Top tea test —not just a mug’s game

A lot goes on behind the scenes before you sip your cuppa. Jonathan de Burca Butler meets a master tea-blender and puts himself through a taste test

I MEET master tea-blender, Denis Daly, in a restaurant off St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin. The Cork native has worked for Barry’s for the best part of 45 years and today he has invited me to take part in a flash course in the art of tea-tasting.

Laid out before me are four cups with the labels Kenya, Rwanda, Assam and Loose Leaf. I was poured four cups of tea and advised to add a dollop of milk.