Sussex Tea earns its keep as an everyday cup rather than an occasion tea, and its record at the Great Taste Awards backs that up. Grown in Kenya, it delivers a coppery, dark liquor with the brisk, malty backbone black tea drinkers come back for, plus a lemon and honey lift running underneath. The malt carries most of the character here — it's what gives the brew its heartiness rather than any single dominant note.
Black tea itself is the most oxidised of the major tea types, a distinction that only goes back a few hundred years in tea's much longer history, with Lapsang Souchong generally credited as the first of the style. Sussex Tea has picked up a following in part because it's said to suit the local water in Sussex, which is where it takes its name — though plenty of people just drink it because they like how it tastes, malty and full through every sip.
Black tea has traditionally been credited with a range of wellness effects — supporting heart health, sharpening mental focus, and aiding fat metabolism among them — though these should be read as long-held traditional associations rather than settled fact, and no cup of tea replaces a genuinely active, healthy lifestyle.
To brew it, use freshly boiled water and let the leaves infuse for three to five minutes — five minutes suits the fuller end of that malty character well. Serve it black to taste the tea on its own, or take it the traditional way with milk, sugar, honey, or a slice of lemon, all of which sit comfortably with the tasting notes here.
