Assam tea
The Irish Breakfast tea Blend has no standard formula for its manufacture. However, most blends share common traits that collectively define "Irish Breakfast" as opposed to British tea blends. The base of the Irish tea blend is a strong black Assam tea from India that is well known for its dark colour, strong flavour and malty aroma. The Assam is usually blended with one other, softer tea to bring out different flavours and to support the Assam. These additional teas are usually sourced from Kenya, with a popular choice being Kenyan Broken Pekoe. The proportion of Assam tea to the ancillary leaves is what gives Irish Breakfast tea its defining flavour. The strength of the tea blend not only comes from the type of tea leaves used in the preparation, but also from the processing of the leaves before packaging. Irish Breakfast tea tends to be made with leaves that have been broken, meaning leaves that have been dried and then lightly crushed before packaging. This process allows the tea to steep more rapidly and release more flavour per leaf than an unbroken leaf.