Bold Breakfast
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Commercial Description
A blend of full-leaf black tea for a full bodied flavor.
Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
63 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5Difflugia (170 reviews) on May. 31st, 2019
I bought a cup of this from a Dunkin Donuts and liked it, so I bought a box to brew at home. The sachets are large and each contains 3g of finely-chopped tea. The box doesn't say which teas are in the blend (other than "from around the World"), but the tea looks orthodox rather than CTC.
The brewing tea has a strong aroma. It's mostly vegetal and earthy, smelling of composting oak leaves. It tastes like a Ceylon or a late flush Darjeeling. There's a reasonably strong, but pleasant bitterness and a strong astringency. The combination reminds me of unsweetened cocoa. I also taste bitter, green vegetables, like spinach or beet greens. There's very little malt or sweetness to balance the bitter astringency making the tea taste a bit unbalanced. I'm enjoying this tea a great deal, but I've said before that I rather like bitter tea.
Keep in mind that the tea is strong and the sachet contains more tea than teabags usually do in the U. S. You may want to try a shorter steep (especially if you like resteeping) or a larger cup or mug than normal. Even after four minutes for the first cup, though, I got a second cup that was more flavorful than I get out of most teabags on their first try.
As Alex noted previously, this tea is overpriced. It's definitely one of the better bagged teas available, but at $10, it's also one of the most expensive. A $7.49 box of Numi Breakfast Blend is comparable or better.
50 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 2/5Alex Zorach (1453 reviews) on Mar. 17th, 2017
Served at a Dunkin Donuts. I can't help but wonder how much this tea is limited by the fact that it's served in a paper cup; I can smell the cup, it imparts a cardboardy aroma that noticeably diminishes the enjoyment of the tea. Perhaps I'll come back with my own mug next time.
I remember what the old Dunkin Donuts tea tasted like, it was oddly distinctive, and this one is oddly congruent with the old one. I thought the aroma was an improvement on the old one, but this was also sharp and harsh, more so than the old tea which was unusually smooth relative to the strength of its aroma.
At first glance (and first sip) this tea seems lighter than most black teas...it brews a clear reddish cup, and tastes clearer and a bit thin-bodied. There's a harshness in this tea though that I don't like. Although the cup initially seems a little thin, there's a sharp, edgy astringency. I can enjoy this sort of edge when it's in a rich, full-bodied tea like a good Assam or Irish Breakfast, but in this tea I found the astringency unwelcome and unpleasant.
Not a boring tea, but I found it had too many off qualities for me to think it much of an improvement over the old one. It might taste better if steeped for less time; I steeped 3 minutes and I think it was too long. Although they use a high-quality pyramid sachet, the leaf seems finely broken and it infuses fast.
Dunkin sells this tea retail, and it's around $10 a box. Seems horribly overpriced to me, this is not the caliber of tea that justfies such a high price.
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
