So the word I hear on English Breakfast, from my hipper and more politically savvy friends, is that it was a joke played on the colonials by the Indians, who gave them their crappiest tea, which was then duly called "English Breakfast". (Of course, if true, what does it say for Scottish and Irish Breakfast teas? The worst of the colonizer's worst?)

Anyway, I was curious if any fellow tea drinkers had similar lore, or light to shed on this background.

I would be amazed if there were any truth in this. I hadn't heard of this particular story, but it sounds like an 'urban myth' at the same level as tea bags being made from floor sweepings in the warehouse!

Remember that India was a rigidly ruled colony. Any equivalent nonsense would have been very harshly countered.

I've always imagined the term 'English Breakfast' was a relatively recent marketing ploy to reduce confusion at a time when knowledge about different teas was spreading, and people who thought of the whole thing as simply 'tea' wanted something simple to buy. A bit like the way people find real (malt) whisky too varied for simple tastes to understand, and demand something called 'Scotch' (or 'Scatch', depending which side of the Atlantic you come from).

Blends in general (of anything with a taste) are produced to maximise uniformity whilst mimimising production costs. To some extent, you probably get what you pay for!
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>2
...something called 'Scotch' (or 'Scatch', depending which side of the Atlantic you come from)

Funny, my ear hears 'Scawtch' from the English side of the Atlantic, and 'Scotch' from the American side (except for some regional accents, which do come out more like 'Scatch')

Os.

Don't know how accurate this is, but when I was first getting into tea, my tea purveyor explained that Breakfast Tea was marketed as a tea type (strong) that could hold up to milk or honey, etc. It does make sense, I suppose, but then, why not simply buy PGtips or Barry's? Both could eat the polish off the teeth if left to steep long enough.

This strikes me as extremely unlikely. According to A History of the World in Six Glasses, tea wasn't even consumed as a beverage (as opposed to medicinal use) in India until it was introduced by the British, who had previously been importing tea from China and wanted to have plantations under their control.

... and see, this is why I like conversations on LT, because more often than not someone has a relevant cite, that leads to reading and supported arguments rather than the unsubstantiated assertions one finds so many other places on the Internet.

Thanks, lorax!

You're welcome! It's an interesting book, too.

>3

I love the way transliteration is locally conditioned!

But there are transatlantic differences in perception of whisky as well as pronunciation variations. Few people this side actually use the word 'Scotch' for a blended product (defined as a mixture of grain and malt products), calling it just 'whisky', but they often use a brand qualifier: Bells, White Horse, Teachers, etc. These vary in the proportion of malt whisky, and indeed also in which malt might be incorporated. Those wanting single malts usually ask for 'malt', while peering over the barman's shoulder for which of the many might be available, before specifying.

To return the thread to tea, might I re-state my practice of sipping one of the smoky Islay malts, particularly Lagavulin or Laphroaig, alternately with a richly smoky Lapsang Souchong? Herein lies a synergy!
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>8
When I put on a pot tonight, I'm going to break out the 17-yr Bowmore and let the synergy wash over me (after the kids go to bed, of course).

Os.

>9

I'm concerned, Os, that my suggestion has proved fatal - it is possible to die of happiness, I'm told!

Or maybe your experience of the synergy wasn't as good as mine!
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>10
Well, there's still plenty left in the bottle, if you're worried I went overboard. :-)

However, nothing is a simple as it seems. Got home and found the Lapsang Souchong tin empty. Went to a nearby grocer who carries a wide range of teas, but, alas, no Lapsang. Then searched my tea collection and found nothing that seemed right.

The tin remains empty and the temperatures climbed back into the 90s (F) until today, so I've not been in the mood, but a run into town to the tea shop for the Lapsang is still on my to-do list.

I did, however, have bit of the Bowmore before bed anyway. The peat takes me back to Ireland as soon as the aroma rises from the glass (yes, I know it's a Scottish whiskey, but I never spent time in front of a peat fire in Scotland, so Ireland's where I end up).

Os.

Oh, and thanks for asking about me.

Message edited by its author, Oct 2, 2009, 6:24pm.