Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

I guess I’ve just been busy the past two days and not on Steepster enough. :( It doesn’t help that J has been using my computer a lot so it’s not as convenient to check everyone’s reviews!

This tea is a perfect accompaniment while I catch up!

I think J is going to study for two midterms today so I’m planning to take TK to the library so she can play with all the toys and other kids. She loves it, and it makes me feel better about her not being in daycare at the moment!

So the other day I had an Earl Gray that was fresh, sweet and almost lemon custardy, and I wanted more today.

Too bad I mixed things up. It wasn’t this one – it was Justea’s Kathryne Kenyan Earl Grey. Oh. Colour me disappointed.

This IS a good tea though, and I’m not at all disappointed, but I was craving something creamier.

Yay! One week after we were discussing how it’d be nice to have free shipping from A&D, they offered free shipping! (Or, with a $5 discount to Canada!) Mine showed up today, along with a super snazzy dinosaur magnet!

I’m not a huge Earl Gray fan but for some reason I really like this one. The bergamot is very potent but it’s nicely balanced and the basee isn’t at all astringent. I swear I can taste creamy lemon in this as well. So fantastic.

I think that between this and TARDIS I’m well stocked on EG’s. (About 10 oz combined)

Well! Who knew? This is an Earl Grey (Gray?) that I really enjoy! The bergamot is strong but doesn’t cross the line and make me think of perfume. The base is strong, and I’m getting some kind of fruity notes as well! Fun!

Now, I just need to remind myself that THERE WILL BE OTHER SALES. I don’t want to order this tin before I’ve tried the other teas from A&D. What if Caravan is my fav? Or Double Knit?

But yes. I think that I would like some of this in the future!

Thank you TerriHarpLady

Now I have to listen to Picard ordering tea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2IJdfxWtPM

ETA: Apparently this is also a sipdown (156). I finished my last cup and immediately wanted MOAR so I brewed up the last of my sample. Added to my shopping list.

Backlogging. I have had this as my morning tea a few times since the cute tin arrived in the mail. It is hearty, malty and smoky and holds up well to my preferred morning method: with milk and sugar.

generally i consider andrews and dunham a staple: their tiger assam, their double knit— this is a company that has studied tea and knows what they’re doing.

i completely understand why this one was named ‘caravan’. i can taste the bonfire smoke and hear the nomads dancing about the flames. if you like a smoke heavy blend that is also smooth then i predict you will bond well with this tea. for my part it was a bit too much smoke, even with cream added. it was, however, very smooth.

thank you to scibbles for this tasting experience!

I’ve been neglecting my tea lately. The husband and I are in the process of house shopping (and offering!) so all these things I mean to do… yeah, they haven’t been getting done. Shame on me. But today, I’m trying to reverse the trend. First step tea review, next step the world!

Ahem. So I realize this is random, but I like the fact that Mount Gray is spelled with an “a”. What can I say? I’m a Southern girl. “Grey” is not my default setting.

The smell is fragrant and a bit sharp. Spicy, I’d say. Perfume-y (just a tad) but in an expensive way and something that had a strong white pepper note or something. It tickles my nose, but it isn’t unpleasant. Currently, my top EG is Whittard of Chelsea’s, so I can’t help but compare a little. I don’t detect the earthy edge WoC’s had in this one, though that could be because the pepper tickle in my nose prevents me from massive sniffing.

In my cup, the smell mellows greatly. It has been a bit since I had WoC’s (my default tea lately has been a comforting Keemun) but I think this is mellower in cup. It’s a bit more floral and sweet than the peppery it was dry, but it’s pretty – soft and sort of cushy with an occasional twang of pepper.

So I’m a tiny bit mixed on the taste. It’s not overwhelmingly flavored – the bergamot is nice and light – definitely noticeable but not punch-you-in-the-face – but it edges a tad towards the floral. Not disturbingly so, but I do tend to prefer my bergamots with a tad of a peel note to them (I like that note of sharp intensity in my citrus). This one lacks that note, it seems. Also, the tea itself feels kind of… thin? I’m sure part of that is the fact that I do such short steep times (about 1:30) but other teas can feel silky and sexy after that steep time, why can’t this one? And, as is the case with most EGs, the flavor of the tea itself is definitely not a main player. I’m not even sure I’d say it is a backup singer. More like the random percussion dude that plays the maracas. You don’t really notice him, but he does add nice depth to the song.

All that whining aside, the balance of the flavoring is really nice. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it’s just flat out pretty. Soft and very easy to drink, the overall vibe is nice and relaxing. It’s the kind of tea that you heave a big sigh after sipping, releasing all your tension. As it cools, the balance of the bergamot shifts a tad from floral to citrus-sweet, and I like that.

I can’t say that yes, this is what Jean Luc Picard would drink, but I definitely don’t think he’d dump it out of his teacup.

Fresh, citrusy tasting earl gray. Definitely has that “fruity pebble” aroma, but the flavor is fine tea and bergamont.

this tea kicks a**! A HUGE CAPS LOCK THANK YOU TO SCRIBBLES FOR THIS!!!!!

robust, a heavy handed caffeine punch that doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t but somehow ZERO bitterness. this tea is an unbridled wake up! as well quite the finest assam i’ve ever had.

i will not be sharing this sample. i will be buying more when i’m done.

taking them at their word i steeped conventionally the first time and flagrantly ignored it on the counter the second. awesome both ways. not to mention their marketing amuses me.

This tea found mevia my son-in-law this past Mothers Day. It is indeed damn fine and at the pinnacle of my favorite black tea list. Fragrant yes but also a delicious full bodied black w no bitterness. Just lovely. :P

You know when you drink a tea a lot, then you have it one day and it is totally and completely different then what it was before. So weird…

Today I am getting almost a cherry like sweetness on top of the bold and malty assam. There is no astringency. And I almost hate to say it, no tiger… It is light and bold at the same time. A lot more sweetness then I usually recognize in this tea. I just finished eating some Harvest Crunch cereal, but I can’t see why that would make this tea taste so much different.

Either way, it is still super delicious!

So I am finishing off the last of my sample of this from Sil before my order comes in the mail sometime next week. Sil had also sent me a sample Gout Russe Doushka by Dammann Freres a long time ago. That tea’s history is about putting a slice of orange in the tea; and it also tastes awesome. So I thought I am going to put a slice of orange in my tea today to see how awesome it will be.

I brewed up a cup of the tiger assam as normal. Then added a whole slice of orange. The orange slice floated on the top of the cup, so for the first couple of sips I felt like I was sipping my tea through the orange. But that doesn’t matter because it was delicious. This is my new favourite.

I taste the boldness but smoothness of the assam. It is strong, with a kick, but not so strong it makes you cringe. The orange slice adds a bit of sweetness. It is not sweetness like adding sugar, but more like the natural sweetness that is found in the rind of the orange. There is also a slight tartness from the orange, that works well with the boldness of the assam. There is a very light natural orange flavour underneath the flavours of the malty assam.

I think this is going to become commonplace when I drink black teas.

I have been waiting forever to try this tea. I have wanted to try A and D for a long time but their tins are so large, I didn’t want to make a purchase before trying. Thank you Sil for helping me out on this one!

Assam is my all time favorite straight black tea. It doesn’t matter how it has been processed and whether it is loose leaf or bagged, it is always the best.

This tea is delicious. It is bold but still smooth. There is only a very mild malt-like taste to it, also a slight roasty flavour. It is medium thickness. I am only getting a very, very mild aftertaste and is not astringent at all. There is a slight natural sweetness to the tea.

Definitely worth the wait to try this tea. Now I am going to try to wait for another sale to pick some of this up, and most likely get some of their other teas too!

Smooth, hefty assam that is not very malty. Maintains nice flavor with milk and sugar, but not so bold that it needs those things to take the edge off. Not super complex, but smooth and refined. Good wake up tea!

Here is another one that Sil shared with me. When asked what I would like to try, one of my requests was for some Assam or other. It’s a funny region for me. I really want to adore them, but I’m just not quite there. Nine times out of ten I’ll go for a Chinese but every once in a blue moon the Assam just strikes me as the most desirable tea on the planet.

And then I usually haven’t got any.

Lately I’ve been having some small Assam-y thoughts again, though, so it was a fairly obvious request. (Project Assam…? ponder ponder ponder )

I’m making this in the big pot to share with Husband, who opted to not have it milked. When it’s any other tea, I usually just serve it as it is, but sometimes I get confused about what he would prefer. He always drinks it without additives at home, but as soon as he sets foot on English soil he reverts to preferring his tea milked. I don’t know… maybe it’s a geography thing. (I hope he doesn’t think it’s because I won’t let him milk it… O.o )

Now, let me see. I’ve been carefully timing this, because one of the things that stops me from being all over Assam is how finicky they are. You can pretty much abuse a Chinese black from now until Christmas and it’ll still produce a drinkable cup. Sometimes rather stewed, but still drinkable. An Assam however will not put up with that sort of treatment. It will turn around and bite you back.

The aroma is quite malty, but it also has notes of raisins and honey in there. Mostly raisins. Whenever I’ve had an Assam that hasn’t been completely ruined, it seems to have always had a raisin-y aspect to a smaller or larger degree. Less so with honey.

Normally when describing something as malty, I would automatically started searching for a grain-y aspect, but I can’t really find that here. It’s more sort of wood-en for me. (And bright red, my at times weird brain supplies)’

Over it all there is a note of something that smells thick and creamy, almost… like if it had a smidge of vanilla flavouring. I’ve found that Assam generally works great for me as a base for vanilla flavouring, although peculiarly my Perfect vanilla isn’t Assam-y. Now I’m beginning to wonder if that works so well because the flavouring in those cases enhance a note which might already be there, if you know what I mean. It makes a vanilla flavoured Assam taste more natural than really flavoured. If you know what I mean.

But I digress and this tea, for the record, is not actually flavoured with anything at all.

First sip is sweet and honey-y. At the very beginning it was wood-y, but then it turned all sweet. I’m actually dithering a bit on the honey note, wondering if I think it’s more along the lines of toffee or something, but eventually I’ve come to the conclusion that I think it’s most like honey. Second sip starts me considering that question again. It’s almost like it depends on how I’ve sipped. Where on the tongue it hits first, how much I’ve been slurping, how long it takes before swallowing. At the very beginning, I think it’s like honey, but then it turns into something toffee-y and sweetie like. And I’m pretty certain it is actually the same note here. It definitely feels like the same note that changes.

So, apart from that weird sweet aspect that can’t decide what it is, we’ve got some wood-en notes to this like I found in the aroma, and they’re laying down the bottom of the flavour. It’s actually quite discreet, but it adds substance. There’s a hint of mild astringency here too, but nothing too dominating.

Now what about those raisins. peers into cup They’re in there. I know they are, because I can feel them. I just… don’t know where they are. They’re hiding from me, shouting coo-ee every now and then. I suspect the tea needs to develop a bit before I’ll find them.

The tea has cooled off a bit now, and I think we can safely say that this is one of those that only have raisin notes to a smaller degree. They’re out there a little more now all right, but nothing that makes me sit up and say ‘raisin!’. That creamy sort of milky note is very much at the forefront now and I’ve completely lost the honey/toffee/vanilla-y chameleon note. That’s a shame, because I was rather enjoying that. I liked this one best when it was very hot.

All in all, this was a highly enjoyable tea.

So I have all these beautiful perfume samples headed my way (I’m taking a weightlifting hiatus which means I can indulge my olfactory sense; when trying to hit a new PR I abstain due to some hearsay, possibly superstitious, about scent affecting hormone levels over time), and splendid tea samples from Stacy, and I’ve been boasting about this being one of the only winters on record I managed to stay well, which means naturally over the weekend I (and my husband) developed a cold that renders my entire head a mere repository for snot. Of course. (At least there’s an obvious reason—we went to the drugstore yesterday for more Nyquil and the lady carded us and then looked at me sympathetically and said “aw, you the sick one?” and I said “yeah, I managed to stay fine all winter and then…” and she goes “yeah, well jeez, this weather’ll do it…can you believe it went from 65F to 40F in a single hour the other day??”)

Been combatting it with my usual—insane amounts of Stash White Christmas (white tea, peppermint, ginger), a box of Kleenex a day, a sack of oranges, chicken soup—but I was so sick of not being able to smell anything! And my illnesses always progress the same way, downward really—they start with congestion and pressure behind my eyes and nose, sinuses, then after a couple days it moves down to my throat, then a full body ache usually with a fever, then finally to my chest/lungs. I’d progressed to “sore muscles” last night and decided to take a long bath. L’Occitane sent me a free “bath sugar cube” a while back, with rosemary, mint, and pine, so last night I soaked in that with a cup of this tea, a Paddywax candle, and Julie Doiron on the stereo low and soft. It was marvelous.

I chose this tea because I have so much of it I don’t feel bad using some while ill/not up to snuff senses-wise, and it resteeps well, and I missed “black tea taste” but knew it’s usually smooth and round enough to keep from upsetting my stomach or throat. And it was perfect. Through the wall of snot (sorry to be gross guys!) I can taste this, TEA, and it soothed me so. So I had some this morning too. I know I’m missing its full glory, but this one’s always been like a blanket, comforting like a hug (I just realized my first note for this was about the time the in-wall space heater could’ve killed us all—this really seems to be what I reach for when things are not their best!). I love how reliable it is.

Today was stressful as all get out, and exhausting—maybe I’ll get into it later. Anyway, this came at the end of it as a very welcome surprise. And it was exactly what I needed. Smooth and bold, straightforwardly pleasing while also being as rich and satisfying as a cup of coffee (sorry teahards). I sat on the patio and looked out the window and it soothed and re-energized me beautifully. Like that “classic [to me] old school black tea taste” I mentioned jonesing for earlier, done really, really smoothly and well. It might make a helluva morning blend, we shall see.

Between that afternoon surprise cup, which felt like a coffee and cig break frankly in terms of “strong shot of chemical relief”, and the nap I took with my husband and both cats on the bed while it stormed outside this afternoon, I’m recharged and ready for tonight’s ping pong party.

This is good. Really good. Makes a smooth, bold cuppa. I usually don’t drink black tea’s without adding a splash of milk, but this one I like without adding anything.

Yum. This is a nice hearty blend. Not too astringent, no weird flavors, just smooth quality tea. This could become a favorite.

My first tea of the day, and on my second steep. It is sunny, but a little chilly, and I knew this tea would warm me up. Sweet and a bit smoky. This has tea has heft and body, but smooth. I’m taking my time with this second cup, ‘cos I’m procrastinating on the yard work I have to do.

Having a big mug of this, and I probably will pay later on with the caffeine kick. But that’s ok. So good. I wanted something malty and strong, and it’s delivering.