A tea-lover's review of Yorkshire Tea's 'toast and jam' tea

I don't know what I'd do without tea.

At this point, I think it's safe to say tea is an emotional crutch for me. It caters to my every whim and need. Feeling stressed? Pop the kettle on. Kinda bored? Brew up. Dumped (again)? Time for a cuppa. I will never tire of a good cuppa.

So, when Yorkshire Tea came out with a new tea, Toast and Jam Brew, I knew I needed to give it a whirl. The breakfasty black tea claims to taste like jam on toast — a flavour, you might say, is not necessarily easy to replicate. Piers Morgan recently described this tea as "revolting" on television, so just know that based on that unreliable testimony, you'll probably love it.

The big question is: did it actually taste of jam on toast? Well, I'm very pleased to report that it does!

From the moment you tear the packet open, the fruity jam bouquet grabs you by the nose. It's properly fragrant. The first time I brewed up, I suspect I left the tea bag in a little long. I ended up adding a little bit of hot water afterwards to tone down the stewed tannin taste (sorry if that makes me a philistine!). In the words of Alanis Morissette, "You live, you learn."

Second time's a charm, though. You can practically taste the jamminess from the smell wafting out of your mug. And when you take a gulp, you might as well be chomping down on a slice of jammy toast. Now, I must admit I was a little concerned this tea might be a little sickly sweet, but after one mouthful my fears were allayed. It's mellow with subtle notes of sticky strawberry jam without being overly sweet. I'd say that jam is definitely the dominant flavour but there are notes of toast in there if you swirl it around your mouth long enough (what an appetising thought).

I preferred to drink mine black, but Yorkshire Tea says it's best served with a splash of milk.

Don't stew it... Credit: rachel thompson / mashable

The Toast and Jam Brew has been "sourced and blended from natural ingredients," according to a Yorkshire Tea press release, including Rainforest Alliance Certified tea, and if you're worried about the toast element, it's gluten free. Currently, it's available only in Asda supermarkets for £2.29 for a box of 40 tea bags, and will be rolled out into other UK supermarkets later in the year.

Now I should probably add that as a bona fide tea lover, I've tasted my fair share of flavoured teas in my time and some are much better than others. My love of tea used to be so profound that I would visit Mariage Frères and Ladurée tea emporiums in Paris, France, and collect flavoured teas as if it were a personality trait. The thing is, sometimes even the fanciest, most pretentious flavoured teas taste a little too artificially perfumed.

Thankfully, you don't get any of that soapy, perfumey taste with this tea — it's pretty gentle on the palette. So you should have no qualms whatsoever about reaching for this as a bleary-eyed wake-up brew. As a confirmed lazy person who needs tea to even consider opening her eyes, I can confirm this tea is a delicious way to shake yourself into consciousness.

Credit: rachel thompson / mashable

This isn't Yorkshire Tea's first foray into unusual teas. There's the Biscuit Brew, which allegedly tastes like biscuits. I haven't tried that particular tea because I'm just not a biscuit lover and I apologise unreservedly for that!

As we descend into cosy season (aka autumn), I know I'll be having plenty more cups of this comforting tea. Maybe I'll even crack out some real toast and jam next time.