I was really surprised when I learned that the Irish drink more tea per capita than almost any other country, coming in second only to Turkey at 2.19 kg, or 4.83 lbs, per person a year. Another black tea, what non-Irish folks call Irish Breakfast is stronger than English Breakfast and more Assam-heavy, but apparently Scottish Breakfast is even stronger, though I haven’t had them side-by-side to really tell the difference.

Even though it’s a stronger, more robust cup, I find Irish Breakfast a bit smoother than English Breakfast and prefer the taste–perfect in a mug and strong enough to handle milk and sugar, just how I like it. Probably has summat to do with my many Irish past lives.

As I’ve mentioned before, there are differences of opinion when it comes to the proper order of tea pouring to milk adding. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the Irish tradition of pouring the milk in the glass first began in order to prevent fine China from cracking. Many proponents of this method maintain that doing so also preserves the tea’s taste–adding cold milk to hot tea, they argue, negatively affects the flavour.

Teatimes in Éire are similar to elsewhere in the UK, with elevenses at 11, afternoon tea around 3 or 4, and high tea at 6. Though the Irish on average drink upwards of 6 cups of tea a day, I tend to take an cupán tae (Gaelic for a cuppa’) first thing in the morning.

How many cups of tea do you drink per day?