Downton Abbey Grantham Breakfast Blend from Republic of Tea
Prep: 212° water, 4 minutes steep, milk and honey Verdict: ★★☆☆☆ 2/5 Not my cup of tea
The Grantham Breakfast Blend is an Assam black tea, which claims to also have ginger, though I don’t notice it. It’s a perfectly good cup of tea. Tastes good, solid black tea taste, the same comfort and coziness that I expect out of a cup of tea. But it isn’t really much more than that.
And I’m going to be a bit harsh in my rating because it should be more. I’ve been disappointed by the Republic of Tea Downton Abbey line—not because it tastes bad, but because it isn’t anything special. There’s nothing wrong with your basic staple teas—you need those strongholds of classic flavor in your cabinet—but I want more from this line. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by my time on Adagio, where fan-created blends are uniquely crafted to embody different beloved characters and franchises. I suppose a creation done by a fan out of love will always have more care than something produced for profit, but what about this is “Downton Abbey” other than the picture on the packaging? It’s just an Assam black tea—which is good in its own right, but there's nothing to differentiate from just a ol’ regular tea.
Probably the best thing I can say is that I baked a really delicious lemon blueberry loaf cake yesterday, and this tea was a great complement to drink alongside it—with a sturdy black-tea taste that cleanses the palate after a bite of sweetness without competing with the dessert. Sometimes you need a tea like that. But any old Assam would do the trick just as nicely. There’s nothing unique about this particular tea besides the branded packaging.