Irish Breakfast Tea
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Irish Breakfast Tea (J8x32) 3C (4C set) 32 bar Jig for 3 Couples in a 4 Couple Set, devised by Rod Downey (2026), Published in The Rata And The Wheki.1- 2 1C turn RH and face out.
3- 4 1C casts into second place; 2C step up.
5- 8 1C turn LH.
9-16 1W with 2C, 1M with 3C dance RH across and 1C pass rights shoulder to then dance LH across, 1L with 3C and 1M with 2C finishing in second place. (teapots)
17-20 All three couples take hands on the sidelines and advance and retire.
21-24 All three couples dance back to back with partner.
25-32 Six hands round and back.
Repeat, having passed a couple.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser Rod Downey, Johnsonville SCD Club Tutor, 2026)
Dance Instruction Videos
Irish Breakfast Tea - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
This dance was devised on 27 February 2026 as a teaching dance for Teapots for use in a St Patrick's Day themed programme.The recommended tune is "Crawford's Jig" as recorded by the Wick Scottish Country Dance Band, in the album "The Sound of the North" (although the music is only 4 × 32).
Suitable recorded music would include any reasonable recording of Rory O'More or The Blackthorne Stick.
(Dance information from The The Rata And The Wheki Collection Of Scottish Country Dances, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Rod Downey)
Irish breakfast tea is a blend of black teas, most commonly based on Assam and often combined with teas from Sri Lanka or African countries such as Kenya.
There is no fixed formula, but the blend is usually weighted towards Assam, which produces a dark colour and a strong, malty flavour. The leaves are often processed into broken grades, allowing the tea to infuse quickly and give a full, robust drink.
Tea was introduced to Ireland in the mid eighteenth century, initially as an expensive imported product used mainly by wealthier households. During the nineteenth century it became more widely available and was adopted across all social groups. Irish breakfast tea developed within this period as a commonly used blended tea and remains widely consumed.
The drink is typically strong and dark in colour, often described as red to brown when brewed. Because of its strength, it is frequently taken with milk, although it may also be drunk plain or with sugar or honey. As a black tea, it contains more caffeine than less oxidised teas such as green or white tea.
Despite the name, it is not restricted to mornings and is commonly consumed throughout the day in Ireland. The term is used for a general style of blend rather than a single defined recipe, so different producers create their own versions using similar types of tea leaves.
Published in The Rata And The Wheki, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Rod Downey.
Published in https://homepages.ecs.vuw.ac.nz/~downey/dances/book7.pdf
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