Dammann Freres Breakfast Tea — 50 Cristal Sachets

🍵 The Blend — Ceylon, Darjeeling and Assam brought together by one of France's oldest tea houses into a frank, full-bodied morning cup with genuine character

🍵 The Cup — A deep amber infusion, rich and brisk, with the malt of Assam carrying the brightness of Ceylon and the lifted, muscatel notes of Darjeeling

🍵 The Character — Honest and robust with a woody depth, a subtly spiced undertone, and the kind of full-bodied finish that makes a splash of milk feel exactly right

🍵 The Sachet — Dammann Freres' signature Cristal sachet — a thin, translucent, expandable format that lets the whole leaf bloom freely, brewing closer to loose leaf than any flat paper bag

The breakfast blend from Dammann Freres is where three of the world's great tea regions come together in a single, satisfying cup. The Ceylon brings brightness and a woody, slightly astringent crispness to the blend; the Darjeeling adds a lifted, aromatic quality — that characteristic muscatel note with a fruity, spiced edge — and the Assam underpins everything with the rich, malty body that makes a breakfast tea feel genuinely substantial. The house describes it as a tea with a frank taste, and that is exactly right: honest, full-flavoured, and best enjoyed with a splash of cold milk.

What makes this format distinctive is the Cristal sachet. Developed and patented by Dammann Freres, the Cristal is a thin, transparent, expandable sachet made from a biosourced textile material — a world away from the flat paper teabags that crush and rush the leaf. Inside the Cristal, the tea has room to move. The leaf opens properly, the infusion develops at its own pace, and the result is noticeably closer to a loose leaf cup than a standard teabag can produce. Watching the amber colour deepen through the translucent sachet as it steeps is a pleasure in its own right.

Dammann Freres has been France's foremost tea house since 1692, when King Louis XIV granted the house the exclusive privilege to trade tea in the country. More than three centuries on, it remains the benchmark for French tea expertise — present in over 60 countries and recognised with the Entreprises du Patrimoine Vivant award for outstanding craft heritage.

At High Teas London we have been sourcing and sharing exceptional teas since 2008. With one of the largest collections in the country — over 350 teas and infusions from the world's finest houses and gardens — our aim has always been to bring something genuinely special to your cup. This box of 50 Cristal sachets represents Dammann Freres at their most accessible, without a single compromise on quality.

Ingredients: Black tea (Camellia sinensis) — Ceylon, Darjeeling, Assam.

Brewing Note: Place one Cristal sachet in a warmed cup and pour freshly boiled water that has rested for a moment off the boil — around 95°C is ideal for this blend. Steep for 3 to 4 minutes for a bright, lively cup, or up to 5 minutes if you prefer more depth and strength. Dammann Freres recommend serving this blend with a dash of cold milk, which softens the Assam's brisk finish and draws out the natural sweetness of the blend beautifully. The Cristal sachet is designed for a single infusion, but unlike a standard teabag, it gives the leaf every opportunity to fully open and infuse — so there is no need to rush it.