Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

I woke up feeling life should be more magical, and that I want to run away and join the circus. So I went to see the Mermaid.

I still want to run away and join the circus, but at least I have something nice to drink while I grouse.

Another workday, another overly large spoonful of Mermaid’s Kiss. My goodness, these leaves E X P A N D ! I have to remember to use less.

Drank 2 brewings from the leaves I brought from home this morning. Just as good as last week!

I think that I need to bring this tin into work – it does really well with the temperature that work’s hot water dispenser spits out, and it was quite good as it cooled, even the batches that sat in the leaves. I drank 3 steepings through the day, discarding the last as it was very weak. But the first 2 were great with the 3rd fading.

I felt like doing something different this morning, so I tossed some of these leaves into my Lock & Lock bottle. Too many leaves! After I brewed my first cup, I pulled some of them out.

I like the light floral scent of this tea. It’s soothing. It doesn’t blow me away like the other tea in this set – Captain Assam – does. There is an aftertaste to it that just doesn’t hit me right, but I think it’s a personal taste foible, not a fault of the tea.

The last time I tried to resteep and drink this through the day, it did not deal well with sitting in its own leaves. This morning I poured it out into a cup, but the second steeping will have to sit in the leaves until I drink the first one, so I am not sure how this is going to go.

Another sipdown of a tea from Alphakitty! Entertainingly, I had pretty much the same impression of this one on my second go-round as my first, in spite of absolutely no recollection of the previous time I drank this! (I knew I had, just was misremembering it as being more of a straight TGY oolong).

It’s not bad, but a jasmine-flavoured oolong is not something I’d reach for…. ever, likely. Too much floral, and I’m not really one for floral. I’d much prefer a straight TGY or a milk oolong. So, it was neat to try a magnolia-scented tea, but not an experience I will likely feel the need to repeat!

Another oolong from Alphakitty! In an oolong mood tonight, and heading to bed shortly. I’m very tired.

The aroma of this one is definitely not what I expected – it’s almost jasmine-like. I suppose that is the magnolia? The taste follows, being floral and jasminey, but not quite like jasmine. I’m not getting a great deal of oolong in the aftertaste, which is disappointing, although I do like the lingering floral notes.

This tea’s not bad, but I think for a similar flavour, I’d more likely just pick out a jasmine tea. I’m sure there are more than just subtle differences, but I’m not tasting them now. It’s good though, but again, lacking in oolong flavour, which precludes it from seeming “different/unique” to me.

I could help but finish this one up on Friday! A great cuppa! SIPDOWN!

This has been on my WISH LIST for ever – it seems! And thank to my Sororitea Sister LiberTeas I am able to sample it today! Woot! Thanks Girl!!!

I don’t know what I can say that hasn’t already been said by other reviewers here – so – in short…it’s bold, really rich, strong, a bit creamy, a bit fruity, a bit smoky – at times…it seems to have it all!

This tea is FAB! Very memorable!

Oh my gosh, I am stash reducing! I haven’t seen the other side of 55 in AGES!

Since I’m not allowed to buy anything for another couple of months it’s a good opportunity to use that stuff up, try some of the ones I’m unsure about so I know whether to actually finish them or give them away, or just throw out stuff which is ancient and known dislikes, and there are some that I’ve tested out in coldbrews instead of hot, seeing as the weather is more than right for it.

I’m working on it.

Apparently I also have to be careful because the boyfriend just noted that the shelves were thinning out and joked that then he could take one of them down.

Ha-ha-ha. Hmph.

Now. This one is one of those white teas that I always seem to end up having a couple of. Years ago, I bought one from a then local shop and I thought it was all sorts of awesome, so I bought more. And then I just… lost interest. Fell out of love. Changed my preferences, perhaps. These days, I’m having a hard time seeing what it was I found so wonderful about the type. Now I find it too cucumber-y, too courgette-y. I like cucumbers and courgettes. We eat the latter several times a week. But as a flavour aspect in my tea?

…bleh.

This one is no different. Kind of floral and quite, quite courgette-y. That’s really all I have to say about it. It was a sample sent to me by a person who shall remain anonymous because I can’t remember and the tin doesn’t have a number, and I’ve been confirmed in the thought that I was right not to buy it when A&D released it. As their Year of the Rabbit special.

I’ve got one more BMD on the shelf, which I think I’ll try out in a cold brew when next I make a new pitcher, but generally, BMD is just not my thing anymore.

Oh Captain, I have such a tea-crush on you. You’re full-bodied, rich, malty, just a touch astringent, chock full of caffeine, smooth, and unlike every other Indian black tea I can drink you on an empty stomach. You’re fantastic with or without milk & sugar, and you are oh-so-forgiving about steep times and water temperature. Truly, a prince among teas!

Captain Assam totally saved my butt today. I had to get up so so early and I knew there was no way I’d make it through the day without a strong kick of caffeine. But blacks on an empty stomach make me brutally nauseous, and there was no possibility of scarfing down a meal. So Captain Assam came to the rescue! I used not nearly enough leaf, stepped for a minute too long, added too much milk, and it still did the trick! I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, plus this is just a fantastic-tasting cup of tea. My go-to morning tea for sure… but since it’s a limited edition, I try to save this for special occasions (aka some days I can’t live without it).

sniffle Oh Captain, I will miss you.
I just brewed the last of it this morning. First cup was a latte, now I am drinking the second brewing as iced.
Good both ways.
I want mmore!!

Had a hot cuppa this morning when I woke up. But it was getting hot outside, so I iced down the rest and drank it on the back porch while doing maintenance on my spinning wheel and listening to Adele. That made for a nice early afternoon!

I definitely will try this over ice again, though I don’t have a whole lot left. Will have to try the other Assam I have from A&D iced as well.

Rough seas this morning. I steeped too long, and a sip of it tastes like a shot across my bow instead of the lapping of a calm harbour.

A bit of sweetener helps a bit, but it still shivers me timbers a bit.

Hope everyone else has smoother sailing today.

Oh, my poor Captain. I steeped him too long. I am sorry for the abuse!

Brewed him up in my Lock & Lock, waited too long to sip, and then realized it was going to get bitter if I left the tea in the leaves. Poured it out into a disposable coffee cup. The indignity! My hippie heart aches.

Still dang drinkable though! Drinking straight this morning. I am determined to watch what I’m eating and drinking. I’ve lost 10 lbs in the last 2 months, and I don’t want to destroy that work!

Oh
My
Gods.

Captain Assam, where have you been all my life?

I drank the second cup as a latte. It’s way too late for caffeinated beverages, so I’m going to lie awake tonight. But I’ll be fantasizing about the Captain whilst doing so.

So this is my first time trying a loose tea from a higher end company. I’ve had Twinings, and Mighty Leaf, and Adagio. Now this.

First impressions – man, I love their sense of design. Just opening the box was a treat. Then to open the tins (I got the set with this and the Mermaid’s tea). An A&D patch, temporary tattoos, and the art on the tins. It’s all so awesome!

This tea itself – the leaves look and smell so good. It reminded me in scent of the Keemun Rhapsody I have, which is my current favorite. I steeped this in my IngenuiTea, for the prescribed 4 minutes, and then immediately added water after decanting it into my little glass teapot for admiration. It’s a beautiful color, a deep golden brown.

Taste – the first sip had a little bitter undertone that worried me, but it doesn’t stick around. I think I’ll try a lower temperature for the next brewing. Still, very enjoyable. I’m drinking this cup straight. I definitely look forward to trying a little milk and cream. I think that will be delicious.

Once more the weather here is gray and wet, good thing I typically prefer rain over sun most days. On top of the cold wet weather today was the first day of finals and lucky me had my worst two on the first day, History of Soviet Russia and a lab practical for a lithics (stone tools) analysis class. But after two more finals (North American Archaeology and one for a women’s studies class on wild women having already finished my independent study last week), I will be home and starting my internship two days later. After the long day of tests and a weather induced migraine I curled up with a mug of this and an article on a possible ritual associated assemblage of cattle skulls at a Viking Age Icelandic farmhouse.

This tea is not too malty and has a cocoa and somewhat raisiny or other fruity note to it. The mouthfeel is creamy but does have a slight bitter note when cool. It also paired well with a few oat flour cookies with cranberries, raspberries, and apple puree baked in. A nice end to a rather stressful day. It is something that is relatively light in flavor and can be sipped mindlessly while doing work.

I would love to take Captain Assam on a date. He’s bold, but oh so gentle.
Seriously though, this is the smoothest Assam I have ever tasted. I expected a kick in the butt this morning, and he delivered caffeine-wise, but taste-wise he was almost mellow. And sweet!

Thank you for the sample LiberTEAS – I have a few cups left and I’m looking forward to them greatly :)

Sipdown! 984.

This is interestingly fruity tonight. Fruity, malty, and slightly smoky. I believe that the first (few) times I had this, I was less into black teas, but I can now appreciate it quite a bit more, and it’s actually really good. I would have assumed the fruitiness (a bit floral, perhaps a darjeeling in the blend?) to be contamination, except that LiberTEAS packed this into a smell-proof baggie, so it’s not. Haha. Anyhow, this is tasty, and I’m kind of sad to see it go, though it’s nice to get a sipdown of what I know to be a very old tea (it’s been 2.5 years, I believe, since I got my box from LiberTEAS).

Anyhow, bumped the rating. This probably isn’t a tea I’d drink overly often if I did have more, but it would be nice for changing up the straight blacks in a mug rotation, or something.

The smell of this tea, steeped, reminds me a lot of “regular black tea”. I don’t know what that smell corresponds to, really, as I haven’t tried enough straight blacks to know.

The taste is a bit more complex though. I have no idea how long it was steeped (somewhere between 2-5 minutes; I swear I set the timer for four minutes but when I checked after what felt like less than four, it was already expired), but there’s no bitterness. It’s almost a touch sweet, not really malty… ok, I don’t have words to describe black teas. There’s a nice “tea” aftertaste though, which I’m enjoying (and don’t tend to taste with poor quality teas).

Ok, I’m cheating and reading other peoples’ notes. It’s definitely mild and mellow, and I can taste a hint of smokiness now that that possibility has entered my mind. Overall it’s decent for a black tea, but nothing I’d actively seek out. Right now, if I want a straight black tea, I’ll be going with Verdant’s Laoshan Black :) (But black tea appears not to be my thing, so I’d probably pick an oolong instead, haha.)

Thanks for the sample, LiberTEAS! For teas like this, it’s really nice to just have a sample size to try, so that I can at least get acquainted with different straight blacks (and yes, I know this is a blend), but not have to attempt to drink 50-100g of them.

The August Tealog Catchup ! [25 tealogs remaining]

Also my first cup of the day. Basic and yummy.

2 steeps.

The Early July TeaLog Catchup !

Made the same way as last time – more leaf, normal non-increased steep time. Very honeyed this time. So good!

2nd steep: 20+ mins.

The Early July TeaLog Catchup !

So this tea has some tasty honeyed notes but never really stood out to me. It’s just been good basic tea. But lately I’ve been using a bit more leaf instead of increasing the steeping time, which I usually do, if I like a tea stronger than the recommending steeping times.

When I tried that with this one for the first time I was rewarded with a delicious cup of honeyed hay. It was so good and the second steep was somehow just as good or better.

2nd steep: approx 15 mins.

Yesterday morning, I had a single cup of this with honey because I still had the stomach blahs. I’ll confess that it was reheated twice and I didn’t entirely finish it.

In other news, I got a moka coffee pot and I am loving it! Yes, I am one of those people who loves both coffee (Counter Culture coffee!) and tea. I’m unsure how this will effect my tea drinking as I’m finding I really need to caffeine buzz that coffee gives me this winter.

Also, who is our pickling Steepsterian? I’ve wracked my brain, I know I follow her.