Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea
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Yes! I’m back to drinking Tiger Tea! I kept my old tin so now I can divide my tea up and drink half at home and half work and never be separated from this rough and lovely beast.
It’s Friday today!
(which means, be careful who you follow on tumblr. :O)
And this is a sipdown of a tea I WILL sorely miss. But it was perfect today as I wanted to be alert for my first day at my new job! :D
I’m sorta an office manager/personal assistant at a company that does special effects for TV shows and movies. It’s amazing! And not only does it pay well, it’s everything else I want: casual, in my own boss, set my own hours, have my own personal space, am part of a small team… I get to wear turn jeans and geeky tees too! And I can possibly help with creating the effects (mostly dead bodies).
My boss told me to make my space my own so I’m bringing my kettle tomorrow, and a 10 pack of mini tins!
(and I work off my own computer so no one is checking if I pop on Steepster so, I’ll be more up to date on my logs!)
Sweet job.
Awesome, sounds like a fun place to work! Congrats!
Thanks! It seems pretty perfect so far.
And we managed to arrange last minute daycare for our 19mo. 2014 is off to a great start!
Sounds like a great job!!!
This job sounds ideal!
This is so great.
Wow, that’s lucky in the GTA.
Totally! So, I guess we won’t be moving back to BC any time soon! :O
Yay! That’s awesome, Cavo! Congrats!
YAAAAY!!!!!
That sounds amazing! can you get me in on it?
Woooo!!!!! :D
That sounds like a fantastic job – congratulations!!
Thanks everyone. :D
I’m drinking this today basically because cats are jerks. Mine woke me up 5 times this morning by meowing in the hallway. Every time I came out she ran into our room for purrs and cuddles, and then an hour later she was at it again.
So I picked this tea. I bet Tigers are jerks too.
My cat’s a jerk too. I finally caved and bought an electric mat to put in front of my bedroom door. I feel terribly guilty about it, but it worked miracles overnight. I hear tell there are air blasters which have about the same effect.
LOL They may be jerks but we love them anyway…
We have 2 cats, & by ‘we’ I mean Leif & Ari. Gizmo, Leif’s cat, is fairly innocuous. Squishy, on the other hand, likes to do things to intentionally piss me off. I do not allow cats in my bedroom, ever, because I can’t stand to have cat hair on me, & for some reason cats always want to piss on my pillow. I guess they want to mark my room as their territory (none of the current cats have ever actually done that, but previous ones have). So neither of our cats have ever been in my room, although Squishy tries, regularly, to get in there. Not ever gonna happen!
Terri – that sounds like quite the challenge. Are they boy cats? I’ve never had to worry about her peeing, thankfully!
And she is totally allowed in our room – we even sleep with the door open (so the cat and the toddler can both wander in), but the cat mist be playing hard to get or something as she cries outside for attention. (Stupid cat – just come in and cuddle! )
I love those names, by the way.
My cat is Mika, aka Meeks, or Mika Mikerson the Third if she’s bring particularly royal.
Your cat sounds like my cat. I don’t think I’ve heard anything more true than ‘All cats are jerks’.
adorable little jerks! :)
Terri – If it makes you feel any better I had a cat pee on my feet while I was sleeping once. I was sleeping over at a friend’s house. The cat made it clear that I was not welcome to invade his space.
Stephanie – His cuteness is the only reason my cat hasn’t been kicked out on his furry behind a dozen times over. Also the fact that he’s an awesome cuddler.
On a related note, has anyone seen My Cat From Hell? I think it’s a TLC show, but it’s also on Netflix now.
This might be the most entertaining comment thread ever. More evil cat stories, pleeeaseeeeehh.
A good book is ‘How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You’.
Also my cat peed on my mom’s duffel bag that she lent me. It probably smelled like her dog and so my cat was marking his territory. Another time though he got mad that I took away his food (he overeats sometimes) and peed where his food goes.
Cats rule; dogs drool.
pops in to look at the cat conversation..leaves before she offends people :)
Sil, does that mean you’re a CAT?!
cats and i agree to not get along. my dad used to tease the neighbourhood…uh NM lol so yeah… cats and i. we don’t mix. except for the one cat that followed me up the mountain that one time…
Once upon a time I had a friend named Suz who raised silver persians. She really wanted to give me one of her kittens, which were very expensive. I told her no thanks because I wear black to gigs all the time & the silver fur would show on my clothes. The truth is, I didn’t want a cat. She had farmed one of her cats out for stud service, & a gal who raised black smoke persians owed her a pick of the litter. Next thing you know, Suz gives me a black smoke kitten for my birthday, who I named Opal. I didn’t really want a cat, but what do you say? “Thank You”. Opal was beautiful & dumb as a post. Except she was smart enough to figure out how to get out the doggy door before I had a chance to have her spayed. End of part I
Part II
Opal had a litter of kittens, & we found homes for 4 of them, but Leif begged to keep Gizmo, so we did. Opal disappeared.
Ari’s cat Squishy is a cat she got for her son, but then she moved into an apartment that didn’t allow cats, so squishy moved in with me. Now Ari & Ky live at home too, & so really, I guess he’s Ky’s cat.
Part III
Gizmo is a boy. Squishy is a girl. I don’t hate cats. I’m just not into them. They tend to irritate me, I can feel their hair touching me. The cats I have now don’t pee on my things, but in the past I’ve had cats that did. I’m a dog lover, especially big dogs. I don’t have a dog right now, but I love dogs. They are awesome.
My cat keeps head butting me off my pillow at night… He hooks his paws over the bed rail things, and heaves. And his name is Princess Shadow. He came with Shadow, and I added the Princess! :)
Gizmo is a great name. (I love Gremlins. I would totally have a Mogwai for a pet.)
I needed this tea today.
I sabotaged myself so that I needed it. I couldn’t sleep last night because I was worried about my interview today so I went to bed at 1, and read this fic about Lestrade/Mycroft that was surprisingly good (just not a pairing I’d put any thought into) and I ended up reading until 3:30 just to finish the damn thing, and then if had an angsty ending. (http://archiveofourown.org/works/446107, if anyone is interested)
Good thing there’s a sequel?
K-Bear woke up right around then, so I got her back to bed, and then when she woke up at 7, I ended up cuddling her back to sleep so it was fitful for the last two hours. She kicks a lot and when I woke she had moved around so much that her feet were by my head. Little butt.
So I needed Tiger Tea to kick some sense into me. I think it worked. I think I had a good interview, but I didn’t get to say as much as I wanted. I don’t know if that means I was talking too much, she didn’t like me, or if she just hadn’t done a lot of interviews. Having sat on the other side of that table, I could see that third possibility, so I’ll just hope for the best!
Fingers crossed!
good luck!
Thanks! :)
Ah, I had a similar night. Our kidlets must be close in age. Here’s to hoping the interview went even better than it felt.
Our LO is 19 months. ;) How about yours?
Man, too bad I didn’t know you when I was Burnaby. Seems like we’ve got a few things in common.
Ahhh mystrade <3<3<3. You should read ibegtodreamanddiffer; she does amazing teen mystrade.
GODDAMNIT! now i am here sending yet MORE fic to my kindle. the pile is huge. YAY huge! hah thanks!
I hope everything will work in your favour!
Thanks for the rec!
And the well wishing. :)
I haven’t had this in a month so I was having a strong craving for it! Sadly, I’ve only got enough left for 3-4 more cups. :O And I can’t really justify buying more right now as my tea money is going to DTT, Butiki and somewhere else.
Sad, sadness. ILU Tiger tea! ILU Tiger Tin for my Tiger Tea!
This isn’t so great with milk and sugar. It’s best on its own.
i beg to differ!! sugar, yes…. cream, yes….. 7 minute steep and a wide awake james in class? absolutely!
I’ve never had it any way except plain!
i consider cream sugar as plain… plain old comfort! =0P like when it’s cold, and rainy and you’re studying for midterms that you’re afraid you may flop.
7 minutes!!!! I’ll have to try that. :)
i was amazed. the first time was by accident. it doesn’t go bitter! i use a heaping tablespoon for a 16 ounce tea cup. (exceptionally robust no matter how you look at it!!!)
I beg to differ too. I definitely preferred it with milk and sugar.
yay! a second vote!
2 to 2, lol
It’s time for more damn fine tea. As I celebrated my new tin of Mount Grey earlier, I wanted to give Tiger Assam the attention it deserves…
This might be too strong of a tea for this late at night but it’s tasty. And slightly astringent in that Assamy-sorta-way.
So Andrews&Dunham just posted a sale, which was VERY convenient after we were discussing shipping prices in the US swap thread, and I sorta LOST MY MIND.
I ordered a tin of Mount Grey as it’s been on my list for 4 months or so now, just waiting for a shipping sale. I should have checked with other Canadians to see if we wanted to share a 3 pack or something but, nope, I just HAD TO HAVE IT.
I put out 4 resumes today to decent places. I’d be pretty excited if I got in at any of them, and hopefully I’ll start somewhere before my tea arrives and Joe raises an eyebrow at me. :P OTOH, $50 for the month isn’t that bad…
This tea is so great. If you like malty Assam’s (with fruity undertones?), and very pretty tiger tins, go pick one up RIGHT NOW.
I haven’t logged this in a while but it was the perfect tea for this morning. It seemed almost maltier and fruiter than I remembered! So strange, but so good.
So 5 hours sleep last night was a bad idea, but I didn’t have much choice. #excuses We are going to visit family (his and mine) the next few days, so I had to get all my stuff packed up and ready to go so that he could pick me up right from work and we could leave Vancouver before traffic gets crazy. (Which also required me starting work at 6:30)
So. Tiger Assam! Bold! Should have resteeped.
I’m so stuffed up but not quite miserable so that’s a bonus. I thought I’d make this because it’s one of the few strong teas I have that might still taste good even when I’m sick.
And yes – it works! I’m alternating this with cups of echinacea. I probably didn’t need to take today off work because of how sick I was, but I couldn’t send the little bear of to daycare. We’re eating eggs and toast, and I’ll probably putter around the house and tidy up when she has her morning nap. Much better than a Monday at the office!
(I could have worked from home, but it would have taken 100 minutes or so to bus out to the office, grab the laptop and bring it back, with a sick baby in tow. Forget it! She probably wouldn’t let me do much work while she was awake anyway!)
1 more hour before I can start stalking the mailman! I should have packages coming in this week!
Yikes! This is first day of work after a year of mat leave. The company has changed so much they are giving me an orientation today with a new hire.
Because my bf is busy in classes from 8-7 today, I had to get up at 6 so I could get the baby to daycare, and be at work for 9. I’ll have to leave work early (3?) to pick her up as well. I’m going to hate Mondays! (He can drive her the other days). I should really learn to drive his car…
The baby seems to have a cold and Saturday was brutal. She was much happier yesterday but slept fitfully. I hope she’s ok at the daycare (she doesn’t seem to have contagious symptoms) but if I have to, I’ll grab a cab to pick her up if they send her home…
Too much going on today. Good thing I’ve got my Tiger tea!!!
So I’ve decided that Butiki’s Taiwanese Assam is my favourite. Now I want to compare A&D’s Tiger Assam to Zen Tea’s Assam Mangalam Second Flush.
I wanted to write detailed descriptions but the baby is teething and tired, and she keeps wanting to “play” with my grumpy fat cat (see profile pic) and I’m trying to prevent either side from getting hurt so it’s distracting. Timing is everything and I picked a bad time for this.
So in summary, I think the Tiger Assam is preferable. Although I said I expected it to be stronger in my other post, it does taste stronger than the Zen Assam, while being slightly less astringent – both good things. Zen’s Assam is still good though – I’ll drink it on days where I don’t need quite as much kick.
Also, I don’t think I should drink either of these teas on an empty stomach. Yikes. My belly and my head are complaining!
Preparation
Oh yeah, I did it! Once I saw the free shipping I realized this would probably be my only chance to order from AD&D and so I picked this tin on impulse.
It’s such a pretty tin too!
Happily the tea is also very nice. To be honest I expected it to be a bit bolder from the description but it’s not SUPER bold. It’s quite strong but drinkable with a slight astringency at the end of the sip. There are a few fruity notes in there too, which I associate with Assam tea.
This is very good. I think I prefer Butiki’s Taiwanese Assam, but this is a close second! (It really dries out the mouth though!)
Preparation
I like this tea. It screams BREAKFAST!
Assams are my favorite, and this is a decent one. It doesn’t knock my socks off, but it is nice. No major flavor notes jump out. It smells good. It gets tart as it cools and didn’t resteep worth a damn. I’ve had equally good ones at a lower price from upton, so I don’t think I’ll reorder (unless it grows on me which happens), but I will enjoy this big purty can of nice dark tea.
Preparation
Steepster is the suck today. Totally not cooperating with me. Sipdown! Loving the smokiness of this one and I’m so glad i got to try it. Thank you Terri!
It’s so difficult today. :| I just want to read and comment and I’m having so much trouble. Doesn’t Steepster know I’m trying to procrastinate?
completely The Suck.
Totally the suck.
As we see from duplicate comments… :)
lol yeah
You can tell we’re the stubborn few when we’re willing to hit refresh 10+ times just to post a comment or review a tea.
Yep.
lol. I’ve been having that problem too. And I hit the button about 10x to get my note up too.
Never give up! Never, never, never!
Me too! I was starting to worry it was my internet…
So I’m not feeling well today and stayed home to get some rest and sleep. My Tummys been queasy for the entire weekend so I haven’t even wanted much tea. However when my swap box with Terri showed up, I couldn’t resist!
My Internet isn’t working very well today BUT I needed to say that this is one hell of a beautiful smokey tea :)
http://instagram.com/p/YJQ-hRkyFb/
Feel better!
Enjoy your day of rest! Sounds like you need it with all the crazy work stuff you’ve been mentioning.
Feel better soon!
Get well!!
Hope you feel better soon. Have any mint tea? :)
get better soon Sil :)
Thanks guys. i’m starting to wonder if it’s allergies that are making me feel off all the time.
I recommend copious amounts of ginger. Feel better!
Hope you feel better!
1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.
WOW.
I don’t drink a lot of Earl Grey, because I’ve had so much crappy Earl Grey, stuff that tastes like it could be furniture polish (Twinings), or just tastes stale, or uses a crappy tea base (again, Twinings). Damn Fine’s Earl Grey, which came with in a set with Caravan and Jasmine, was lovely. I think Mount Gray is even better.
The black tea base seems to be a China tea: light body and a slightly sweet finish, no malt. The bergamot is beautiful. Not harsh but deeply fragrant. I brought some Mount Gray to my worklace, and I can smell it through a sealed Ziploc bag. The mineral finish works very well with the bergamot, which does not overpower the tea. All in all, an excellent, and vert refreshing, Earl Grey. Once again, Damn Fine lives up to their name.
Preparation
Wash your cup or pot thoroughly before making a siffernt tea in it. I’ve got some Double Knit here now with a serious Mount Gray hangover. My entire desk is redolent with bergamot.
I’ll be blending this with some Caravan Resurrected when I get home.
Sorry — siffert = different.
Not actually drinking this, but i like to celebrate sipdowns so here it is :) Last small cup of this going to Tigress Al to figure out which teas to order with the free ship coupon we have from A&D! this one is on my list, as it’s a great every day tea, esp with a tiny bit of maple syrup :)
