Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

COMBO: 2/3 TB A&D Damn Fiine Holiday Blend plus 1/3 TB of Stash’s Kopili Assam for 500mL water, drunk bare.

Woke up craving Holiday Blend. And Assam. Ai. Have just ordered more HB and some Captain Assam. Is there opium in the Holiday Blend, or what? Woke. Up. Craving. It.

The addition of the Kopili Assam smooths out the brightness /sharpness (slightly smoky sharpness) of Holiday Blend, adds some depth, sweetens the whole brew a bit, and gives it a heavier body. I like the combo, but Holiday Blend is also damn fine on its own. Can’t wait to introduce HB to Captain Assam.

Now, back to Holiday Blend on its own. Sigh. Bliss. TEA!

1 heaped TB for 500 mL water, drunk bare.

I admit it. The label got me. Sweater-knit Imperial Walkers. A & D could have stuffed the tin with grass clippings and I still would have bought it just for the label.

And today, in the first of a three-day nor’easter, horizontal rain, wind that’s trying to uproot trees: it came! My poor drenched postman brought the Damn Fine Holiday blend! I figured I wouldn’t see it til well after Christmas, as out ferries aren’t running (nor-easter’s affecting the entire island) and so lots of mail is tied up. Worse, lots of people aren’t getting home for Christmas.

I wish I could visit each stranded one and give them a cup of this tea.

Dry leaves are long and tippy. You know how some Assam smells raisiny? I’m sure I’m catching a faint whiff of smoked pears instead. And Yunnan — God, there must be Yunnan in here. Keemun? Pinch o’ lapsang? All an Imperial secret? Dunno, don’t care. What I can say is this: bright but not astringent, assertive but not a bully, deep but not bitter. Truly a happy-making tea. Restorative. Medium body, thick-to-creamy mouthfeel. My brew is a teensy bit bitter, but only because I steeped it six minutes.

And yes, it goes fab with cookies. I noshed a shortbread while sipping.

PS For anyone frightened off by my mentioning lapsang, the smokiness is NOT that strong. More of a Keemuny-smokiness, or a mild, milk Caravan … and that’s only one tasting note in a blend. So Holiday Blend is not a smoky tea.

I’m sick and feel awful. But my experience with this the other day was so tasty, I’ve been wanting it again. This time, I’ll man up and do the full four minute suggested steep.

Looking at and smelling the wet leaf I’m convinced there must be Darjeeling in there. Which must be what attributes to the brightness of the tea. But based on my first experience with this tea, I’m also pretty sure there is some Yunnan in there, which perhaps keeps the Darjeeling from taking on a sharp endnote.

This time I can taste Darjeeling – I’m guessing the longer steep time let it pop out over the other tea in the blend – but there’s still some other note that’s balancing the brightness of the Darjeeling. At three minutes that note seemed easily identifiable as Yunnan but at four minutes it is less so. It’s just a slight textured presence that adds a little sweetness and a bit heavier taste.

At three minutes this seemed like a milder Tiger. At four minutes, it’s like a whole ’nother tea. Both teas are pretty good. I probably prefer the Yunnan-dominated three minute steep but I tend to gravitate towards more of a Chinese black taste profile. I do like the fact that this tea is so changeable.

I was worried about the “bright” in the description of this tea, concerned it would be Darjeeling which, don’t get me wrong, can be good and sometimes really hits the spot, but can quite often lead to a bit too much of a shock at the end of the sip for me. And I just couldn’t handle that this morning. Thankfully, if there is Darjeeling in this, I can’t tell.

There’s no bitterness or tartness – just sweetness and a little cuddle factor, perhaps the suggestion of spices. Not spicy but just something that gives me the idea that this would pair with sugar cookies or snickerdoodles perfectly. The taste is smooth but with a little texture. And yes, it is bright. How it does that without delving into iffy tartness or astringency territory I’ll never know but I like it.

If I had to call what was in it, all I could pick out would be Yunnan. It reminds me a lot of the Tiger, though perhaps the Tiger was stouter? Or perhaps I just brewed the Tiger longer. Either way, tasty tea, I am happy I have it!

I awoke today to find that the order I placed from Kyotofu was on my doorstep, so I decided to brew some of this tea to enjoy with some yummy matcha baked goods.

The tea is delicious – as always!

Backlog: This was my first cup of the day today. Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2010/12/21/damn-fine-holiday-blend-from-damn-fine-tea/

I really love this tea. You can read my full-length review of it here:

http://sororiteasisters.com/2010/12/21/damn-fine-holiday-blend-from-damn-fine-tea/

This is such an awesome tea – in fact, it’s Damn Fine! I steeped it this morning in my Kati cup and when I took off the lid, I could smell the caramel notes!

Awesomely delicious! Here is my full-length review of the tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2010/12/21/damn-fine-holiday-blend-from-damn-fine-tea/

And I decided to bump up the rating just a bit, because I really like this more each time I try it.

I reached for this as my first cuppa this morning. I woke up incredibly early this morning – I just couldn’t sleep. Bums me out because it is the holiday break, which means I don’t need to get up early to get the little one off to school… oh well.

At least I have something nice and warming to turn to! I love this tea. Strong, malty, slightly smoked, with a nice fruit quality in there too. Very wonderful flavor to this tea.

I love the name of this blend!

And I love this tea! Rich, hints of smokiness, hefty! Completely Awesome.

I’m off to write a review of it for the SororiTea Sisters blog!

I’m so annoyed with myself that I’ve fallen for this one. I knew better than to buy a limited edition. I love it. What am I going to do when it’s gone? It has a fullness and sweetness, along with the smokiness, that made me guzzle down my first pot yesterday. I woke up at midnight and got up and made myself another pot, even though I had to be up at 5. All day I looked forward to getting home and guzzling some more.

I’m cutting off my nose to spite my face. I’m trying to blend my own replacement. My first attempt is 1 part Lapsang Souchong, 1 part Keemun, and 2 parts Andrews and Dunham Holiday Blend. I refuse to fall in love again.

Y’know, I hadn’t quite been feeling the holiday season this year. I’m separated from my family because of finals period, Dan is far away in California, and Ohio weather is pretty morose. (There is a reason why Ohio has produced more astronauts than any other state – my personal belief being that this state makes people want to flee the earth.)

However, Andrews & Dunham makes me feel home for the holidays, if only for the half hour it takes me to drink a giant mug-ful of this blend! The word repetitively used in reviewing this tea has been “bright,” and I couldn’t agree more. Brews to a beautiful dark rusty color, and I am so pleased to find a black tea I like without milk or sugar. It’s very light as far as black teas go, slightly bitter if left in even a touch too long, with some sweetness particularly noticeable when adding milk etc. The second brew did not hold up very well in my experience, so I’m probably a quarter of my way into the tin! (What can I say? It’s not my fault holiday jingles are in my head! Damn radio.)

Where Sampson tastes like bread, this blend tastes more fruity, or snappy. Kind of like a gay Santa doing tap dance in a sparkly spandex suit. With bells on his toes. Maybe.

Much milder and sweeter than Thomas Samson.

Yum! At first I though I was tasting jasmine, but it turns out this is a magnolia tea (my first). The mild oolong-ness is a nice combination with the sweet flower. The flower flavor is similar to a jasmine, but there’s a sort of burst at the end that reminds me vaguely of a kind of pastel Easter candy. Definitely a must-buy.

BLEND: one part A&D Earl Grey, one part A&D Caravan. 1 TB tea for 500mL water, bare, drunk while nibbling peppered nuts and strong cheese.

The Earl spent the night at the pubs and finally a coffeehouse at the docks and just stumbled in to his ancestral home, where his mother entertains various hoity-toities with tea and cookies. Breaking out some peppered nuts and strong cheese, the Earl adds his smoked self to the party. While his mother worries he might be suffering an identity crisis, the Earl himself rests confident — if bleary-eyed — that the mind-altering night spent with that mysterious woman who writes and sings and wafts out ancient yet spicy campfire smoke each time she adjusts her pashmina is worth each and every strange look from his mother. His mother’s friend continue discussing a shocking new novel … and the author photo reveals to the Earl yet another layer of truth: the smoky pashmina woman.

A startling blend, the A&D Earl Grey and A&D Caravan on a 1 to 1 ratio, but bracing and unforgettable. The bergamot ultimately surrenders to the smoke, but only in the sense of the smoke riding on top.

BLEND: 2 parts A&D Earl Grey, 1 part A&D Caravan. 1TB tea for 500mL water, bare. (Water just off the boil; I find Earl Grey tastes better that way.)

I’ve been mulling over a blend of A&D’s Earl Grey and Carvan for some time. I even open both tins side by side and inhale. I’ve been wary of experimenting with blend ratios, only because I have a limited amount of both teas and really like them — especially, to my surprise, the Earl Grey. And A&D’s Caravan is a very bright Caravan blend, not just crappy stale black tea doused in liqud smoke and then laid out to dry. (I’ve drunk Caravans which taste like that.) Both the Eargl Grey and the Caravan seem to lean very much to the China tea end of the spectrum, so the tea bases, at least shouldn’t clash.

Liquor: dark copper.

Aroma: bergamot and smoke, big surprise there.

At 3 minutes of steeping: Top notes of citrus and bergamot, with a savoury, almost salty bite. Smoky finish. Wish I’d upped the Caravn j4st a bit — maybe a equal parts, but I want a marriage here, not a brawl.

At 5 minutes of steeping: more depth, more ‘ting’ from the Earl Grey and more ‘tang’ from the Caravan. Sharp and smoky finish. Hot toast with a bitter marmalade would go soooo well with this.

Conclusion: A really good wake-me-up-after-lunch tea. Will try equal parts next time.

1 TB for 500mL water, drunk bare.

Second go with the Earl. Another lousy working day; the Earl gives solace. Whispers to me of sunny citrus groves in Italy while outside fog coalesces into a sparkling wall. Smooth black tea base, really, really fruit bergamot — none of that dish-soap garbage happening here.

Tonight I steeped for 6 minutes instead of the recommended 5. (Started slurpting at 4 min, though.) The tea did not turn bitter. Not sure how much further I want to push a steep of this, as I don’t want to waste any. Overall flavour has deepened, become more complex: is that a bit of Indian tea I taste in the blend? Just a bit?

Has surpassed Stash as my second-favorite EG ever. Only Numi’s Aged Earl Grey stands in the way. Wish I could Numi and Damn Fine side-by-side and make a final decision.

A cheering tea.

1 TB for 500mL water, no milk or sweetener.

I am not an Earl Grey fan. Sometimes I really want it. Most days I ignore it. Very much a mood thing with me. But when I do drink Earl Grey, I am horribly picky. So far, only two EGs, Numi Aged Earl Grey and Stash’s Earl Grey, have ever wowed me. Many, including Twinings, make me gag.

I ordered Series 3 — an Earl Grey, a Caravan, and a Jasmine Green — from Andrews & Dunham solely on the strenth of their Captain Assam’s High Seas Elixir and their really funny copywriting. And the labels. I freakin LOVE the labels.

I figured the Earl Grey would be one I’d give away as a Christmas gift. But nooooo, this evening, after an exhausting and almost fruitless workday (now entering hour 11 of same), I want Earl Grey. Hot. Diplomatic solution to Klingons off the port bow, the whole bit. Damn Fine, eh? Let’s check the mettle of your dilithum, then.

Warp core breach! In the best possible way. Smoooooooth black tea base, and a bergamot flavour the proves that bergamot is, in fact, a citrus fruit and not paint stripper. No bitterness, which is a lovely suprise; too many EGs used a crappy tea base that gets really bitter on its own and then further sours under the bergamot. Body is light — very pleasingly so — and but not weak. Liquor is about halfway between brass and copper. Fragrance is distinctive and delightful. Clean finish: the tea taste vanishes, but the bergamot haunts.

If you don’t already like Earl Grey, I doubt this will convert you, as it’s the Earl Grey-iest I’ve drunk in a long time. If you like Earl Grey, you really should try this one.

Had a big cup of this on my way out the door this morning with some sweetner and real cream. Oh! Bliss! It’s so good. I love this tea so much…

(And I keep stalking the A&D store hoping there’s another damn fine tea to buy… sigh)

Brought this with me to visit my family in California. Two pots of it with everyone this morning, and it was perfect. Perfect for the holiday, perfect with a little milk and sugar. Yum!

I’m being silly – I have a personal rule of never drinking caffeinated tea after 5pm. But my new A&D order came in, and darn it! This means I have to break the rules.

So, even though I read the description of the tea, I for some reason thought this was a flavored tea. So, on opening the tin (with the most awesomeist at-ats ever!!!) i was a little surprised for it to be a blend of black teas rather than black tea with the seasonal spices.

So, flavor-wise. I would not be surprised to find out this is heavily yunnan. It’s very similar to Tiger. Which is a good thing! I’m out of Tiger and I liked Tiger. But, I’m not really thinking it’s very holiday. It’s a brighter blend, and I do taste the small amount of bitterness, almost cranberriness that the other tasters noted.

I tried 2 cups of this – straight and sweetened with cream. The above notes were for the straight tea. Sweetened and with milk? Wow. I love this tea. I can see sitting under the tree with cookies and this tea and being in holiday bliss. Yum. Love it.