Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

Thanks for sending this as a sample, Lala!

I took the entire sample that she sent me and made a pot to drink this morning. This is rich and malty, and I can see why people like this blend, but I prefer to have blacks that are a bit sweeter/fruitier. This is definitely a good breakfast tea, though.

Today’s sipdown!

I’m still surprised there’s no puerh in this blend, because there’s such an earthy smoky note to it that I can’t imagine what else this could be.

Operation start drinking lots of tea commences, and I’m starting with this tea because Lala just sent it to me in a swap and it’s a small sample. (She sent me a whole lot of A&D stuff, which is awesome.)

I used 2 tsp of dry leaf with just-boiled water in a 2-cup mug. This is slightly smoky, but very earthy – so earthy, in fact, that I double-checked the Steepster listing to see if this had any pu’erh in it. Nope. I really does remind me of some shu, though.

This is comforting. I’m glad I’ve gotten a chance to try this.

A nice malty yet fruity and slightly bread-y black. Make a good morning cuppa. I had but one cup but I would welcome another should the opportunity arise.

1000th tasting note! It only took me six years to get here. :-)

I wanted to steep something really special for this occasion. I thought about one of the various wonderful French teas in my cupboard, but decided I had had enough flavored black for one day. I’ve been on a Yunnan kick for a few days now, so I thought I’d look for a highly rated Yunnan I have but hadn’t yet tried.

I have tin no. 23 of this limited edition of 150. Inside the tin, long forest green leaves predominate with some lighter blonde colored tips adding visual interest. The dry leaves smell a bit chocolate-y, a deep, dark, rich fragrance.

I decided to steep at the average preparation parameters rather than the five minutes at boiling recommended on the tin.

I got a clear, dark maple colored liquor with a warm sweet aroma — a bit less sweet than the other yunnans I’ve tried recently but still reminiscent of molasses with some chocolate notes around the edges.

The flavor is quite smooth. No back of the throat grab with this one. Medium bodied, and a bit lighter than I’d expected (might try boiling and longer steep next time). The flavor isn’t overly sweet or sugary in the sip, but has some sweetness in the finish and aftertaste. The funny thing is, I can’t really identify a flavor note in this. I can mostly define what I don’t taste. Unlike some yunnans, I’m not getting a peppery flavor, nor am I getting something I’d call malty. There is something bready about it, maybe a rye note, and while the cocoa note in the aroma gets stronger as the tea cools I only taste it a tiny bit. I’m not getting tobacco or cannabis or any of the other things folks have mentioned.

Some of the other yunnans I’ve tasted recently have had more depth and complexity, but part of that could be preparation, and a lot of it could also be that my expectations of this one were exceptionally high. I’m going to withhold final judgment until I’ve played with it more, but right now, I’m thinking this is quite good but not as spectacular as I was hoping. Ah, well.

Mmm…

I steeped this with a little extra leaf in a travel mug, and it’s definitely more of a morning tea right now. I also didn’t add anything to it, because I had no milk. (~adds milk to list~) It’s a little honey/sweet potato. A little astringent in a good way. Maybe a tiny bit smoky? IDK. That might be my travel mug or my imagination.

Yum.

I finally got my tin of this from my parents house. So nice! Such a flavourful Chinese black tea. Definitely something I’d call a staple in my cupboard.

I’m super glad I added this to my parents order. :)

As an ex-smoker (although never a fully committed one) – this is the tea that I’ve been waiting for. The tea that replicates that part of smoking which makes me linger, inhaling, when I spot someone on a cigarette break. Of course, it doesn’t capture the chemical sting – but no one really cares for that part anyway.

farewell delicious tea… sigh i pulled the last of this out this morning because i was hoping for a couple sipdowns today. not sure i’ll actually manage more than this one, but it’s a damn good cup to finish off today. Sad to see this one go, but i’ll pick some up eventually.

delicious morning tea. I’ve got a super long weekend ahead of me with work so i’m working from home! Made egg muffins last night as my other half had to be at work for 5am and they’re not half bad. I wanted to sleep in today, so had a couple instead of making “freshh” breakfast. This tea is totally hitting the spot for me. just a hint of smoke, a little astringency but mostly just a downright good cup of tea. Looking forward to picking up a tin of this for myself at some point, but need to get my cupboard under control first…maybe finish off a couple of my other damn fine teas as well since i have all of them but one? in my cupboard at the moment lol

Still love this one. Pulled this out today in light of the free shipping coupon. On the upside, i can use it until June, so i can save it up for a purchase in the future where maybe i pick up a limited edition tea + black sunshine. AND i can work on drinking up some of my other teas from DFT (red tailed hawk, keemun, double knit, tiger, holiday, oktoberfest…..) heh

(oh yeah, thanks for putting this in my cupboard again nicole/omgsrsly…going to share some with cavocorax this weekend!)

omg.srsly?. yeah i did that. lol thanks for the share my dear…lovely to have this one back in my cupboard until i can afford to buy a tin. i’d forgotten just how much i love this one until i sipped it and went OH! :)

noms. work is ridiculously stupid at the moment so i needed a cup of delicious. i have a headache from the ineptitude of a number of people. this is fantastic. a calm away from the stupidity.

Noms. Another cup of this today in a normal mug instead of the travel mug i tried it in first. I am a fan of this one. slight malt, cedar…not astringent/drying. Just delicious. so good.

Nicole sent this one my way and today i had it in a travel mug at work and it was delicious. Holding off on tasting note/rating until i can have it again outside of the travel mug but i thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s not spectacularly different from some of the other DF Teas i have but it was tasty enough that i sort of want a tin. i think. probably.

Sipdown (149!)

I had this with dinner and I don’t know what I did the first time but all subsequent cups have been disappointing. Oh well. That’s just one less tea I need to worry about replacing :P

I had this once before and really enjoyed it so I know I must have done something different this time as it’s just not the same. This tastes more like a store-bought brand than the malty deliciousness I remember it being. I have one more teaspoon of this left. Hopefully I can get it right.

I had a samples of this tea that originated from boychik though I’m not sure if I received it from the source or if it was passed on by someone else. Nonetheless, thank you to those who made it possible for me to try this blend because it is delicious! Even drinking it cold, I can appreciate all this has to offer. It’s rich and malty and has a certain coziness that screams holiday. It is also smooth and sweet and just downright tasty.

I bought a three pack from Andrews & Dunham that included this, alongside the Mount Grey and Tiger Assam. It’s not bad but my least favorite of the three. It has a very dry finish and can go bitter and tannin-y if I oversteep (which I am prone to do!). A&D describes this as bright, and it is, kind of. A bit citrusy or apricoty. Experimenting with amount and tea and steeping times, it always seems a bit thin no matter what I do. It doesn’t have a ton of personality, but still a decent cup of tea and that’s really all that’s required sometimes.

Do you like bergamot? This is the bergamotiest. Smooth and more floral than citrusy, almost like orange blossom. Grounded with some kind of black tea with a nice depth to it.

Smooth, dark, and a bit of bitterness that is offset by a caramel, malty undertone. The coffee of teas. My taking care of business tea. Even when I’ve forgotten I’ve started steeping a cup, it doesn’t go overly dry and tannin-y. A favorite for sure!

I received a small sample of this from QueenOfTarts, Thank you!. A&D always impresses me with their blends. This is no exception. Fruity, flavorful and a full mouth taste. A yummy morning cup.

I feel really privileged to be able to try this limited edition tea! Thank you, Cavocorax!

I’ve been reading this amazing New Yorker article written after Hiroshima:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima

It’s very intense, but I still think it’s mostly this tea that brought tears to my eyes this morning with its loveliness. No lie. It is wonderful. I will resteep later after lunch and I bet it will still be wonderful.