Who Wants a Proper Cuppa?
WIN a box of each! See the end of the article for details!
Northern Ireland (or Norniron if you're fluent in the local dialect), famous for Game of Thrones, James Nesbitt, the flax flower, Will Grigg being 'on fire', the Giant's Causeway, the path of the Gobbins, Bushmills Whiskey (oldest still operating distillery in the world), the Titanic, and tea. Really good tea. Specifically Thompson's Tea, who have been providing us with perfect cuppa's since 1896. Basically, what Twinings is to London, and Taylor's is to Harrogate, Thompson's are to Belfast.
Thompson's describe their 'mission' as being to "create the 'Perfect Everyday Cuppa', a tea that has superior taste and flavour whilst representing great value for money". We felt that fitted in perfectly with our mission as Breakfast Champion, so we decided to team up and bring you the perfect brew on our store.
Irish Breakfast Tea Bags
First up Thompson's award-winning* Irish Breakfast Tea. This is a tea for those of us who feel there's too much Ceylon in the English Breakfast variety, and want something richer, stronger, more robust. This blend is heavy on the Assam, and will certainly give you the full-bodied kick you need to start your day off right.
Special Everyday Tea Bags
Once you've got that first cup down you you're going to be wanting something a little lighter to keep you topped up throughout the day. That's where Thompson's award-winning Special Everyday/Red Label tea bags come into play. The Assam is more of an accent in these, with the main flavours deriving from the lighter-bodied leaves grown on Mount Kenya. This is the tea for your 10am (and 11, 12, 1, 2, 3pm....and so on) cuppa.
Decaf Tea Bags
Now, if you're anything like me, that 3pm cuppa is already going to be pushing it in terms of being too late for a caffeinated beverage. Lying in bed staring at the ceiling awaits, right? Wrong. Thompson's have applied themselves to making this award winning* decaffeinated tea using a blend which is heavy on the annual Assam second flush (the best of all flushes). They've done this as the decaffeination process often leads to a loss of flavour, but if you start with the best leaves then the finished product is still of an exceedingly high quality. Looks like that traditional cuppa, with my meat and two veg at 6pm, is on after all!
You'll have noticed in the descriptions above that we've referred to all three teas as 'award-winning'. 'What award?' I hear you cry! Not just any old award, but multiple Great Taste Awards (sometimes described as 'the Oscars of food & drink' or 'the British Michelin'). Great Taste award stars to only the best foods and drinks, and they award them out of three. Out of all the entries each year only 3% are awarded the maximum three stars, and Thompson's are the only tea makers to have been awarded this level of commendation.
"Produced by the Guild of Fine Foods, the Great Taste Awards is referred to as the Food Oscars. Among the most recognised and respected food awards, the Great Taste Awards judges quality. Every product is judged by at least three panels of judges, which consist of chefs, critics, retailers, and other food experts".
Thompson's teas have been awarded by Great Taste for an umprecedented ten years in a row! But that's no surprise for the tea that was good enough to be served in the Titanic Ballroom. But it's not just for the nobs, Thompson's also supplied the tea to the shipyard where the ill-fated ship was put together. Like the Titanic itself, Thompson's tea goes down a treat (too soon?).
The main reason that we've chosen to stock Thompson's teas is a fairly simple one. These are the teas our Northern Irish chef grew up drinking up to ten cups a day of, and so he can vouch for their top top quality.
Thompson's choose "only the best leaves, which are highly prized and command a greater price" for their award winning blends, but they do this whilst keeping the prices low. Ross Thompson (great grandson of the founder of Thompson's, Robert) says that "it takes a certain amount of courage to choose what is best over what is most profitable". A maxim Breakfast Champion will always do its utmost to live up to as well. High quality, at a good price for you guys.
The fact that they also have a long history of ethical trading, and looking after their employees (both in the UK and on the tea plantations) also sits very well with us. If you go back to the era in which they began Thompson's were at the forefront of supplying things like housing, hospitals, and schools for their workers, and in the present day they continue to buy from tea gardens that offer their staff the same sort of high quality facilities.
For a chance to win a box of Irish Breakfast Teabags, a box of Special Everyday Teabags, and a box of Decaf Teabags (that's THREE whole boxes of teabags!) simply choose the number of your perfect brew below, and SHARE this article in your moments with your choice and an explanation.
*Having said that this is a safe space, all tea drinkers welcome here (except D4 who can....I just can't...some people).