The box is green of course, with an image of a fertile Irish landscape by the sea. Second flush Assam paired with Kenya tea creates ‘a hearty, full-bodied blend,’ reads the copy on the package of Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast Tea.
The pleasantly sweet aroma of the dry tea leaves sets a high expectation. Add boiling water, wait for 3–5 minutes, and you end up with something slightly tamer than Irish tea should be.
Earth, moss, and tree bark come to mind when trying to describe the aroma. Gone is the sweetness of the dry leaf. Also missing is the astringent punch common among Irish tea brands like Punjana and Barry’s.
But Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast tea isn’t a complete dud. I drink it occasionally in the late morning or early afternoon to help my brain function. It’s a simple, smooth tasting tea at an affordable price.
| Aroma: | Mossy, earthy |
|---|---|
| Body: | Full |
| Flavor: | Smooth, kind of flat |
| Color: | Dark |
I enjoyed Trade Joe’s Irish Breakfast Tea for ages, good flavor, affordable. Last week when I shopped I discovered that it had been repackaged but otherwise the labeling seemed to reflect the same product. But I was wrong! This morning I made my first cup of tea out of the new box. Not even close. Watery and tasteless. What were they thinking? Was was change necessary? Very disappointing.
I’m with Carol – I’ve been drinking TJ’s Irish Breakfast nearly every day for years now and this latest box doesn’t seem right. I came online to figure out WTF was going on with the tea. It claims to be “original” with new packaging (fine), but it doesn’t smell like assam tea anymore. The packaging now says something like “blend of assam and black teas” rather than just “assam” and it is, how do you say… NOT GOOD. Am I just moved by the packaging or is my nose telling the truth?
If it’s not the green box, be suspicious.
For a minute there I thought it was only me. I tasted this “original” tea and was very distressed. It is very….very…watered down, does not have a small like the previous one which is just heart warming. I went to Trader Joe’s and asked if they will bring the real original one back, and they told me they had changed the supplier. Needless to say, I am on to another brand.
Thanks for investigating Milo.
the newly brought to light finding is that several manufacturers are using plastic to bind the fibers of their tea bag together. is there plastic in the actual bag of this tea?
That’s what I’m trying to find out too. Do these tea bags release billions of microplastics into my tea? They look like they’re made of paper, but it’s difficult to tell. Trader Joes, please clarify with proper labeling! Thanks.
Looks like the Irish teabags do have plastic, for now. I emailed them in Oct 2019 to ask about the issue, and got the below reply:
Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate your feedback. We are aware of the information currently circulating, raising concerns pertaining to plastic in tea bag materials. We can assure you that the tea bag material used for many of our packaged teas is plant/cellulose derived, and compostable.
However, we do also currently have some specific tea products that are packaged with tea bag materials that may indeed contain less than 1% polymer or thermoplastic, which is used as a strengthener. We do want to assure you that there is nothing more important to us than the quality, safety and integrity of any of our products. We would never provide anything to our customers that we felt was unsafe.
So, while these materials are currently deemed food-safe according to government and industry standards (and used for specific teas, based upon the particular make up of the ingredients used, and to permit proper steeping), we will be looking to move away from this material based upon high demand from our loyal customers, like you. We will be working to replace these materials also with a plant/cellulose based alternative in the very near future.
Below is the list of our teas that do not contain any materials with plastic:
Organic Chamomile Tea
Yogi Green Super Antioxidant Tea
Yogi Organic Ginger Tea
Organic Detox Herbal Tea
Organic Pomegranate White Tea
Holiday Herbal Loose Tea Blends with Infusers
We certainly thank you again for taking the time to write to us and providing your feedback. At Trader Joe’s we are always striving to improve and your feedback allows us to do just that.
Hi Lori,
I have been drinking TJ’s Irish breakfast tea for many years and was under the impression that these tea bags were 100% paper. Based on the message from Trader Joe’s, do you know if they have improved their tea bags materials not to contain microplastics ?
Thanks,
Cindy