English Breakfast
This traditional breakfast blend of Assam tea leaves produces a full bodied brew with an elegant malty character. The Queen of Teas.
There's something about starting your morning with a bold, comforting cup of tea that just feels right. English breakfast tea is a strong, full-bodied black tea blend that's been fuelling mornings for generations, and our exceptional version delivers that perfect balance of strength and elegance every single time.
Why You'll Love It
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Customer Champion: 98% positive reviews - our highest-rated breakfast tea
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Full-Bodied Excellence: Customers consistently praise the elegant malty character and satisfying strength
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Versatile Favourite: Perfect from morning through afternoon - customers love its adaptability
Origins & Character
Built for Breakfast, Perfect Anytime: Our English breakfast is a mix of tea leaves from Assam. A region known for producing teas with bold, malty flavours, rich colours, and pairs beautifully with breakfast foods.
Versatile: Unlike lighter teas, English breakfast is built to handle milk, sugar, or honey without losing its personality. That's part of why it's so popular. You can enjoy it plain or customise it however you like.
Functional & Wellness Benefits
The Queen of Consistency: What makes it a classic? It delivers every single time. Bold flavour, smooth finish, and the kind of consistency you can count on whether it's 6 a.m. or mid-afternoon.
Tradition Meets Modern Life: While the name might say "breakfast," don't let that stop you from drinking it any time of day - just not late in the evening due to the caffeine. Trends come and go, but English breakfast tea stays strong, literally and figuratively.
Comfort in Every Cup: It's not just a tea type; it's a staple. It's the kind of brew that's equally at home in your favourite chipped mug or poured into fine china at high tea.
Rooted in tradition but made for modern life, it's the tea you reach for when you need comfort, clarity, or just something reliably great in your day. That's what keeps tea drinkers coming back. And that's what makes English breakfast tea a true classic.
English Breakfast - The Queen of Teas that delivers bold comfort and elegant satisfaction, cup after perfect cup.
Tea Bag Packaging Material
Tea bags are commonly made from PLA mesh, paper or nylon. t leaf T uses pyramid tea bags made from plant-based PLA, rather than paper or nylon. Here is how the materials differ and what that means for composting.
PLA Pyramid Tea Bags Used by t leaf T
PLA, or polylactic acid, is a plant-based material that can be made from crops such as corn or sugar cane. Our NeoSoilon® pyramid tea bags are made from sugar-cane-derived PLA. PLA tea bags have been available since the mid-2000s and are not made from petroleum-based plastic.
NeoSoilon® is a woven mesh made by Nasa Corporation from 100% PLA filaments. The manufacturer states that NeoSoilon® is certified by the Non-GMO Project. Our pyramid tea bags, including the tag and string, contain no nylon or polypropylene.
PLA is spun into thread and woven to make the clear mesh. It behaves like a plastic when heated, which allows the seams to be sealed using ultrasonic vibrations. This joins the seams without the need for petrochemical-based sealing plastics. PLA melts at around 170°C, well above the temperature of boiling water.
Commercial composting
Our NeoSoilon® pyramid tea bags are intended for industrial or commercial composting. The material meets the European standard EN 13432, ISO 17088 and the American standard ASTM D6400. Under industrial composting conditions at around 58°C, the manufacturer states that 90% of the material’s weight can biodegrade within 180 days.
In soil or water, the manufacturer estimates that the mesh takes around three years to break down. It is not home compostable. Although materials designed for home composting are available, the option we have assessed breaks down within weeks, which is not practical for a product that needs a long shelf life, such as tea. Please check whether a suitable commercial composting facility is available in your area.
Read more from Nasa Corporation about NeoSoilon®.
Old-Style Paper Tea Bags
Paper tea bags have been used for almost 100 years. The paper fibres do not naturally adhere to each other, so the bags need to be heat-sealed. Most paper tea bag materials use a small amount of petro-based sealing plastic to make this possible.
As a result, a paper tea bag may be about 98% paper fibre and around 2% petro-based plastic. The paper fibre can break down in home composting, but the plastic portion is not compostable or biodegradable. This is not an option we use at t leaf T.
Nylon Pyramid Tea Bags
Nylon pyramid tea bags have been available since around 1996, before PLA tea bag technology existed. Nylon is a petroleum-based plastic. It is not compostable or biodegradable and can persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
Nylon costs substantially less than PLA, which can make it an attractive option for producers focused on cost. We do not use nylon tea bags at t leaf T.
Our View
No tea bag material is perfect. For the convenience of tea bags, we believe our plant-based PLA is the most sustainable option currently available to us. For an option without a single-use tea bag, every tea we sell is also available as loose leaf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are t leaf T pyramid tea bags home compostable?
No. Our NeoSoilon® PLA pyramid tea bags are intended for industrial or commercial composting, not home composting. Check whether a suitable commercial composting facility is available in your area.
What are t leaf T pyramid tea bags made from?
They are made from NeoSoilon®, a woven mesh produced by Nasa Corporation from 100% sugar-cane-derived PLA filaments. The tea bags, including the tag and string, contain no nylon or polypropylene.
