Why this tea is so good

Chinese Emperor's Breakfast Loose Leaf Black Tea

£12.49

(31p per cup)

Style

50g Pouch

Quantity

A rare China tea crafted by masters to produce an astonishingly sweet black loose leaf tea. Made from very young and tender spring leaves and golden buds that have been carefully kept whole during hand rolling.

UK Shipping Rates
UK Tracked - Two Day Tracked £3.99
UK Express - Next Day* Tracked £5.49
UK Express - Next Day* Courier from £8.49
FREE UK Tracked when you spend £30 or more
FREE UK Express - Next Day* when you spend £60 or more

Europe Shipping Rates
Europe Tracked Delivery from £4.99
Europe Express Courier from £21.99
FREE Europe Tracked when you spend £50 or more

Worldwide Shipping Rates
Worldwide Tracked Delivery from £5.99
ROW Express Courier from £20.49
FREE Worldwide Tracked when you spend £50 or more

*Subject to next day cutoff and postcode location. Availability of rates depends on location and order weight. For a complete overview of our shipping rates please see our delivery page.

Customer Reviews

5.0 Based on 24 Reviews

5 ★

100%

4 ★

3 ★

2 ★

1 ★

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07 January 2024

Alban D.

United Kingdom

amazing tea

This tea has a really special taste, deep and warm. I love it, it is the small luxury that I keep coming back to.

29 June 2023

Petra K.

Germany

Chinese Emperor‘s Breakfast

Wonderful Tea highly recommended

10 June 2023

Lizzie W.

United Kingdom

Perfect for summer mornings

While I love a strong RAF breakfast tea or Lost Malawi with a little milk in winter to get me up, this is my new favourite for summer. I like it black as it has a very subtle, slightly sweet nutty flavour and takes well to a second infusion.

24 May 2023

Louise C.

United Kingdom

The Emperor's breakfast

Emperor’s breakfast is my favourite out of all the black teas. Nothing else comes close. For me it tastes how Tea should, it is clean refreshing with a distinct taste of a classic cup of tea. I’m hooked on it, No other tea will do!

17 March 2023

Geraldine M.

United Kingdom

Decadent

Beautiful flavour, value for money, decadent.

Tasting Notes

Remarkably smooth with flavours of rich toffee, butterscotch and vanilla. Like White Silver Tips, these spring buds are full of the sugars stored by the tea plant over winter. These tender shoots give the tea an extraordinary sweetness, unlike any other black tea.

The tannins in this black tea are very low and the mouthfeel is clean and silky.

Quantity

Use 2.5g of tea per 150ml of water.

Temperature

For the optimum infusion use 80°C (176°F) water.

Time

Infuse for 1 - 2 minutes, tasting regularly. Best enjoyed without milk.

Infusion

You can infuse this tea at least twice. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.

Cost Per Cup

31p per cup based on 2.5g of tea per 150ml of water and 2 infusions.

Golden Monkey Paw

Emperor's Breakfast is a truly epicurean black China tea originating in the Ming Dynasty. It comes from the mountains of Fujian, and is also known as ‘Golden Monkey Paw’. The varietal used has small golden buds, covered in elegant downy hair, like a catkin.

When the tea is fired and rolled, the buds curl, giving them a resemblance to the paws of capuchin monkeys.

Serving Suggestion

Normally, this tea would be drunk black and infused at a lower water temperature to enhance its innate sweetness. However, using boiling water and a longer extraction (3 - 4 minutes) will bring out a depth and richness that pairs wonderfully with a drop of milk.

You may notice the colour is a little lighter, but don’t let your eyes fool your taste buds. As long as you don’t over dilute your tea, you should get a lovely well balanced cup of tea with milk. Although if you do like your milky tea very strong – we recommend our Speedy Breakfast or Lost Malawi.