ENGLISH BREAKFAST IMPERIAL 
Rich and strong premium breakfast tea

PRODUCT SUMMARY

An intense breakfast tea created to celebrate HM Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond
Jubilee. An extraordinarily rich and refreshing breakfast tea made by blending four
black teas: Darjeeling, Ceylon, Assam and Kenya.
Like all Babingtons Blends, the Special Imperial Breakfast Tea recipe is unique and
prepared with carefully sourced ingredients, coming from trusted suppliers, mixed
and packed in the United Kingdom

INTRODUCTION
Breakfast Tea is the most popular tea in the UK and was the first ever blend served at
Babingtons in 1893. The common recipe for a Breakfast Tea includes three strong
black teas.
Babingtons English Breakfast Imperial tea is a rich and refreshing version of a
traditional breakfast tea. A lovely strong brew that combines the citrus scents of
Ceylon black tea, the musky scents of Darjeeling tea, the malty aftertaste of Assam tea
and the zesty, vibrant character of the Kenya tea.

Taste: rich, with hints of floral notes and a tangy aftertaste
Colour: malty, brilliant, red
Goes well with: perfect with breakfast food: eggs, bacon, chicken, scones, creamy
cakes and desserts
Time of day: breakfast and tea time. Excellent throughout the day.
Beneficial properties: black tea, known as “red tea” in China, is produced with fully
oxidized leaves of the Camelia Sinensis. The tea plant contains vitamins, minerals,
polyphenols and caffeine, which help us improve performance and concentration.
Common thought is that black tea contains more caffeine than green or white teas;
this however is not the case. Caffeine is present in all teas and the quantity of the caffeine depends on many factors such as the quality of the teas, the altitude (often high grown teas are more premium), the terroir, the age of the tea plants, and most importantly the brewing (water temperature and infusion time).

Preparation
Quantity: 2g for 150 ml of water
Temperature: 95 °
Infusion: 3-4 minutes

Storage

keep in a cool, dry and dark place, in an airtight container

Ingredients
Darjeeling, Ceylon, Assam and Kenya black teas

Tasting tips
We recommend drinking this tea alone or with a dash of milk and / or sugar. Also
delicious served iced.

Recommended teapots: silver, Sheffield, enamel, porcelain or glass.

OUR STORY
The Babingtons English Breakfast Imperial is a rich and refreshing blend of black teas
with hints of floral scents, citrus, and spices. In one word an extraordinarily intense
breakfast tea.
When they opened Babingtons’ Tea Rooms in Rome in 1893, Isabel Cargill and
Anna Maria Babington were importing their black teas directly from England, where
breakfast teas at that stage in the history of tea, where becoming very popular.

A traditional breakfast tea is most often prepared by blending three black teas: Assam,
Ceylon and China black. So when it came to creating a breakfast tea to celebrate HM
Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee tea in 2012, we wanted to make sure we were
celebrating HM’s amazing reign by using some of HM’s favourite teas.

Thus Babingtons Special Imperial Breakfast was born. Indian and Ceylon tea (from
Sri Lanka) are to this day the most loved and enjoyed in Uk and the touch of Kenya
tea we have added to this blend is given to the fact that Queen Elizabeth II
appreciated black tea from this country very much (it is know that HM would order
the most precious harvest for Her own consumption).

Today Babingtons English Breakfast Imperial tea is one of Babingtons iconic teas,
one of the best sellers and most loved by clients worldwide.

But here is a little bit about the teas in the blend…
Darjeeling is a small region in the north East of India, tucked away at the feet of the
Himalayas. Darjeeling teas, known as the “Champagne of Teas” grow between 800
mt and 2000 mt above sea level, gifting us with a variety of refined, slightly grassy,
floral, nutty, full bodied teas according to the season of the plucking. The Darjeeling
in our Special Imperial Breakfast is a full bodied black tea, plucked during the
summer time, when the tea leaves give a lovely, rounded, balanced cup.Ceylon teas come from Sri Lanka. At the beginning of the 1800, this beautiful Island
set in the Pacific Ocean south east of India named Ceylon in those days, was
cultivated by the British with coffee. The whole island was planted with coffee plants
and the business was a great success, but in 1869 a rust fungus destroyed all the
plantations, leaving the island uncultivated. Fortunately some planters started sewing
tea plants in the region and in a very short time Ceylon tea conquered the hearts and
palates of the British. Today Sri Lanka produces white, green and oolong tea as well
as the very sought for black teas, appreciated worldwide for the unique citrusy, brisk,
full bodied taste.
Assam is an Indian region situated in the north east of India, at sea level and is the
world’s largest tea growing region. The tea plantations lye north and south of the
mighty Brahmaputra river which runs from east to west before flowing in to the
Gange. A region in which rainfalls are very frequent all year round, creating the
perfect environment for the Camelia Assamica to grow and thrive.
It is said that Robert Bruce, a Scottish adventurer, discovered the Assamica variety
growing “wild” in this region in 1823. A great relief for the English, who at the time
where in great demand of black tea.

Tea plantations in Kenya were started at the end on the 19 th century to satisfy the
huge demand for black teas coming from the Uk. Because this country happens to be
on the equator where the weather is hot and humid, bushes flush all year round. The
best teas from Kenya are grown in the humid highlands overlooking Lake Victoria
and this is where our tea comes from. The beautiful red brew gives the Babingtons
English Breakfast Imperial tea the final touch.

Perfect to enjoy with or without milk and sugar, you can’t help falling in love with this
strong and refreshing brew at first sip.