Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

I reached for this today because I am definitely feeling a bit low on the energy scale. I really HAVE to finish up my many piles of laundry today so I’m hoping this will give me the kick that I need to be productive. This is a nicely balanced tea that isn’t astringent even though I’m certain I oversteeped this – I totally forgot to set a timer. I am drinking it with a tiny bit of sugar and cream and it is pretty awesome this way.

This tea is seriously helping me get over a severe case of “It is Saturday, but can’t relax because I have homework” blues.

Thanks to threewhales I have my own little tin of this beauty. I like it both plain and with milk/sugar – this is one versatile blend! It really did help me to perk up a bit and now I’ll hopefully be able to get something productive done.

I"M BACK!!!!!!!!

I missed you all!

I have a few backlogs – just to get them off my desk – but I won’t be back logging everything from the last few weeks as I don’t want to spam your dashboard! LOL :)

What did I miss?

This I am backlogging as my first 3 cups for today – I only have one serving left…it will be missed

I started my day with two cups of this and it was better than I remember so I am adding a few more points on my rating :)

Thanks to Jessica I was able to try this one that has been on my wish list for a LONG time!!!

The blend of black tea leaves in this is well thought of and appreciated. It has a bit of astringency but there are other characteristics to off set that a little, too! There are notes of smoke, a little muscatel, a tad woodsy-sweet, maybe a spec of peppery-goodness – not completely sure.

I know it makes me hungry! Oatmeal TIME!!!!

Boy, they weren’t kidding about buttery. This is a smooth tea with perhaps a milder green tea twang (that’s the technical term) usual, and a buttery aftertaste. Brewed at 195, which I thought was a bit high for a dragon well tea, but this seems to take it well.
It’s a good afternoon calm-me-down pick-me-up. Yes, in this tea they seem to co-exist nicely.

A surprisingly mild and mellow tea (somehow I was expecting something more “vigorous”?). Very soothing, though.

The flavor is a bit fruity (like grapes). Woodsy with a hint of dampened earth and sea salt.

I can smell a maltiness—but I can’t taste it, for some reason.

Hmm…

This particular tasting is okay—I’m soothed but not very wow’ed. It’s just too mild—meek even. Not much “heft” or body. Thin.

Next time I will use more leaf. I used 1 teaspoon to 12.85 ounces.

Brews to a light but rich amber. Smells pleasantly musky, floral and citrusy, like a good Keemun. Taste is rich, milky and roasty with bit of spinach, seaweed and salt that I associate with a Ceylon tea. A lemon, charcoal and pepper finish. A creamy mouthfeel. Mild astringency. A superb breakfast blend in the English tradition. I like it!

OOh, this is good stuff. Mild, but not weak. Hits the spot on a soggy day.

EDIT: I originally thought this tea had Keemun in it, which I don’t particularly like. As it turns out, it doesn’t have any Keemun in it! But this blend does contain something that tastes like Keemun to me. However, to keep from confusing people, I’ve edited my original review. Where it used to say Keemun, it now says T3LK (tea that tastes like Keemun).

This has T3LK in it. Drat! I really despise T3LK. I can detect even a hint of it, sort of like how I can always detect a tiny piece of cilantro in an entire plate of Thai noodles. Bahh, cilantro is nasty. Probably worse than T3LK. Anyway…I’m really sad about this blend.

But more than sad, I’m extremely surprised to read the reviews here! Everyone thinks this has a Ceylon base?? Well, maybe it does. But see, I love Ceylon and I despise T3LK. So, any Ceylon in this is masked by the smoky, dirty T3LK taste.

On the other hand, it has the cutest packaging I’ve ever seen! I love the Christmas Elf themed wittiness. Lucky for me, this is a blend of T3LK and other teas (emphasis on the other teas). If it were pure T3LK, I couldn’t drink it. But somehow, I am able to stomach this, despite the nasty aftertaste that lingers on my tongue.

Still, I’m very sad over this blend. I’m afraid I overspent on a tin I’m likely not to touch again. I missed the sale others have mentioned. So I paid full price, which I think was around $25. More than I usually spend on one little tin of tea. But I’m sure I can find others to share it with. Hey, any excuse to throw a tea party, right? :)

But oh, how I wish that I had more of the Damn Fine Holiday Blend. Now that was delicious tea! Maybe the most delicious!!

I eyed these when they first came out, but resisted because my tea cupboard was overflowing. Now it’s not, and the Mermaid and her Captain were on sale! I’ve really come to enjoy plain Assams over the last few months, and had been wanting a new one. This is a great example of the type, too. Malty and rich, easy to oversteep, some sweet honey flavors if you get it just right. I like the first steep with milk, to give it some more body, and spread out the flavor a little. A second steep, plain, is mellow with lots of honey notes.

I wish I could get my water hotter, but I’m making this at my desk and don’t have a sink handy for rinsing with hot water :( Oh well, still has plenty of flavor even with sub-boiling water.

Thank you libertea! Today I used a heaping tsp to 12 ounces of water, lowered the water temp and only brewed for three minutes. I did add a packet of raw sugar…awesome! There is a lesson to be learned here…don’t give up so quick. But I do agree with mrawlins2, she told me that life is too short to drink bad tea.

This blend has got me puzzled. My first cup was perfectly balanced, I drank the entire pot in just a few minutes. My next brewing yielded a bitter mess…down the drain it went:) My third brewing was this morning..boiled the water, brewed for four minutes(thought I might follow the directions this time around…Ha!) the more I drank, the smokier it got and when the thought of cigars crossed my mind, BAM I was done and down the drain it went:) I just don’t understand how it could be so good at first and now I can’t get a decent cuppa out of it.
Any suggestions?

My tin arrived today…doing a happy dance:) ripped open the box and brewed a pot straight away..OMG this is a Damn Fine Tea! I really like this one, perfect all by itself and as the label implied my elf vigor was quickly restored after a very trying day. I am not experiencing any astringency, just a perfectly balanced blend of black teas..which I suspect has a Ceylon base. I am on my second/last infusion, it is much lighter than the first but still very drinkable. I am so pleased that I jumped on the recent sale:)

I agree with the rest of the reviews, a little lighter and no smokiness for this seasons tea. As with some others I picked it up as part of the sale.
It seems to have a slight sweetness as well, it’s a nice blend. The second steeping seems almost too light, so I’m guessing there won’t be a third.

I purchased this just after the sale that was announced in the forum. How could I resist free shipping and 20% off? I couldn’t. The package arrived today – oh happiness!

When I opened the tin, it looked very much like the Holiday Blend of the previous year. When I read through some of the tasting notes here, I noticed that others have compared it to the holiday blend… so as I sit here waiting for my Breville to brew the Elixir, I wonder how similar it will taste to the Holiday Blend. As I have no more Holiday Blend with which to compare it, I will have to go from memory… but since I had some just before the holiday, I think my memory will be pretty good.

Yes, I can see some similarities to the Holiday Blend, but, this one seems a bit smokier, and perhaps a bit less “creamy” than what I noticed from the Holiday Blend. I actually think I may like this a bit better than the holiday blend, or at the very least, just as much.

I am happy that I have this blend … but even happier that I was able to take advantage of the special sale to acquire it.

I actually have Caravan pulled up on rhapsody right now. Songs that are as long if not longer than Iron Butterfly’s In A Gadda Da Vida, and in the similar progressive rock style. I could listen to this all day long but there is news to report. Right now I’m rocking out to L’Auberge Du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go – Reprise (Medley) from The World Is Yours – The Anthology 1968-1976. They also sound a little like Rush and Yes. This is good music….and good tea. I’ve had this one a while from a swap with Brandy. It is no secret that I love lapsang. The only other Russian Caravan that I have to compare to is Peet’s. This is quite an excellent mix there is the nice smokey undertones of lapsang and what maybe a black Gongfu. Along with the smokey there is that bakey flavor like potatoes, and grain that I have tasted in the Gongfu or maybe Yunnan Golden tips. I can see why A&D teas are rated so highly.

I got #17! A nice blend. I have completely forgotten what I was going to write here.

I got #8! A decent tea. I was hoping for a repeat of their previous Ceylon, but this one isn’t quite as rich for me (but there’s nothing wrong with that).

Doesn’t really hold up to a second steeping, unfortunately. The flavor is fine, just much weaker.

I agree, this is very similar to the prior holiday blend, but lighter. I enjoyed the last one more, but you really can’t go wrong with a high quality blend of black teas. #15 of 150 here, but that doesn’t mean I’m better than anyone.

Just got my tin of this a few days ago. It reminds me of the last Holiday blend, but possibly with more ceylon in it – as it’s less bold. Not my favorite from A&S, but still a good cup.