Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

I made some of this tonight when I had to take my friend to work (she couldn’t drive tonight) and we weren’t sure how long she’d be.

This is definitely more of a morning tea. It was WAY too much of a kick in the pants. It’s so delicious, and so amazing with milk and brown sugar.. but not at 4:30pm. Maybe 8:30am. :) I have one more cup left in the package Cavocorax sent me, so I think I’ll have it tomorrow.

I’d love to get more, but my tea budget for Black Friday is spent. I’ll have to wait till they have another “free shipping to Canada” offer. :)

This is a fine malty blend and a strong tea. This is a tea that would give any holiday elf a little extra lift this busy time of year. It is too strong for me if prepared as directed. I brewed for 4 min at 160 and it has less bite from the Assam.

Thanks to Dexter3657 for the generous sample of this :)

This is one I’ve been wanting to try for a while now so I was thrilled to get this swap package in the mail today.

This is definitely a strong black that could really wake a person up. It’s deep and smooth. The only downside for me was the smokiness. I hadn’t read any reviews and I wasn’t expecting it at all. I have only smelled and turned down smoky teas thus far, and I think the smokiness was ultimately a deal breaker. Perhaps I will try to expand my smoky tea repertoire and come back to this one in a while, since every other aspect of this tea was amazing.

As black blends go, this is really good. It’s rich and full bodied, malty and slightly smoky, with the tiniest edge of astringency. I’m not 100% sure which teas have gone into this blend, but they certainly work really well together! I had a big cup of this last night after an enjoyable but tiring day at work, and it was absolutely just the thing.

Angrboda was kind enough to share a sample of this with me, so it’s her I have to thank for this experience. This is the most I’ve enjoyed a black blend in a long time, and it’s made me interested to try some of the other plain black teas I’ve got hidden away in my stash. There again, I doubt any of them will be quite as good as this…but you never know!

A really enjoyable tea. I’d go so far as to say that if you’re any kind of black tea fan, you really need to give this one ago if you’ve not already. It’s awesome.

Steeped a cup of this for a coworker, who declared it to be “the best Earl Grey” he had ever consumed.

Resteeping the leaves for a cup for myself, now.

Thanks again for the sample, Terri HarpLady.

Drinking more of this at the office. Enjoying it so much!

Thanks to Terri HarpLady for this sample!

Andrews & Dunham have a knack for coming up with some of the most creative names in the tea industry…and turning tea time into an adventure! In particular, their Earl Grey blend, dubbed “Visit Mount Gray” is described as containing “Black tea flavored with Bergamot Oil, Mountain Air, Golden Sunsets, and a Lifetime of Adventure.” That description causes me to want to undertake an adventure. Time for tea!

The bergamot scent of the dry leaves was nearly overwhelming. When I opened the package, the heavy aroma wafted to my nose and shocked me with its strength. Whoah. In the past, I have consumed Earl Grey blends, where there was so much bergamot oil that it was sickening. Thankfully, that was not the case with “Visit Mount Gray.” While being heavy, the bergamot aromas were not too much.

A teaspoon of dry leaves joined eight ounces (or a bit more) in a cup for four minutes (or a bit more to balance the extra water). The result was not a cup of tea that reeked of bergamot. Rather, the bergamot scent had settled into the overall blend, for which I was thankful. Eagerly, I awaited the cup being just slightly cooler, so that I might taste the adventure!

I took a small sip and the flavor underwhelmed me. Hmmm, perhaps the small amount of extra water was not totally balanced by the small amount of extra time. Back into the mug goes the strainer with the leaves. Another two minutes pass.

The smell was still the same smooth blend, but the taste…the taste had blossomed! Blessedly, it was not overwhelming with bergamot, either. In fact, wow, the bergamot was actually complementing the black tea, as it should in Earl Grey! Clearly, my concerns about the amount of bergamot were unfounded. The smooth flavors of bergamot and black tea slid over my taste buds, leaving trace aftertastes of bergamot, pleasantly resting on the palate.

If Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea “Visit Mount Gray” is not the best Earl Grey blend that I have ever tasted, then I am not certain what is better. Well done, Andrews & Dunham. That was an amazing cup. Not too strong, not too perfume-y, but with enough strength and kick to cause you to wake up and take notice, all the while enjoying every smooth sip. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea an 89/100.

I’d been wanting to try this one for a good long time, so huge thanks to Angrboda for sharing this with me!

This is a big, bold, beautiful cup. It’s beautifully malty, with a really distinctive assam flavour — there’s no mistaking this one! I was half expecting it to be a bit astringent and rough around the edges, but it’s not like that at all. It’s not perfectly smooth in the honeyed way that some teas have, but it’s pretty typical for an assam. There’s certainly plenty of flavour, and it’s wonderfully suited to my big tea mug, brewed long and strong, and with a splash of milk added. I can’t say I’ve enjoyed another assam quite as much as this one for a good long time!

Thank you Cameron B for selling some of your A&D teas! I tried this years ago, a sample, didn’t love it then, but was hoping the harvests or my tastebuds had changed. I remember this NOT being my favorite EG and I can see now on sipping it, that I remember it being very similar then and that I don’t like it much. This bergamot might be for others, but this ain’t my bergamot. I also don’t love the base either, so it’s a fail all around for me. The base tea seems too boring to me. Just not a tea I’d crave at all. I’d start worrying my tastebuds for bergamot have changed over the years, since I’m finding so many I don’t care for, but this one seems the same as when I had it years ago. I expect magical things from an A&D EG, but at least this shows their teas are consistent. I’d lower the rating to a 65 if I lowered ratings.
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

Thank you Terri Harplady for a bit of this to try! I wanted an Earl Grey today! I may have overleafed this one, but I had the water cooling a while, so that may have helped. I steeped for three minutes. I was actually expecting a darker cup color. This was quite light! A bit malty but not tough enough for me. The flavor isn’t my favorite EG… it was unique though. Tough to describe! The bergamot flavor just wasn’t as lovely as I wished. The second cup was the same, even though I used just boiled water. I’m happy to have tried this one, but I’d rather have my EG favorites.

The fellas at Andrews & Dunham seemed so damn sure of their product at the 2013 NY Coffee & Tea Festival that I felt compelled to purchase a canister of their Tiger Assam. When I brew a pot at home, this sassy cuppa can’t be contained to a single serving. Bold as the stripes of its namesake, it’s the “Kick-Ass” in “Assam”. Enjoy it straight, without creamer or sweetener. The only thing that would enhance its awesomeness is if you play “Eye of the Tiger” while you’re steeping it.

Backlogged from memory as I had this a few days ago late at night (yes I am nuts) and forgot to log it then. I always feel so sad when I don’t give a tea its proper due in my logs due to timing of things; I was sifting through my cupboard and kept going “I haven’t logged that one?!” to the point it’d be quite a project to backlog all of them, ack.

But anyway. This was delicious, as I’ve come to expect from A&D. My tea buddy loves it and has been saying so for like over a month now, but I had this block where I didn’t want to open the tin, feel like I need to sip down stuff that isn’t packaged so well to begin with. But it was calling to me last Friday or whenever it was, and I’m glad I gave in. So good. I can’t get into specifics right now alas, but hopefully next time I drink it at a more decent hour. I will say it’s unbelievably smooth while being bold, much like my beloved Double Knit (probably bolder, with a sharper/deeper flavor though). Definitely one of the best straight assams I’ve had, maybe even THE best. Given Mount Gray’s been the only disappointing A&D tea for me, looks like I know now which combo pack to get when/if (since there’s so much!) I ever restock. I’ve been a little curious about blending my own chai and if/when I try that I might use this as the base, both because it’s so smooth and strong and delicious and because I have plenty of it to mess around with.

I have a sample of this thanks to the most generous scribble – Thank you so much!!
This was my tea of choice at work today. First cup was a TOTAL MISS – ewww. I really over leafed, over steeped it. Those leaves for a second steep was really good. Added a bit more fresh leaf and did a third steep – shorter steep time. AWESOME. This tea for me is a bit fussy with steep times. I had to steep this shorter than I normally would with a black. It was just too strong with the longer steep times. Once I found where I liked it, this is really nicely balanced between bold black, astringent, and smokey. I like that the smoky isn’t totally drowning out the black flavors.
I think this is a really good example of this style of tea, but this style will never be my favorite. I would certainly like a cup here or there, but don’t think I need a 4 oz tin. Thanks so much scribbles for letting me try this.

Many thanks to Cavocorax for giving me the opportunity to try this lovely Assam! I thoroughly enjoyed every single, malty, thick cup of this sheer awesomeness. With half-and-half, this particular Assam also makes me want an Assam ice cream (another company’s does too but can’t remember which one). The combination of the creaminess and flavour profile of the Assam is so rich and luxurious.

The second steep is oh so flavourful too. Still robust and slightly astringent, but in a good way. This is exactly the kind of tea I love to have in the morning, and is the equivalent of the ideal coffee that coffee lovers would prefer first thing in the morning with a hearty breakfast.

This may be the oldest loose leaf in my cupboard: potentially back from 2013?

It has made its way to my work cupboard, where I thought it was working quite well as a brisk wakeup cup, right until my sister brought me back a fresh TFGOP Assam and.. yeah, this one needs to be finished up!

29 teas to go and I caved hard. Currently now on a massive oolong buying spree from any place that carries oolong. Thank you, tax returns.

Anyways, this was yet another giant tin I excavated from the back of the cupboard. It’s probably one of the best rediscoveries, and definitely the only tea I own that I’m grateful to have an abundance of (over 4oz).

Even though I should know better by now, I’m still surprised how much complexity the first sip yields. Tiger Assam is like a particularly dynamic red wine (even when diluted in milk)- it’s also like red wine in that it tastes of grapes and stuff, and drinking it goes to my head in a way that is delightful to me and an annoyance for everyone else in the near vicinity. People don’t judge me as harshly for drinking it though, which is another perk.

Boiling water, 4 minutes 30 seconds, no milk or sugar.

Ah, I haven’t had a lot of plain black teas lately and didn’t realize how much I needed this! Malt, honey, and some raisins- I missed you! Token astringent bite, I missed you less! If I let my imagination run away with me I can taste caramel and cocoa, but I think I may be overexcited.

Thanks, Heather, for giving me your last cup’s worth yesterday! Also, an indirect thanks to Cavocorax for sending her this sample in the first place.

You know what sucks? Fire alarm testing day in apartments.

It seems I never logged this despite having it maybe a week or so ago, oops. From memory: I was really surprised and bummed to find I don’t love this! It has the same thing that the Upton Natural Bergamot EG has, I suppose um, natural bergamot. Weirdly, it turns out I don’t like that! It has, yeah, the smell of bottles of cheap orange blossom water you get at the Mediterranean grocer, an aroma I go to great lengths (and maybe impossible ones now that A. Montaux has shuttered its orange blossom extract business :( ) to avoid when cooking and making cocktails. I guess the closest I can come to describing the distinction is that those bottles of orange blossom water are more floral in a kind of jasmine-y way (and I dislike jasmine), and the bergamot I like is cleaner, soapier, brighter. At the risk of sounding sexist I would say EGs like this and Lupicia’s feel more like feminine perfumes while the ones I like best are more like masculine colognes/aftershaves. Weird to discover when things have better/more natural bergamot I don’t care for them. Oh well.

This wasn’t bad, and that smell wasn’t as strong as it was in the Upton Imports Natural Bergamot EG. I could drink this again when/if I had to (I’m probabably going to send this to my tea buddy though, as a whole 4.4oz canister is an awful lot of tea for something you don’t adore!). But it’s definitely not a favorite. Again, I was very surprised. I have a feeling if you like the popular Lupicia EGs you’d probably like this one too.

Sipdown, 137. I wanted to try this assam because a lot of people rave about it and it seems to be a pretty classic assam. So thanks to Sil for sending me some to try. I have always thought I didn’t really like assams, but then I started trying them here or there and was unsure. I have to say that if I don’t love this one I will probably give up on most assams, haha.

I’m not sure what to think of this one. I do think it’s funny how some people say things about certain teas like “this one never ever gets bitter!” Do we have different definitions of bitter? Because I do find this one to be bitter when steeped at these parameters. I’m not sure what other flavors I’m getting… a hint of malt, but I don’t find it super malty, some other flavor I can’t quite identify. After one small cup I also kind of felt a little ill, so I think straight strong assam and my stomach doesn’t really get along (even though it’s not on an empty stomach!). I had this reaction to the Antarctic Expedition Blend the other day as well. Super bold teas, maybe not for me.

Anyway, I added milk and a bit of maple to smooth it out. It works a bit better for me, but I’m not in love with it. I think the only assam I like are the Taiwanese varietals.

I accidentally slept in this morning. I say accidentally because it is Sunday, and by sleeping in today, I won’t be able to go to sleep at a decent time tonight, so I will be tired for work tomorrow. Woe is me, ha, ha.

I needed something to get me moving. So I pulled this one out of the cupboard. It smells of a strong yet somewhat sweet black tea blend. The tea tastes full bodied, it is slightly malty. There is a slight natural sweetness from the black teas. It is very smooth. I anticipated a bit if astringency but there was none. Wow! I am impressed. It is making my stomach a bit raw because I haven’t eaten anything yet, but I am starting to feel a bit more human now.

I received a sample of this in a long – ago swap. Swap partner – Thank you!

True to this tea being a ceylon (and true to the description) the flavor is very delicate. The color is a deep amber. I am getting a major sweet flavor. I am also tasting a slight dried fruit flavor. The flavor left in my mouth is very sweet but not cloying. This is an enjoyable tea that worked well with breakfast this morning!

Whoops, I wandered off while steeping this. No matter, still good.

I bought the 3 tin pack of this, Mount gray and Double Knit, and at first I was worried it seems like a lot of tea… But I’ve slowly been going through it and am actually almost out of this one. I’ve found it to be a good tea to brew in the morning and carry along iced for throughout the day. It’s pretty strong but has nice flavor and is a nice pick me up in the afternoon. I have been having it everyday and I think it’s really grown on me.

Backlog:

I love this tea. I’ve been drinking it at least once a week over the past few months since I got the tin, and now it’s nearly gone … and this is my first tasting note about it. Like I said before, I’m behind! So this one note shall serve as about 15 – 20 tasting notes in one.

The bergamot of this Earl Grey is a softer bergamot – not an in your face bergamot taste. This allows me to enjoy the fruitier qualities of the bergamot. Not at all soapy or perfume-y … I like the way the bergamot is represented in this Mount Gray.

The black tea is rich and pleasant. Overall, the cup is smooth, slightly acidic from the citrus, and very flavorful. I like this one!