Tea was first introduced to Ireland in the early 1800s, and due to British policies, the tea first available consisted of fannings, dust, and needed to be brewed strongly to extract maximum flavour. It was served with milk to mask the poor quality, and despite rising quality, this tradition is still prevalent today. Ireland’s tea story was aligned with England until after WWII, when new laws allowed Ireland to import high-quality teas directly from the growers. The primary source of good tea had been the Assam region, later supplemented by a swing towards the high-quality Kenyan leaves.