04.11.2022 :: Waking Up With Westholme
Breakfast Teas + Awakening with the Spring Growth of Teas
The story of Breakfast teas date back to the 18th century. Although origins of the first Breakfast blend seem to be up for debate, what we do know is that there is no standard formula for a Breakfast tea. The exact recipe varies from one tea blender to another. Most of the time, the tea leaves are sourced from different Estates around the world: India, Sri Lanka, China and East Africa. The leaves are then blended to craft a well-rounded and bold brew.
What makes Breakfast teas different from each other is where the leaves are sourced, the quality of the pluck, techniques used to harvest the leaves, regional climate, elevation, soil quality and more. All of this will affect the flavours. Breakfast teas are typically created with broken-leaf teas to stand up to milk and sweetener. Although, when you get a good one, adding anything isn't necessary.
All three of Westholme’s Breakfast teas are different recipes we have created to highlight different flavours that reflect the landscape of the region where they grew, and provide the familiar comforts that so many have come to enjoy as a favoured morning wake up call.
Our Breakfast Blends are all created by Margit Nellemann, the co-founder of Westholme Tea Company and accomplished ceramicist. She is the inventor of each unique, high-quality organic tea blend that we carry (among the many other hats that she wears here).
These creations are a lengthy procedure and involve the whole Team: analyzing flavour profiles, taste-testing, research, and creativity in combination. We do not have a lab. It is our palates alone that must discern if a delicate floral black tea from Yunnan would flourish beside the strong malt of a black tea from Assam, or how a broken leaf grade might affect the astringency of the steep. The options are nearly endless, and involve negotiating between complex individual flavours, and encouraging them to highlight the best aspects of one another in the cup.
Our Team feels lucky to be a part of this process. Our meetings often involve several pots of tea, measured and steeped with precision and a row of Margit's ceramic cups. We sip, smell, savour and deliberate over each potential union, taking flavour notes and giving our feedback. No matter how much work has gone into a new blend, only a fraction of them proceed to our shelves and our customers.
Our Island Breakfast blend is no exception...
View the full newsletter here:
