Plymouth Tea: Drakes Blend

It's safe to say that Plymouth Tea's fabulous Armada blend was a huge hit in my house. I come from a family of well established tea drinkers and they like what they like. It's not easy to introduce new tea to my family. But, when I made my Mum a cup of the Armada Blend she was instantly impressed and has been occasionally hinting that she'd quite like a cup of the delicious tea!

This evening I thought I'd try another of Plymouth Tea's blends. This time it's Drakes Blend.

Plymouth Tea describe this blend as being strong, perfect for those of you who like your tea strong and meaty. And indeed it is!

Drakes Blend is a mix of Indian and African tea, both tea's are famous for their strength. I decided to first of all try this tea without milk. I was a little nervous as I'm only just getting back into drinking plain black tea (as opposed to something like Earl Grey) so wasn't too sure how I'd handle the tea, and indeed, how the strength of the tea would alter the taste.

When I took the first sip, I realised that this is REALLY strong, well it is for me!

This is a powerful, smooth, nicely blended tea. It really does pack a punch and is very strong and for me it takes a little bit of getting used to drinking it black. So if you like really strong tea then this is for you.

I loved the rich, almost slightly nutty taste of the tea. It leaves you feeling very refreshed, but the tea also has a slight bite to it too!

This is a traditional, strong tea of a very good quality.

Recently, I have been diagnosed with thinning bones and one of the pieces of advice I have been given is to reintroduce diary into my diet. I will still be drinking tea's such as Earl Grey, Lady Grey and Yunnan black as I love the flavour and the addition of milk tends to tamper the flavours, but what the re-addition of milk has done is allow me to enjoy tea's like Assam again, tea's that were a little too strong for me to take black.

So, when I had the second mug of Drakes Blend I added a drop of milk and a tiny bit of sugar, and oh my, what a wonderful cup of tea this tea makes.

The natural strength of the tea still comes through with the addition of milk and sugar - it does not take away from the tea at all. For me to have it slightly sweet and milky just makes this an adorable cup of tea. Perfect for breakfast time, as it lacks that malty element I do not like with breakfast blends, but still giving you a kick start.

Drakes Blend is perfect for those strong tea lovers. However, if you take your tea black and prefer a gentler tea, go for the Armada blend. 

But this is just wonderful with liberal dashes of milk and a tiny bit of sugar. It's also advised that this tea goes well with a slice of lemon. I haven't tried that yet, but will shortly, so I will report back to you.

Overall, I love this tea. And I'm sure you will to.

And I have to say, so far, I'm so impressed with Plymouth Tea. I cannot fault the quality of the tea, and what I did forget to say in my previous review is you get more then a generous amount of actual tea in the bag, it's almost bursting with tea. And that is certainly a huge positive.

I hope to see Plymouth Tea on the shelves of supermarkets one day. They really do the basic's very well. And I'm uber excited to see that they do Earl Grey - my personal favourite blend. I will be treating myself to a box shortly, I'm so excited to see what they do with that particular blend. And, I think I may even pop a box of green tea into the shopping trolley, too!

What I can't thank Plymouth Tea enough for is actually creating a blend of tea that is great to take with milk and sugar. There is something comforting about taking a tea in the traditional manner, and still having the strength remain.

I'm a huge fan of Plymouth Tea. And I wish them well for all they do in the future. And I will be watching with keen interest what they will create in the years to come!