Orange Pekoe is the perfect tea to go with the traditional English Breakfast

London, Sept 15 : Orange Pekoe tea has been declared as the best tea to drink with a traditional English fry-up. The tea, which comes from Sri Lanka, scored over other teas like Russian Caravan and Assam Large Leaf, because it retains its flavour against the taste of food like bacon, egg and sausage.

The finding contradicts the popular belief that English breakfast tea was found not to make the most of the classic combination of fried eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding, mushrooms, and baked beans.

Supervised by Whittard of Chelsea's "tea master" Giles Hilton, the search for the perfect accompaniment to a stodgy breakfast was conducted to mark 100 years since the invention of the tea bag.

"English breakfasts should always be accompanied by a mug of steaming tea and at its best, eaten in the greasy spoon round the corner," the Telegraph quoted Hilton as saying.

"Most often the tea served will be a blend of Kenyan, Assam and Ceylon tea but in my experience Orange Pekoe tea is the best.

"It suits the English taste for a rich, strong tasting, black tea which takes milk well. It is the very best Ceylon tea and it is important to remember that it does not taste of oranges," he added.

However, the Orange in the Orange Pekoe refers to the Royal House of Orange, a mark of quality assigned by Dutch traders, as well as the distinctive colour.

Russian Caravan and Assam Large Leaf were also found to be excellent teas to have with a fry-up.

ANI