Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

We woke up and brewed a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea, enjoyed with some lemon-ginger scones from Sticky Fingers scone mix, our favorite (along with Iveta scones) for making delicious, moist scones with ease.

You’ve probably seen Irish Breakfast Tea—maybe even own a box. But do you know what it is?

In Ireland, “Irish Breakfast Tea” is simply called “tea.” It is a full-bodied, malty-flavored black tea blend, due to a combination of hearty Assam tea from India blended (which contributes the malty flavor) and Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon, which has a delicate, bright and lively flavor).

The proportion of the two teas is up to the blending company, but a classic tea will have a heavier weight of Assam. Most people drink it with a bit of milk, but a fine-quality blend is delicious drunk straight. It’s a strong tea: Many drink it only as a breakfast waker-upper. But the Irish love their tea strong, and drink it throughout the day.

Enjoy a cup of hearty Irish Breakfast Tea.
Photo by Sara Sang | IST.

In Irish vernacular, tea is often called by its Indian name, “cha.” According to OldFashionedLiving.com, tea was first imported to Ireland in 1835 where it became popular with the weathly, but wan’t affordable to the average citizen. It wasn’t until around 1850 that all of Ireland was able to participate. Prices came down, and the grocers in towns and villages began to exchanged the butter and eggs produced by the townspeople for tea and sugar.

After breakfast, Irish tea is served generally three times a day: a break at 11 a.m., 3-5 p.m. afternoon tea and high tea, or supper, at 6 p.m.

Learn more about tea in our Gourmet Tea Section.

The difference between Irish Breakfast Tea and English Breakfast Tea: English Breakfast Tea is full-bodied blend, though not as robust as Irish breakfast tea. It was blended to go well with milk and sugar, the style enjoyed with a full English breakfast.

English breakfast tea contains Assam and Ceylon teas, and a fine brand will include Keemun, one of China’s best teas, known for its winey and fruity taste. Supermarket brands tend to drop the Keemun and substitute less expensive Kenyan tea. It is the most often-drunk type of tea in the U.K.

Juice with half the calories. Photo by
Jerry Deutsch | THE NIBBLE.

Do you enjoy a glass of juice but not the high calorie and sugar content?

Tropicana has addressed those concerns with Trop50 juice beverages: 50% less sugar and calories. An eight-ounce glass has 50 calories.

We tried two flavors of Trop50: Pineapple Mango and Pomegranate Blueberry.

The juice beverages have a nice, delicate fruit flavor—yes, it’s more dilute flavor than “full test” juice, but a good fruit juice solution for those who have given up this high-calorie, high-sugar, high-carb food.

The products will be welcomed by dieters, carb counters and America’s 20-million-plus diabetics, who have had to give up juice; not to mention parents who are counting their kids’ carbs. While the sugars are still high (11g per eight-ounce glass), Trop50 gives people on sugar quota on the choice to have a glass of juice.

Trop 50 is simple, yet not simple:

You certainly can dilute your own juice with filtered water, but Tropicana’s process adds in natural flavors and PureVia (a brand of natural, calorie-free stevia)—plus vitamin C to ensure that one serving still contains 100% of your daily value of vitamin C.

Trop50 is certified kosher by OK.

One thing to note: It’s no longer a half gallon (64 ounces) but 59 ounces. Contemplation of the day: How much more can companies shrink gallons, pounds (16 ounces of coffee is now 14 ounces), etc.?

Just mix the concentrate with milk and
you’ll be transported to India. Photo by
Katherine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

Chai lovers: You can now enjoy this spiced exotic treat in your own home. Rishi, sellers of organic tea, have launched an organic and Fair Trade Masala Chai tea concentrate.

Masala chai is made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs. Chai is the generic word for tea in Hindi and Punjabi and many other languages around the world—English speakers use the word “tea” from the Chinese “te” (from a dialect spoken around Xiamen). If you ask for chai, you’re only asking for tea; so show your superior knowledge and ask for masala chai if you want spiced tea.

Rishi’s Masala Chai concentrate is all natural and microbrewed (brewing in micro-batches enables producers to adjust each batch according to the seasonal characteristics of the ingredients). You just add milk, then heat it or drink the tea cold over ice.

The concentration of fine spices in Rishi’s brew makes your mouth tingle and transports you to the Indian subcontinent (put on some appropriate tunes as you enjoy the masala chai).

There’s a bonus: Every purchase helps the Jane Goodall Institute including Roots & Shoots, a global, environmental and humanitarian program for young people from preschool to college.

Look for Rishi’s Masala Chai concentrate at select Whole Foods Markets through the end of April; and afterward wherever Rishi teas are sold, including Rishi-Tea.com.

We drink our daily cups of fine tea Asian-style—no milk, no sweetener, just clear, beautiful tea. We love our pretty porcelain tea cups and elegant mugs, but switching to a glass mug or cup makes a big difference in the visual appreciation of this beautiful beverage.

Veneziano from Bodum, shown, is a double-walled glass cup with a handsome stainless steel saucer. Double-wall insulation means that you can put the cup directly on a surface without fear of moisture or heat marks.

If Veneziano’s $34.95 price tag is more than you want to spend, for just $5.95, we love our heavy-duty Bodum “Copenhagen” glass mug. For $14.95, you can get the glass mug plus an insert to brew loose tea (the “Yo-Yo”).

Find Veneziano, Copenhagen and a fine selection of additional glass mugs, cups and infusers at BodumUSA.com.

Ancient tea in a modern glass-and-
stainless saucer. Photo courtesy BodumUSA.com.

It can walk the walk on the grocery shelf, but
can it “taste the taste?” Have a mineral water
tasting party to find out. Photo courtesy
Antipodes.

Whether you’re looking for a zero-calorie way to get through the Academy Awards or a great way to entertain adults and kids in general, water is the way.

Have a mineral water tasting, comparing domestic and imported waters to your local tap water and club soda (with sparkling waters).

It can be a formal sit-down or a walk-around event, open or “blind”—where you mask the water bottles in wine bags so tasters aren’t biased and you reveal the results at the end.

Select up to 12 waters—perhaps six still and six sparkling—and a great time will be had by all. What should tasters look for? See our article, How To Evaluate Water.

As with spices, the flavor of tea deteriorates
with time. Photo by Zsuzsanna Kilian | SXC.

At the beginning of each year, have your own Boston Tea Party and dump all of your over-the-hill teas.

The sniff test will tell you if the tea is past its prime: If there’s no wonderful tea aroma, there won’t be much taste, either. (If you don’t trust your nose, brew a cup and taste it straight to see if there’s distinct tea flavor.)

Going forward, don’t buy more tea than you’ll use within a year for white and green teas, 18 months for black and oolong.

Proper storage is also essential. Light, heat and moisture are the enemies of tea. Tea oxidizes and absorbs odors easily (except for pu-erh teas, which are fermented and improve with age).

Most tins are not airtight, so store fine tea in a zip-lock-type bag within a container (you can eliminate the bag if you have a container with an airtight seal). Keep the tea away from heat (the stove, an outside wall). Fine green tea can be stored in the fridge—just be sure it is protected from moisture.

By the way, you don’t have to waste old tea—use it as garden fertilizer!

If your coffee is too bitter, try different
beans. Photo by Klaus Post | SXC.

Some people enjoy the bitter quality of coffee; some wish it were a tad less bitter.

The level of bitterness in coffee is a result of the bean variety, how it is processed and roasted, the brewing method, temperature and the chemical content of the water.

If you’d like a less bitter cup, here are some tips from the Coffee Research Institute:

Read more about how to make better coffee, and find much more information about coffee (plus recipes) in our Gourmet Coffee Section.

Make your own flavored waters as a treat
for yourself and your guests. Photo by
Kelly Cline IST.

Who needs bottled water—serve your guests an elegant pitcher of lemon cucumber water, evoking centuries past.

1. In a two-quart pitcher, cut half a cucumber into 1/8″ slices. If it’s a waxed cucumber, use a carrot peeler to remove most of the waxy peel before slicing, but leave some decorative “stripes” by peeling the cucumber vertically, leaving long strips of peel at 1″ intervals.

2. Cut a lemon and/or lime into 1/8″ slices, removing the seeds. Add to the pitcher.

3. Fill with water. Refrigerate for 4 hours or more to chill and let the flavors infuse. (When you’ve finished all the water you can add more to the same cucumber and lemons, although you’ll get a lighter infusion.)

4. You can also layer the flavors by adding other favorites, such as fresh rosemary.

We drink a quart of this zero-calorie flavored water daily. It’s earth-friendly—there are no bottles to dispose of. And it’s refreshing and delicious!

Warm, comforting, and another way to enjoy
gourmet chocolate. What could be better?
Photo by Elton Lin.

Purée a ripe banana and add it to hot chocolate. One banana is enough for two eight-ounce cups (it stretches further if you want just a little banana flavor).

Add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and a grind of fresh nutmeg to the banana purée; then divide the mixture evenly between the mugs.

Pour the hot chocolate over it and stir well.

You can garnish with a side of banana chips; or for kids, marshmallows and graham crackers.

We’re not saying this is a health drink, but it combines potassium and antioxidants and it sure is a mood elevator.

Tea parties are fun—everyone always wonders why we don’t have more of them.

If your goal is to see more of your friends and family this year, why not start a monthly tea party tradition?

Tea is healthy entertaining—we’ve provided you with low-calorie options instead of all the pastries. But of course, have the scones and clotted cream ready for those who aren’t counting calories!

For each month of the year, we’ve provided two different seasonal concepts for a tea party: one from THE NIBBLE editors and one from the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group, an Irish-owned collection of hotels, where there’s a deep appreciation for the enjoyment of afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea is a time to relax with a hot cup
of tea and a delectable snack. Photo by Kristian Septimius Krogh | IST