dog into her home in America.

I get home and Mom asks me if I want a cuppa. She pulls out THE SAME GLASS CONTAINER from five years ago and makes us a pot.

It was bloody brilliant. It had faded just a little in taste over five years, but still was a beautiful cuppa. Sometimes, late at night when the wind rattles the windows, I still dream about this tea.

I find this to get too strong really quickly, but when it’s steeped carefully it’s perfect. Advice: drink while eating scone(s).

Autumn, possibly winter, has blown in today. Lake Michigan looks like Galway Bay today. A golden cup of Barry’s is reliable and comforting. On this side of the window, anyway.

Four of us for afternoon tea at the pub, two big pots of this classic Irish tea. It ain’t fancy, which may be why I liked it. Surprisingly awesome with the smoked salmon.

Great Irish tea!

Drank this and then another unbranded green tea today.

Nice simple Irish Blend!

Drank last night with some Bailey’s in it (Irish tea all around) and then left the pot out overnight, so drank what was left this morning. So good.

This is the tea I grew up on; my mom would make a big pot after she got home from work, and we’d all have a cup. While I drink most coffees and teas without anything added, I take my Barry’s with milk and sugar like it was served to me then.