It feels like summer has finally waned and it’s time to delve into Lichfields English Breakfast tea. A classic blend, but not always well executed. I picked up these Lichfield tea samples in a hotel, but there are places to buy them online.
If this turns out to be a great tea, I will certainly be buying more.
Let’s dig into my review, covering what this tea tastes like, how best to brew it, and where to buy it online. Don’t forget to check out my Best English Breakfast Teas in the UK guide to find other high-quality breakfast brews.
Lichfields English Breakfast Tea at a Glance
- Origins: Fairtrade black tea from Kenya
- Flavour: Plain, slightly astringent black tea
This is a perfectly drinkable black tea with a moderate drying, astringent note. It lacks all of the richness, maltiness and complexity that an English Breakfast tea should have, however.
Full Review – Lichfields Tea Bags
- Type: Tagged paper filter teabag
- Tea: Fairtrade black tea
- Origin: Kenya
- Flavour Notes: Astringent, plain, drying
- Aroma: Tannins, bitter, dull, standard
- Milk or Lemon: Milk, sugar if desired
- Where to Buy: Amazon UK
From start to finish, Lichfields English Breakfast tea just lacks any distinctive notes. It has no personality! The aroma from the dry tea bag is bitter with tannins, but not much else. It’s a dull and unpromising start.
Once brewed into a very dark classic tea brown colour (again, it’s very standard), the aroma has just a little hint of malt but is otherwise plain. It’s a black tea with no complexity.
The flavour follows suit with just a little more astringency than I would like. It’s drying in your mouth, which is an excellent quality if you want to cleanse your palate between bites of food. However, English Breakfast teas have a richness to contrast with that drying sensation, usually with malty notes from Assam tea.
There’s no richness here, whatsoever. Adding a splash of milk provides a much-needed creamy note, but there’s still only one word to describe this tea: plain.
It’s a decent cup of black tea. It is most certainly NOT a good English Breakfast tea.
How to Brew English Breakfast Blends
Use boiling water straight from the kettle and pour it over the teabag. Use 1 per mug, or 1 per person plus an extra bag if you’re using a teapot. Brew for 3 minutes, then remove the bag and add milk. Most of us Brits could make this tea in our sleep. I suppose that’s part of the appeal of choosing a comforting English Breakfast blend.
I use soya milk at the moment, but you can use any milk (dairy or otherwise) that you prefer. Furthermore, I wouldn’t be against a generous teaspoon of sugar in this tea. It certainly needs something to make it more interesting.
As you can see in my photos, my breakfast is a little untraditional. I had intended to photograph a lovely dippy egg with toast ‘soldiers’ however I over-boiled the egg and realised I was out of bread. So, hard boiled egg and apple slices for breakfast!
The breakfast was nicer than the tea, and certainly better put together.
Why Lichfields Tea?
Lichfields are a brand that is bought by other brands – usually hotel chains – to be sold on to customers. They’re fairly well-known but nowhere near the likes of PG Tips, Yorkshire Tea, and the supermarket teabag brigade.
This tea is Fairtrade certified but not organic certified. Nonetheless, the bags appear to be totally plastic and metal free. The outer packaging is made of paper too. Thumbs up from me!
The quality of the leaf isn’t quite CTC, but it’s almost there. For those that don’t know what CTC (cut, tear, curl) refers to, it simply means that the leaf was mullered during production so it can brew fast in teabags… often sacrificing much of the quality and depth of flavour in the process.
I’d say this tea was near fanning level, with very small leaf pieces. It wasn’t too dusty, however, and the tea liquid once brewed was clear and smooth to drink.
Overall, mediocre quality but certainly not terrible.
Summary
Overall, this tea was certainly drinkable and I managed to finish my mug (which I have also reviewed, in case you’re interested in collecting Alice in Wonderland memorabilia) after breakfast. I wouldn’t label it as an English Breakfast tea. In fact, my research suggests that it’s all sourced from one location.
Nonetheless, if you see this tea in a hotel it is still worth brewing! You can find it for sale on Amazon too, but only in the UK.
Tea Recommendation
Looking for a better English Breakfast tea? Use my Tea Review Index to hunt down your next cuppa. I’ve reviewed hundreds of teas on the blog and this index is the best way to navigate them!