Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

Happy Hippie (See my previous tasting notes on this one)
The Happy Hippie Returns!
:)

This is especially fitting for today.

Bold and a tad smoky even…busy morning!

The Hippie is Happy again! Still not sure why this makes me think of Hippies but it does…lol…

Auggy – I have been wanting to try this FOREVER! Thank you so much!

It was worth the wait!

Thomas! You made me one HAPPY Hippie! I’m not sure why I’m thinking HAPPY HIPPIE with this one but I am! I can sort of make the Biscotti connection that others have mention, too!

This is a BOLD Brew! A very, very, very slight hint of smoke and hint of woodsy but mostly black tea taste.

I think when I get home tonight I will dust off the ole Patchouli, listen to some Grateful Dead and Bob Marley, have a cup of this, and dig out my tie-dyed shirt!

Spicier than I remember…sharing the rest with a friend. See previous notes.

Nice cup this morning…check out my previous notes….

Another Auggy Tea! Thanks Auggy! :) This tea is tasty yet simple. I can’t say as it’s my fave A&D Tea but it’s still a decent cuppa! Soooo glad I got to try it! YAY!

Oh Jackee! The time has come to say GOODBYE.

And on my 6,100th tasting note, too!

This is a SIPDOWN.

Anyone know if A&D are coming out with new teas anytime soon?

I’m not sure why…but this taste exceptionally well with Graham Crackers. LOL :)

I’m having some right now…yum…

Finishing a cup and featuring a full review on SororiTEA Sisters!

http://sororiteasisters.com/2010/10/04/jackee-muntz-from-andrews-and-dunham-damn-fine-tea/

Not as smoky this time around but more sweet caramel taste and I still find it to be a good tasting tea!

Auggy! Thanks! You’ve spoiled me! Jackee! Thanks! You are another Slightly Smoky Tea I find enjoyable! Jackee smells a bit smoky and tastes a little bit more smoky. I am almost wondering when everyone else takes their smoke break if I should should take a SMOKY TEA BREAK (since I don’t smoke!)

Hum…a thought to ponder…

Hubby and I both had a cup last night and I wasn’t online to log. Mine standalone and his with sugar. Both great cups!

Backlogging – and DAMN Good!

Auggy! Thanks! You are awesome! This is the first time I have been able to sample this tea thanks to you!!!! I really like it! It suggests ‘brewing’ strong and that’s usually the way I like it! This fit the bill and certainly made my morning a little less stressful. It’s not much for scent but with a nice mouth watering taste like this I will certainly let it slide!!!! Thanks again!

I rescued the Breville from the car! Actually, the BF remembered to bring it in when he got back so I can’t really take credit. But I thought since I’d wanted to use it for Jackee’s debut this morning but been foiled, I would start over and pretend this was my first Jackee tasting.

Using the custom setting to steep at 200 for 3:30. I just have to say that watching the Breville do its thing is really entertaining. I love how the basket lifts up after it’s done brewing. It’s like Disneyland.

Now. Let this be a lesson in how different brewing conditions can completely change the taste of something. I now believe that I previously brewed this too cool, rather than too hot as I’d feared. I think that in futzing around with the thermometer I inadvertently let the water cool more than it should have.

Incredibly, I now see the similarities between this and the Harney’s where I didn’t before. Either it has to do with the steeping, or it’s just that I’ve got a frame of reference for Jackee now. There is still smoke, but it isn’t as overwhelmingly smoky as I’d thought initially. It now has a lot more going on. The smoke is primarily on the tail, as it was with the Harney’s, though it is significantly more.

Caramel? I still get the hints, and I’m now getting a lot more sweetness. I can see where it could go to caramel, but it isn’t quite there for me yet. It’s more a suggestion than a full blown flavor. It’s certainly enough to make me want to engage in it’s pursuit, though.

Yesterday, after the Earl, I did a Keemun from Harney & Sons. Today, I’m trying the fabled Jackee for the first time. He’s even more intimidating than Samovar’s Yunnan Golden Buds in terms of fame here. He’s like the really handsome and popular guy I was too intimidated to even talk to in school. I just knew no matter what I said he’d consider me a mild annoyance, like a gnat buzzing around his head, and that was if I was lucky. If I really made a fool of myself he’d consider me a foolish gnat, which would be even worse. And this with the full knowledge that he’s already taken anyway, so what’s the point. ;-)

The smokiness of the dry leaf was surprising to me, even though I’d seen mentions of Jackee’s smokiness. I wasn’t really expecting quite that much, since I think of him as a Keemun given his name and yesterday’s 100% Keemun didn’t have nearly this much smokiness; I only noticed anything near smoky in the aftertaste and that was pale by comparison. So I’m thinking Jackee must have some lapsang mixed in? I really should read all the notes methodically to see if anyone has actually figured out what is in here. I just read enough before trying this to know to try a lower steeping temp to make the caramel come out. I am guessing to some extent at my steeping temperature, because I boiled the water in a regular stove top kettle and I don’t trust my thermometers. (The BF took off in the car WITH THE BREVILLE STILL IN IT before I could get it out. Curses!)

The aroma of the steeped tea is also smoky, in a mild, non-tarry way, and here I get some sweetness as well. Yum.

Now for the taste. I get why everyone loves this. It’s got a mix of all the flavors and character that set off my pleasure centers: smoke, sweet, smooth and round. I have a feeling I need to play with it a bit more to get the parameters just right. I can see the caramel hints but I think I can make them come forward more with practice.

I will say though that I’m just as baffled as to what to expect from a Keemun now as I was yesterday since this is quite different from the Harney’s. I still feel the need to broaden my Keemun horizons before assessing how the Harney’s fares as an exemplar.

Jackee, though, is obviously in a class by himself.

Yesterday I started with Harney’s Earl Grey Supreme so today I’m giving the A&D a whirl.

Wow. I really like this. Figures, right? Limited edition and all.

The bergamot smells fairly strong in the dry leaf, but in an appetizing way; not oily, not perfumy, not stomach-wrenchingly acidic. When steeped isn’t too strong at all, just a little stronger than the Harney’s (which means pretty much exactly the right strength for me). And not only that, it has a very interesting quality to it. It isn’t oily, and it isn’t tart, but it has a sweetness to it, and it’s almost as though it has a floral note to it without being perfumey. In any case, it’s got a depth of character that I haven’t experienced in a bergamot flavoring before except maybe in the Samovar Earl Lavender.

The tea is mild, smooth and medium-to-light bodied. It’s a good foundation for the bergamot flavoring to show off on, and frankly I find the bergamot flavor so interwoven with the tea as to make an attempt at describing the tea separate from the bergamot futile. It has an unobtrusive, slightly sweet finish.

I’m sad that I’m going to have to distance myself from this one so as not to fall in love, it being limited edition and all.

There’s a strong lapsang souchong, but not nearly as strong as a straight lapsang souchong (obviously). The smokey taste is pretty mild and, I’d say, a lot more palatable to the average drinker.

Everyone should have a jasmine tea in their cupboard.

Good stuff.