Prince of Wales Black Tea

A refined black-and-green tea blend with gentle blackcurrant, garden florals, and a smooth, balanced finish—lighter and more aromatic than a traditional British breakfast tea.

The Experience

If you enjoy traditional black tea but want something lighter, more aromatic, and quietly fruity, Prince of Wales offers an unusual bridge between black and green tea.

This blend brings together black teas with Chinese gunpowder green tea, creating a medium-bodied cup with more lift and freshness than an all-black-tea blend. A subtle blackcurrant character adds dark-fruit sweetness without turning the tea into an overtly fruity blend, while safflower and cornflower petals give the loose leaf the colorful appearance of an English garden.

The tea itself remains central. Black tea provides depth and structure; tightly rolled gunpowder green tea contributes a fresher, slightly brisk dimension; and blackcurrant sits lightly over both.

This tea is balanced rather than bold, gently fruity rather than sweet, and traditional in spirit while quite distinctive in composition.

Tasting Notes

• Top: Blackcurrant • Gentle floral aroma
  
• Mid: Smooth black tea • Fresh green tea
  
• Finish: Lightly brisk • Subtle fruit • Clean
  
• Body: Medium

Why You’ll Love It

Choose Prince of Wales if you enjoy pure and traditional teas but occasionally want a little more aroma and fruit without moving into a heavily flavored blend.

It's particularly interesting for black-tea drinkers curious about green tea. Rather than asking green tea to carry the entire cup, the blend places gunpowder green tea alongside the more familiar depth of black tea.

The blackcurrant is deliberately subtle. Don't expect the juicy intensity of a berry-forward fruit tea. Here, it behaves more like an aromatic accent, adding just enough dark-fruit character to soften and distinguish the tea base.

If you want stronger and maltier, move toward Irish Breakfast. If you want traditional and full-bodied, try English Breakfast Classic. If the blackcurrant catches your attention, Paris Blend takes that flavor in a much richer direction with bergamot, vanilla, and caramel.

Tea, Grade & Ingredients

Tea Type: Flavored Black & Green Tea Blend
Style: Orthodox (Traditional Leafy) Black Tea & Orthodox Gunpowder Green Tea
Grade: Orange Pekoe / Gunpowder
Origins: India, China, Sri Lanka, Kenya & Albania
Elevation: Approximately 2,000–2,500 m (~6,500–8,200 ft)
Flavor Profile: Blackcurrant • Black Tea • Green Tea • Gentle Florals
Ingredients: Black tea, green tea, safflower and cornflower petals, natural flavors
Caffeine: Yes
Body: Medium

How to Brew

Use 1 heaping teaspoon with The Perfect Measure Spoon per 8 oz / 237 ml of water at 212°F / 100°C.

Mild: 2–3 minutes
Medium: 4–5 minutes
Strong: 6–7 minutes

Because this blend contains both black and green teas, we recommend beginning at the shorter end of the steeping range for your first cup. This keeps the green tea lively while allowing the blackcurrant and floral aromatics to remain distinct.

Try it straight before adding milk. Its medium body and green-tea component make it naturally lighter than a conventional breakfast blend.

Perfect For

Prince of Wales is especially suited to afternoon tea, quiet mornings, garden gatherings, light lunches, or anyone who wants a traditional-feeling tea without the weight of a robust breakfast blend.Pair it with scones, shortbread, tea sandwiches, butter cookies, berry preserves, mild cheeses, madeleines, or lightly sweet pastries.

For an English-garden-inspired pairing, try it with a plain scone and blackcurrant preserve. The pairing makes the subtle blackcurrant character in the tea much easier to recognize.

What Is Gunpowder Green Tea?

Despite the dramatic name, Gunpowder has nothing to do with actual gunpowder. The name refers to the appearance of the tea. During manufacture, the leaves are rolled into small, tight pellets whose appearance historically reminded Western traders of grains of gunpowder.

Add hot water and those little pellets begin to unfurl. Gunpowder tends to have considerably more structure than very delicate green teas, which makes it particularly useful in blends. It can stand alongside black tea and other ingredients without disappearing. In Prince of Wales, it helps create the tea's distinctive position between the depth of black tea and the freshness of green tea.

The English Garden in the Cup

The original description of Prince of Wales evokes the feeling of sipping tea in an English garden, and that is perhaps the most useful way to understand its flavor design.

Safflower and blue cornflower petals provide the visual garden, scattered through the darker tea leaves. Blackcurrant provides the fruit. Black and green teas provide the structure underneath.

The effect is much subtler than a modern fruit-forward flavored tea. The intention isn't to make the cup taste overwhelmingly of berries or flowers. Instead, those elements soften and brighten the tea while allowing the leaf itself to remain recognizable. That restraint is an important part of this blend's personality.

A Note on the Royal Story

The source history for this blend presents its ingredients symbolically around Britain and the monarchy: teas associated with India and Ceylon, Chinese green teas, and blackcurrant recalling the English garden. It's a colorful piece of tea-blend storytelling, but we would distinguish that story from documented royal provenance.

We don't have information establishing that this particular recipe was historically served to, commissioned by, or created for a Prince of Wales. The royal imagery surrounding the blend is therefore best understood as the inspiration behind its name and composition, rather than a claim that it is an official royal tea.

For us, what's more interesting is something we can actually examine: what each tea contributes to the cup.

Packaging: Our loose teas are sold by the ounce and packaged in food-grade resealable bags.

Explore Traditional & British-Inspired Black Teas

Compare Prince of Wales with different British tea traditions to discover whether you prefer gentle aromatics, classic balance, or the strength of a breakfast blend.

Prince of Wales Black Tea (This Tea)
Blackcurrant • Black & green tea • Gentle florals
→ Best for: those seeking a medium-bodied, aromatic tea that sits between traditional black tea and lighter green tea

English Breakfast Classic Black Tea
Full-bodied • Brisk • Stone fruit
→ Explore this next if: you want to leave the fruit and flowers behind and experience a more traditional, full-bodied breakfast blend

Irish Breakfast Black Tea
Robust • Malty • Astringent
→ Explore this next if: you want considerably more strength, malt, and a tea designed to stand confidently with milk

French Breakfast Black Tea
Rich • Smooth • Oaky
→ Explore this next if: you want a medium-bodied artisan breakfast blend built around the natural character of Chinese and Ceylon teas

Paris Blend Black Tea
Blackcurrant • Bergamot • Vanilla & caramel
→ Explore this next if: blackcurrant is your favorite part of Prince of Wales and you'd like to experience it in a richer, more aromatic flavored tea