Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea
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I just got my order from Papabubble today, and I wanted a delicious white tea to enjoy with some of my delicious candy. You can read more about Papabubble’s hand-pulled hard candies here: http://hungryinportland.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/hand-pulled-hard-candy-from-papabubble/ These are super yummy. Definitely the very best hard candy I’ve ever tasted.
And this tea is delightful with them. I love the way the sweet, light flavor of the tea interacts with the flavors of the candy… and vice versa. Yummy!
My tea came today (#48 out of 100) and I was so excited!
This is an exquisite Bai Mu Dan! The leaves look greener than other Bai Mu Dan teas I’ve seen. The aroma is fresh and vegetal. The flavor is beautiful – delicate, sweet, lightly vegetative with hints of flower. Delicious.
Yay for speedy service! Rabbit tea indeed! Is there a full review a-coming to tide the remaining 52 over (!!! The lucky number in tea? ) until theirs arrive?
Yes, I will write a full-review of it, probably within the next week or so… but not sure when it will be published. :) It’s an awesome Bai Mu Dan. And yes… they provide very fast service. Every time I’ve placed an order with them, I’ve been amazed at how quickly the package arrived.
This is the first one I’ll get to try. I went to put an order in for the Captain Assam/Mermaid’s Kiss and on the second lo! There be rabbits afoot! So the little money I had went to this. Definately the most responsible choice I’ve ever made.
I would LOVE to try and of their new ones!
I acquired the 25th of 100 of this series. I was a bit infuriated I missed the Year of the Tiger Yunnan edition.
I decided to include a new review on the tin’s label; as A&D and Aesthetic Apparatus’s decisions on label design are produced to almost expand upon the tea’s nature. Something I’ve noticed from previous series. So from now on, I will be reviewing A&D’s on their tin AND tea. Please skip the following mini-review if you wish to skip unto the actual tea review.
Let me take note of the similar aesthetic design of the tin’s label, compared to last year. It has an almost absurd eye-blotting ~ pop art colour scheme. You could argue to use a different shade of pink. The colour is something so contrasting to the type of tea that is actually inside that it makes you think there’s some overly flavoured Jasmine green, or dank aromatic “plum oolong” which would discredit this series as a homage to Chinese tea, let alone to celebrate the year of the rabbit. However, the ‘lively’ colour scheme appropriately corresponds upon the nature and spirit of the rabbit itself.The similarity in character design of the rabbit to the tiger of last year says: “lack of originality”; but there’s a lame “special” sense of continuity to last year’s design, that may pressure a future label in similar apparatus.
I may be a little too hard on the label, which I believe somewhat misrepresents Bai Mu Dan. But I appreciate the sense of effort, and individuality despite the clown colour scheme that yells: “THERE’S CANDY INSIDE!”. It still in a sense, appropriately represents the year of the rabbit, and the spirit of the new year.
Now unto the tea:
Prying the tin open with a butter knife, I humored myself that I’d discover cotton candy or bubble gum, or maybe paint of the label colour, being as the tin was a paint can.
Getting over myself, I discovered a lovely multi coloured collection of leaves ranging from fresh greens, to silvery hairs, to matte earthy colours. Similar aroma to most whites. Reminiscent of fresh cut grass, the warmth a hay, and sweet melancholy nature of a breeze in the country. The smell was enjoyable and inviting to brew. The leaf quality of a myriad of colours with somewhat uniform broken leaves and scattered rolled young needles.
I brewed two teaspoons in my red Tokoname kyusu (I’m currently ‘gaiwanless’) to A&D’s recommended temperature: Seven minutes at shy of a boil. I am always scared of white teas loosing their heat at such long brew times, so I insured that I adequately pre-warmed the teapot.
Bai Mu Dan was incredibly refreshing! The cup was a transparent, pale yellow, and owned an aroma that followed the leaves. Fresh, sweet, warm, and smooth in take and finish. A lingering aftertaste that is enjoyable. Leaving you wanting to drink more. Light in body like most whites, but still fuller in flavour than most White Peonies. A complex flavour that evolves in your mouth. I tried for a second steep, at boiling for another seven minutes, but came to a watered down cup. The sweet refreshing cup was so inviting I repeated the ritual again.
I thoroughly enjoyed A&D’s tea. As this Bai Mu Dan makes a DAMN fine cup of tea. Fuller in body than most White Peonies, and a stronger aroma than even the more sweeter Silver Needles. Take note my score is reflected upon the tea itself, and not the tin. An overall enjoyable tea, worth it for a white leaf drinker.
Preparation
I’m glad glad you made note of the tin design. I disagree on how well it fit the tea (I’ll save that excited babbling for my own notes) but I do think it’s part of the overall experience of the tea and I’m happy someone else on Steepster recognizes it as a work of art along with the tea inside.
Somethimes I have the same fear of oversteping baicha but the best ones are hard to oversteep. So of course one never has to worry if an A&D white is going to burn, eh? =D And of course it sounds damn delicious. I can’t wait to get mine! How many infusions did you get?
I steeped this guy three times and yielded six cups. It loses some important notes in it’s body on the second steep, but still very drinkable before I threw out the leaves. A&D is quite right that this tea is quite forgiving.
Let me say again that I stated some major criticisms on the tin. [Most of them subjective.] (I am a design student). Some details good, and not so good on fitting the tea. I could have easily written an expanded review on it, but this being Steepster I decided keep it brief. And focus on the tea.
Indeed. Tea first, tin as a side note, but I’m just saying I disagree. Personally I DO think there’s candy inside. =D For the first steep, at least.
“Seek happiness. Be Kind. Drink tea.”
I will do exactly two of those things. Slightly floral, sweet, bitter like most white teas when hot. A little lighter than I expected. I’m curious what it’d be like cold. In my experience that’s usually where white teas shine.
Preparation
I found this tea to be quite tasty. It seemed somewhat bolder and stronger than many whites that I’ve tasted, which I liked. Smooth and slightly floral, it produced a nice golden color. On the second steeping, I went with a cooler 185° for eight minutes. I think it turned out better at 195°, so I’ll probably stick with that. I’m looking forward to enjoying the rest of the tin.
Preparation
For a non-pearled jasmine, this is a really amazing tea. I’m very picky about jasmines. I like this tea so much I think it’s my favorite of all the excellent Damn Fine Teas. This is partly because I’m really good at messing up the steeping time on most teas, and this one seems harder to ruin than most. It may be smarter than my forgetfulness. The only Damn Fine Tea that is tougher to over-steep is the excellent Bai Mu Dan.
