Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

I tamed down the tiger a little bit and it was delicious this time! There is less astringency and it is a little less bold, which is to my liking. The malt makes this a smooth cuppa. And there is certainly a caffeine punch to this tea! Great for the morning!

Thanks again for the sample Sil!

Thank you for the sample Sil!

I have been wanting to try this FOREVER but didn’t want to buy 4oz of something that I had never tried before! So now, to figure out which one(s) I want to order from this company!

I have a fascination with tigers, they are just amazing creatures. So of course this is the tea that I brewed up first. It is malty and smooth, a high quality assam for sure. It is bold, however, I am getting quite a bit of astringency. I seem to enjoy my blacks at around 3 minutes, so I will try that next time. I really enjoy this tea and I am guessing that this will be on the order list.

I enjoyed this tea. Smokey for sure, definitely evokes a fallish feel. I would be happy to see this in a sampler, and might even order a small bag of it. I appreciated the quality of the leaves.

From the “weekend” – in quotations because I had an extra long weekend that stretch from Friday afternoon until Tuesday, so I got lots of rest/relaxation and good tea drinking in!

It’s taking me forever to make my way through this tin of tea – Earl Grey just isn’t my jam. I don’t hate this one though, and this cup in particular was actually REALLY good! Very smooth and full bodied, with more mellowed out bergamot than I’m accustomed to experiencing with this blend. Almost a little brassy, in a pleasant way?

What I liked most about this infusion, though, was how well it worked with the macarons I was munching on! They were so incredibly sweet and sugary! I don’t even know if they had a particular flavour other than “sugar” – though don’t get me wrong, they were also delicious. So I liked that they added a bit of sweetness to this cup, which isn’t a very sweet Earl Grey, but also that the brassy, full bodied and more tannic elements of this cup also broke up some of that sugar bomb, indulgent dessert vibe.

It snowed pretty much all last week, which I simply just wasn’t emotionally ready for.

However, on one of the evenings when it was particularly snowy and chilly I just found myself sort of piling layers and layers of blankets over myself and making some comfort teas. Earl Grey is not a favourite flavour of mine, but I do find something sort of comforting in a cup of it when it’s really chilly. I know it’ll definitely get far colder but all the snow was so out of no where that it felt especially striking to me.

I added some pumpkin agave to this because I wasn’t ready to succumb to the winter feels yet, and pumpkin seemed like the perfect way for me to stay a little bit in denial about the winter. I mean, it’s such an autumn thing! Pumpkin was also just a good compliment to the VERY strong bergamot notes in this blend. I mean, it’s such a brisk/intense flavour that the sweetness and additional flavour are really needed to make this palatable, in my opinion.

Cozy.

Trying to put in some work drinking off older teas…

This one doesn’t taste like it’s aged at all though; which is good! I found it to be a little better once it was just above room temperature; much smoother tasting overall. Lots, and lots of bergamot flavour. I do enjoy this one as an EG, but since I don’t reach for EG often I feel like it often gets neglected a fair bit.

I had a fun morning experimenting with some of my new flavoured honeys from the farmer’s market yesterday – kicking things off with this one.

I made mugs both for myself and my mother with some milk and coffee infused honey mixed into the steeped tea. I chose coffee because when I was doing my sommelier course there was a section in the Food Pairing/Cooking course about tea infused cocktails and one of the ways EG was suggested to be infused was alongside drinks incorporating Baileys and/or Kahlua. I can kind of see it, I guess.

Honestly? The coffee honey has a pretty light flavour overall anyway so it wasn’t really intensely present in the steeped tea anyway but the delicate sweet and creamy coffee undertones and addition of the honey flavour DID nicely suit the bergamot in the blend. All in all it came together as a surprisingly delicate, soothing drink with relaxing and peaceful flavour notes.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC34pEYL5Ps&index=2&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

So…

We’re having a staff meeting at DAVIDsTEA tomorrow and like last time everyone is supposed to bring a food of some kind to the meeting to share. However, unlike last time I actually work during the day prior to the meeting and I only have an hour long gap in between my shift and the meeting, so I had to make my food today and it had to be something I could take to work with me that wouldn’t require a fridge or freezer.

Tea infused bread it is!

This time around, I decided on a (gluten free, because one of our guides is celiac) Zucchini bread but I couldn’t just leave it there so I made an Earl Grey infused zucchini bread with pecans. I incorporated the EG in two different ways as well for added EG flavour! The first was with this EG which I infused into the oil used in the recipe. Yes, this is a variation on a box mix recipe because I’m not that fancy, and I don’t own a breadmaker. The second way was with the contents of two Duchess Grey teabags from Williamson Tea cut up and stirred into the batter. The fannings in the teabags are so fine that they don’t throw off the texture of the bread itself.

I really had planned to leave the loaf intact for the meeting tomorrow, but the smell of the bread baking and then how visually stunning it looked after I’d pulled it from the oven made me cave, and I cut a small “test slice” out of it just to make sure it tasted good. You know, quality control. I couldn’t be serving my coworkers shoddy bread, could I? And man is it good! I had to hardcore saran wrap the loaf/pan after my slice so I would completely eliminate any and all temptation to eat more of it prior to the meeting.

It’s just so rich though, with a nice flavour from the EG and really nice nuttyness from the pecans. I like the “crunch” of the pecan crust/coating I added to the top of the loaf, and the ones that baked within the batter are soft, sweet and delectable. Plus, the zucchini keeps everything perfectly moist which, although it may be a shit word, is exactly what you want in a slice of bread. No one likes dry bread.

Some pictures of the endeavor:

https://www.facebook.com/resteep/posts/10209514255907221

First tea of the day!

I had this one in a teacup with some added eggnog. Not only that, but for extreme decadence I used to last of my pumpkin spice oreos from my Halloween/break-up junk food binge to dip into the tea. It was so truly divine. The spice in the cookies matched the nutmeg in the ’nog and the citrus notes of the Earl Grey still came through and provided a sweetness of the same level as the pumpkin but of a different, contrasting flavour type.

Not the world’s most healthy breakfast but definitely a hella tasty one.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kC87v_z2IU&list=WL&index=5

Finally followed through with what I’ve been telling myself to do for months now…

I drank this as a hot cup of tea! From a teacup, and first thing in the morning because that seemed like the perfect way to do so. Earl Grey in the morning is one of those things that you really can’t beat because it just feels so right. Like starting the morning off with English or Irish Breakfast: you know it’s gonna be a good day.

The tea was so much better hot than it is cold: the bergamot seemed less dull/flat and had a more enticing and enchanting citrus quality that kind of just wrapped itself around you and dragged you in very close. It built up slowly as a mild flavour note until it was all you could think about in the sip: good, fresh bergamot! Mmm! The tea also had creamy qualities to it, more so when it was very hot as opposed to when it had cooled down. The finish was just a little floral; a bit of a mix between jasmine and lavender like notes.

And all the while as I enjoyed this cup, I was working on a very special project that has to do with VariaTea that will most definitely require your address (because I’m not totally sure if the one I have currently is accurate anymore; it’s been such a long time). It may or may not have something to do with a comment you made in the last few days. Can’t send it off until I get paid because I’m a broke, broke person; but I’m excited!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqKZ_WIK5ms&list=WL&index=9

Actually only found this cover a few days ago; but I already ADORE it. It’s just as enchanting and captivating as the tea was. There’s something ethereal about both.

Cold Brew…

Strong. Strong. Strong.

Very, very bold notes of bergamot that were impactful and rich. At the same time, there was a vibrantly strong floral note that made me think of really intense lavender. I’ve had EG with lavender before and wasn’t the biggest fan – and there actually isn’t lavender in this which makes me wonder what about it is making me think of that flavour.

Also; just skimming through my tasting notes for this I realized that I’ve actually never had it hot – only cold brewed. What’s up with that? Earl Grey is actually best hot…

So, future Roswell Strange: BREW UP A HOT CUP OF THIS.

Today’s cold brew!

I’m feeling really drawn in by the deep, intense bergamot notes of this brew. I don’t know what it is about my mood today or the emotional place I’m currently in, but in conjunction with the tea I feel very grounded at the current moment. Hmmm, it’s almost like this brew has a bit of a citrusy/bergamot laden “musk” or “dankness” to it. But in a very pleasant way…

Don’t know if I can phrase that any better at the time being…

Cold Brew!

This was the first tea I drank (other than that premixed Vanilla Chai Latte thing) after getting my wisdom teeth out. I was super pumped about it ‘cause I’ve heard good things and I’ve liked the A&D teas I’ve tried. Enough to buy a tin of this one blindly ‘cause I’m almost out of the EG that I DO have on hand and I need to replace it with another solid EG blend…

First off; the tin is SO COOL! But getting it open was a bitch. Not entirely sure if I like the design of the tin – I need a butter knife to wedge into the top to pop it off (kind of like how you’re pop the top off a paint can) and that’s just sort of inconvenient if I’m being honest. Plus I worry that over time it’ll misshape the lid badly.

Long story short, I didn’t wait long enough to drink this one though because all I really tasted was my own blood from the gaping holes where my wisdom teeth were and a very metallic type of note. Again, probably from my own blood…

Will revisit this once completely healed up. No rating for now.

Cold brewed this and the result is like drinking honey and malt with the smallest pinch of smoke.

I got this with Cavocorax probably around 2 years ago and am only trying it now. What a shame because even aged, it is really quite nice. It would have been interesting to compare it to the brew when the leaf was fresher but c’est la vie. Nonetheless, this is still been a lovely accompaniment to my avocado toast “breakfast” (at 1pm), with its bready notes and touches of stone fruit and caramels. It’s a solid cuppa that is flavorful enough to not get boring while being simple enough to not tire of quickly (as many tend to do with over-the-top flavors).

I’m not a huge Earl Grey fan, but this is decent. The bergamot is strong, but not overly metallic or cloying, and the base is also sturdy and decent.

Thanks for sending me a sample of this to try, Lala!

Sipdown from a swap from Lala.

Maybe I’m not brewing it right, but I’m getting really fruity notes rather than the malty ones I was expecting. Either way, I’m not feeling this, but am glad to have another tea out of the way.

Sipdown (127)!

Thank you Christina for the sample!

I made a large mug of this one last night, with a little splash of milk. My little sister and I are binging on movies she hasn’t seen but are “classics” of a sort. We started with 13 Going on 30 and then ended the night with The Truman Show. Today, I’m hoping to get in a combination of 50 First Dates, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Yes Man. All of those are movies you just have to see at least once.

The was a really good tea; I can see it making a lovely everyday drinker. Dominant notes of baked bread, malt, and raisins/muscat (perhaps from the Darjeeling in the blend) with softer notes of honey and plums. It reminds me loosely of Fruit Cake which definitely seems appropriate for a holiday blend. Good Fruit Cake though; with real fruit and not just candied globs of red and green “mystery fruit”.

Very solid tea, with nice layers of flavour! I really enjoyed it.

Good depth and complexity of flavour. Sweet note. Wheat note. Slight smokiness. Good astringency.

Bold. Brisk. Slight bitterness- I might have waited too long to try this sample but I can tell that this is a really good tea. I might try the rest of my sample infusing at a lower temperature.

Okay. Revisiting this one. Still not exactly my thing. However, trying the Assam trick of letting it cool a bit before drinking makes it a cup more to my liking. The smoke is still there but blending nicely instead of shouting down everything else like the woodiness. Still not getting a lot of bread from this blend but it will be sufficient to ward off the Elder Gods this weekend.

Many thanks to Lala for sending me a sample of this!

I can see why others like this, but this was far too malty and brisk a black for my taste. I used 1.5 tsp for 12 oz, and steeped in just-boiled water for 3 minutes, and it was surprisingly strong.

I’m sending the rest of this sample on to Roswell Strange since she expressed interest in trying it.