One of the first fine teas I ever bought was Harney and Sons Royal English Breakfast in the Historic Royal Palaces tin at Barnes and Noble. My youngest daughter really loved it and I bought it several times, but we really got away from making anything but loose leaf tea and she started drinking Vanilla Black or Lapsang teas.
A couple of months ago I asked her to finish up the tin as I was doing a tea clean out. Those last two cups recaptured her heart and she wanted more. What to do? I didn’t want more big sachet tins, and I wanted loose leaf. As I looked at their website I discovered that Big Red Sun and Royal English Breakfast seem to be exactly the same tea!
Harney and Sons even repackaged it for me into the black and gold tin so it would match the others on my tea wall!
I had it with my bagel yesterday and I am convinced this is exactly the same as REB. It was so robust that with my meal it actually tasted fruity. It has that really distinctive flavor that shouts TEA!! early in the morning. Slightly astringent, bold, full of body, yet I was able to enjoy it plain and didn’t have to tame it with milk and sugar. This is a keeper, and I am planning to share this with my new doctor who is from Eritria and loves Kenyan tea. I think he will love it even more blended with this smooth and malty Ceylon.
