Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

I have been drinking this the past 2 mornings. Delicious! As soon as I opened the tin, I noticed the the smokey scent. I am not sure if it is lapsang souchong in there, but thats what I think I’m smelling. In the cup, it brews a dark amber/brown liquor. The scent is still there. Upon tasting it, it was delicious! The first time I brewed this, it was too long and it ended up turning bitter on me. Nothing a little milk couldn’t fix. The second time was better! The smoky flavor is overpowering or strong, which is a plus for me. I am not a fan if it is extremely smoky. It also has a slight lingering sweetness and some nutty flavors to it. Great with a little sugar and/or milk!

LOVE!

I love jasmine whites and greens (not had a lot of experience with jasmine Oolongs, but I’ve liked what I’ve tasted thus far), but my favorite scented Oolong thus far is Magnolia!

I love this. I brewed in my gaiwan and not according to the suggested parameters, but, I’m happy with my result, and I guess that’s what matters. The flavor is sweet and the texture is soft and supple. A beautiful floral note that entices the nose and envelops the palate with deliciousness.

OK… so does this mean I’ve kissed a girl and I liked it?

Earl Grey! My love. There’s pretty much nothing better to fix a morning where you’re really dragging your feet. There’s something about bergamot that gets me GOING.

This one is exceptional, which at this point, is no surprise to me. I’ve been drinking tea exclusively from A&D for the past several days and the world is so very blissful as a result. Another day, another review above 90%! God bless you, A&D, for procuring and selling wonderful tea in such a creative and interesting way.

This EG is not shy; one whiff of the dry leaves will make your hair stand on end. Indeed, after brewing my current cup (4 minutes is better than the suggested 5, by the by), the bright scent of bergamot is everywhere! The bergamot is certainly more citrusy than perfume-y in this case, which is much appreciated, and is much more subdued post-brew, which is a GOOD thing! The chocolate-coffee flavor of the base tea is just right. This is a cup that will demand your attention. Good for rainy days. A little milk and a biscuit makes it even better!

I have to admit, I had reservations after smelling the dry leaves. I’m still kind of new to smoky smoky blacks, and it had a smell reminiscent of… smoked ham? Okay, that’s not quite right. I warmed up to the smell the second time—more like leather, aged like an old theatre, quite rusty. How is this going to taste, I wonder?

Well, nothing like ham, I’ll tell you that. After a proper steep it tastes deep, smoky, and quite sweet. It’s really something complex and wonderful. You know that smell in October that reminds you of a candle that’s just been put out? It’s like that, but with a rich sweetness right at the end. Really wonderful, and perfect for a fall day.

Best way to wake up =)

What can I say that hasn’t already be said? I love this tea! A&D managed to get a bunch of bold, strong teas to live and work together in harmony! This is absolutely my most favorite black tea right now. And yes, I too was a sucker for the sweater-knit AT-ATs on the label =)

Okay, friends. I’m really trying to contain myself here.

This tea is ridiculously good. I’m sensing Keemun, Darjeeling, and something sweeter? Yunnan? It’s smoky in a very smooth way with a sweetness and spice that is hard to describe. How did I fit that many adjectives into one sentence? But seriously, it’s all the right amounts of those components wrapped up in a warming cup that will truly complete you. I’m overwhelmed, really.

Shout out to Charles and Erik, who had two fine artists (Paul, age 10 and Maggie, age 6) decorate my shipped boxes with fantastic pictures, as per a silly special request in the shipping notes. Thank you, young artists, and thanks for such a lovely cuppa as well! Truly inspiring.

This one courtesy of Ricky (I love that I finally have a good system for remembering where stuff came from!)

I don’t care that it’s not christmas yet. I have discovered that when it’s warm, my room seems to be one of the hottest in the house. When it’s cold, vice versa. This is what I get for having a room with no windows in it. So since the whether has been decidedly autumny as of late, I’m freezing to bits. Or I would be, had it not been for the fact that I’m under the slanket.

Nice hot cup of tea, then. This one, in spite of it being a holiday blend, seems appropriate.

Now, is there a cheat sheet somewhere with what the blend is made with? The leaves smell kind of Keemun-y grainy to me. And with a touch of Assam-y raisin notes. After steeping it strikes me as very Keemun-y and with something else that gives it a chocolate-y note. I’m suspecting Fujian in play here, but I’m far from certain. (Notice how my mind works in primarily Chinese blacks? I haven’t even considered the possibility of Ceylon or Kenya in the mix…)

I was using the timer for something else when brewing, but I thought I would be able to remember to got and pour before it went off. I wasn’t so it’s had an unknown length of steep but definitely longer than it ought to have been. There is a certain small amount of oversteepedness to the flavour now, astringent but not truly bitter. Actually, to be honest, it’s handling this little mistake admirably.

There are definitely Chinese involved here!

The astringency comes across here as that pseudo-smoky note which I associate with Keemuns. It’s got a whole lot of flavour this one. I’m very pleased.

Strong and smoky and sweet the first time around, perfect with eggs for breakfast, with plenty of kick for a slightly mellower but still sublime second steep!

For some reason, today’s steeping of this tea came out all so very weak. :( I wasn’t too happy with it. Sigh.

This tea had been on my list of teas to buy and luckily, my cousin gave me the rest of her tin. This is a bit of a mild tasting earl grey which is pleasant and easy to drink, but really lacking the impact that a few other Earl Grey blends that I love has.

The second steeping was more washed out than the first cup. Overall, drinkable but I don’t think I’ll get a tin of it on my own anymore.

Kind of sluggish today … didn’t get to sleep as long as I would have liked because football started and hubby tends to be LOUD when football is on. shrug

So, I need some get up and go – hoping that the Captain will help me. Here’s my review of this one: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/08/06/captain-assams-high-seas-elixer-from-damn-fine-tea/

On my husband’s days off, things are a little uncertain. Never know when we are just going to go someplace (there’s rarely any planning, which is fine by me because I’m not a planner anyway) or run errands or something. He could at any moment say “hey, ____ movie starts in 20 minutes, let’s go!”

So, on his days off, I don’t drink teas that are new to me. Teas that I want to focus on or teas that I’ve not yet reviewed, because I don’t spend much time reviewing on his days off. His days off are my days with him. :)

It is on these days that I enjoy teas that I’ve already tasted and reviewed… I get a chance to revisit them. Like this one. Here is my full-length review: http://sororitea.teatra.de/2011/08/06/captain-assams-high-seas-elixer-from-damn-fine-tea/

It has a remarkable smoothness to it, unlike other Assam teas that I’ve tried. This one is not necessarily better (or worse)… just different. And I love it for its differences.

My order from Botanical Bakery arrived today, and I have been craving the fennel pollen shortbread (you can read my full-length review of the shortbread here: http://hungryinportland.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/fennel-pollen-shorties-shortbread-cookies-from-botanical-bakery/ ) so I decided to brew up a cup of this to enjoy with the shortbread.

This is so lovely. Smooth yet invigorating. Malty and delicious. YUM!

I was so happy to open my mailbox and find that distinctive package in my mailbox! Yay!

This is an excellent Assam. Not quite as hearty as some Assam teas that I’ve tried, but it is incredibly smooth with a delicious sweetness. Not quite as astringent as other Assam teas out there.

And then, there is the packaging… these tins are gorgeous! Love them!

Wet: Walnut shells, autumn earth, moss
Leaf: FOP fully oxidized, green-brown umber hue
Cup: First extraction: blonde, reddish hued liquor with smooth, soft tannins and rich front note of dark honey. Surprisingly smooth and lacking in astringency, with pleasant lingering flavors that roll around the palate. Slight hint of malt and stone fruit, but sweet and clean. 2nd extraction: deeper ruddy-rust colored extraction with brighter tannins, crisp malt notes and lingering sweetness. No trace of fruit, but classic Assam malt, spice, tannin profile and body brisk and clean. 3rd extraction: yellow-copper hued liquor, some mild tannic definition, spice notes softly play, but the cup has lost much of its complexity and offers a velvet mouth feel that leaves the ‘classic’ Assam flavor remaining. Overall, not the most complex or layered Assam I’ve ever had and I suspect it’s a 2nd/3rd flush blend from the region around the Rembeng Estate area. The first cup was lovely, but not quite as deep as the Assam Mangalam Estate, or as brassy-malty as Rembeng Estate, but still a nice cup. As this was a gift from dear Quilt Guppy, I hope it was a reasonable priced Assam as it fits within the ‘expected’ parameters of teas from that region and I can see it being blended into a hearty Irish Breakfast or used as a base for a rich iced tea.
Brewing: Traditional porcelain cupping set, using 3g per 6 oz in 200 degree water, steeped for 3 min (1st steep) and increasing time by one min/per steep.
Thank you again Quilt Guppy….your beautiful gift will not go without praise, if for nothing other than to regale the generous nature of your character!

This tea should get a 100 just for the name alone. I wish I were able to name some teas.

The Mermaid’s Kiss is a delightful magnolia oolong from start to finish. (And what a lovely finish it is!)

The aroma of the dry leaves is gentle, like jasmine. They’re a pretty deep emerald green in the tin.

After steeping, they release the most glorious magnolia fragrance from the golden liquor. It’s so beautiful in so many ways. The taste is wonderful. On the forefront is the magnolia, which is quite strong for those who enjoy teas scented with flowers. However, the oolong itself is very present, with a hint of a roasted flavor that couples nicely with the oolong. This tea, like so many wonderful oolongs, sweetens as it cools, which I find so pleasant as I rarely drink an entire cup of tea hot.

The first time I had this tea, I wasn’t that impressed. The second time (in the side-by-side tasting), I was. Shall we go for 2 out of 3? Stash busting again, I finished off my sample of this tea with this cup.

I’m going to go with a middle of the road on this cup? Somewhere between the last two, which isn’t helpful in the final judgement, I know. The aroma and flavor of this one is actually not too unlike the Joy’s Teaspoon with that warm, rich note that reminds me of a creamless Earl Grey creme (I actually called it that in my first tasting note on this tea four months ago, and unwittingly used the same description today on the Joy’s Teaspoon note). It is tasty and pleasant, but still not blowing me away. I have a feeling my cup of this isn’t as fresh as it could be, and that could be cutting down on my enjoyment. If they sold tins of this tea individually I might buy one, but I don’t think I like it enough to purchase a series where I know I won’t drink one of the teas.

Another round two tea from the Earl Grey side-by-side tasting. I’m doing 5 at a time, each tea brewed under the same parameters: in a tea filter bag, for 3 minutes with 205°F water. I dunked the tea filters around to make sure they were getting enough water flow since I don’t usually use them.

This tea was unexpected. The first time I tried it I wasn’t that impressed and it didn’t seem to stick out from other Earls. But tried side-by-side… woah. It was floral, almost oolongy in character. This floral didn’t seem to be a floral bergamot, but rather florals in addition to the bergamot. It was light, with a very distinct tea base. At one point I got an almost sweet aftertaste. It was totally weird! I’m not sure what to make of it, but I do have enough for another cup, thankfully.

In need of a robust black tea this morning, I decided to give this one a try again. This time I’m steeping it longer based on my previous experience.

I think the flavors come through better, and it certainly didn’t get any bitterness. The bergamot is much more forward and citrusy. I’m definitely enjoying this cup more, but I still don’t think it stands out to me among other Earl Greys. But the flavors are very well executed and blend well together, and I definitely wouldn’t turn down a cup of it.

This is a tea I’ve wanted to try for a while, so I was excited to get a sample from Jillian! A while ago I was on a specific hunt for my perfect Earl Grey, but now I’ve settled more into just trying EGs when I get a chance. Nevertheless, this one was always on my list to try since a lot of people seem to be fans.

I couldn’t get a ton of aroma from the dry tea, but brewed it smells fantastic. The bergamot is strong and at the front, but it’s not really in your face. It’s also has an amazing depth of aroma that I can hardly believe bergamot is the only flavoring. It’s got a sweet, smooth smell that reminds me of an EG creme (but not overly so). The black tea base is present with a touch of pepper, but it seems to boost the bergamot instead of merely competing with it.

It tastes good, but it doesn’t quite live up to the aroma for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great EG, but I won’t be too sad that it’s limited edition because it doesn’t blow me away like I was expecting from the aroma. The initially flavor on the sip is a little flat; maybe I need to steep for longer? It doesn’t seem to be bitter at all, so I may experiment with that next time. Anyway, the flavor really blooms late in the sip and in the aftertaste, and it does stay fairly true to the notes in the aroma, but fainter. I just wish the whole sip could be like that! It is well balanced, with a black tea base that I enjoy and a citrusy bergamot note rounding it out. Thanks again Jillian, I’m glad I got to try it!