Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

Backlogging. Morning, three days ago, the day after the previous tealog.

I tried the Earl Grey and Ceylon 1:1 ratio again that morning to see if I could get repeat results. I did! I also did a second steep this time, which was quite weak but drinkable. It would need a bit of fresh leaf from one or both teas to be truly drinkable regularly.

2nd steep: 7 min.

Backlogging. Yesterday morning.

From my experiments combining this Earl Grey with the Tiger, I firmed decided I like this Earl Grey blended with a plain black tea rather than on its own. It was quite good with the Tiger and I’ve no doubt I’ll drink them together again but I am also willing to explore other partners for it.

Today was my first attempt pairing it with A&D’s Ceylon and a very nice pairing it was. It may be a better match than the Tiger. I did a 1:1 ratio as a starting point and that worked just fine. I could taste the strong Earl Grey and I could taste the end taste of the Ceylon. The Ceylon also tampered the what-is-to-me overly strong bergamot of this Earl Grey. These teas did not create a smoothed blend as if they were meant to be one tea, rather it tastes like two teas that went quite well together or two teas layered nicely together, if that makes any sense. I did not try a resteep.

I’ve been using just a bit more leaves in my tea preparation in general recently and a bit less water in my standard sized mugs. I’ve noticed this seems to be improving the taste of the teas overall.

The breakfast mug of tea backlog. Four days ago.

I did a heaping 1/2 tsp of EG with a level 1/2 tsp of the Tiger. This made for a yummy mug. This is also the start of no resteeps for the breakfast mug of tea. It just feels to hot here to drink tea really, yet I wish to drink more tea, until I actually drink some tea, that is.

Earl Grey and the Tiger, take three. Yesterday morning, I tried 1 tsp EG to 1/4 tsp Tiger. The first steep blended very very well. It tasted like the EG with more black tea to it. I could not pick out that the black tea was the Tiger. The second steep tasted like just the EG. Honestly, I think I might prefer the slightly Tiger heavy first steep and delicious combo second steep of take two.

The question is will I try a repeat of take two next or move on to trying a different black tea with this EG? I think I definitely like this EG with a black tea better than on it’s own. Certainly the quest for a good combo and amounts is making me want to drink EG in the mornings.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

Take two of the Earl Grey and Tiger blending. This morning I steeped a heaping 1/2 tsp of EG with a shallow 1/2 tsp of Tiger. I also used my steeping time for the Tiger instead of a steeping time in between the two. The first steep was still mostly Tiger with more EG than last time. The second steep was once again a great blend of the two. Either I need mostly EG with just a bit of the Tiger, which will be take three, or the Tiger is not a good first steep match for EG.

2nd steep: 5 min.

So I’ve been saying more bergamot than black tea for the past few tealogs on this one. The night before last I decided to do something about it. I’d add some plain black tea to it. Out of my plain black teas, I thought the Tiger, Thomas, and A&D’s Ceylon might pair the best. I decided to start with the Tiger.

So yesterday morning, I steeped a 1/2 Tiger:1/2 EG ratio. The first steep was mostly Tiger with a hint of EG. The second steep was a wonderful and delicious blend of the two. This seems to be a successful idea. I’ll just need to tweak the black tea:EG ratio. I think I’ll definitely be more interested in drinking up this EG this way.

PS This is only the second time I’ve blended two teas. I’m happy it went reasonable well since the previous attempt was only so-so. I now have a bit more confidence to keep trying.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

I had Earl Grey again this morning. This EG definitely is better by itself rather than as a London Fog. It’s likely it’s also better without any milk as well. This EG is more bergamot and less tea and that’s okay. It’s yummy but it’s prolly not my ideal EG. I think I’d prefer an EG that had more balance between the two, or one with a tasty strong black tea where the bergamot was noticeable. While I definitely like this tea, I think it may end up being my least favorite of all the A&D teas release thus far. I’m also noting that the second steep today was nearly as strong and flavorful as the first.

2nd steep: 7 min 30 sec.

After not acting on my desire for Earl Grey as my morning cup yesterday, I decided to make a London Fog this morning. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that A&D’s Earl Grey doesn’t make a good London Fog. It just doesn’t have a strong enough black tea taste to make the London Fog taste like tea. I used a bit extra leaf and steeped the tea for about 10 minutes today and used only a bit of milk. I got milky vanilla orange water, more vanilla than orange actually.

I woke up this morning craving the creamy citrusy deliciousness of a London Fog. Remembering that last time I had wished the Earl Grey stood out more, I steeped the tea extra long and used a bit more leaf. The result was quite good and I’m not sure what I’d change. I do think a London Fog might be better with a different Earl Grey tea. A&D is very citrusy, but the black tea doesn’t show up much. I think a strong Early Grey with good black tea and citrus taste would work very well.

1 cup Earl Grey tea (steeped 8 min), 1/4 cup heated milk, 1/8 tsp vanilla extract, 1 rounded tsp sugar.

Made as a London Fog, this came out really well.

Per Alicia’s suggestion and an enjoyable one at the B&N yesterday, I decided to try to make a London Fog with A&D’s Earl Grey tonight after a yummy dinner of Indian food. I knew it was late but it sounded good and seemed like it would go good after Indian.

I made the Earl Grey as I normally would and added heated milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. I didn’t think it tasted right at first. I could taste everything, but it was off. Too little Earl Grey, too much milk. As it cooled, it got better. I think next time I could steep the tea much stronger and use less milk. But I liked it and there will be a next time.

1 cup Earl Grey tea, 1/4 cup heated milk, 1/8 tsp vanilla extract, 1 rounded tsp sugar.

When I was getting up and thinking about what tea I wanted to drink yesterday morning, I was thinking I’d show the Tiger some love and have a thoroughly enjoyable cup of tea in the process. But when I got to the tea cupboard, my hand pulled out EG and I’m not sure sure why. I did realize something about EG. I like the taste a lot more than the smell, which is still a bit soapy to me. If I just think about the taste and ignore the smell, I like EG quite a bit more.

2nd steep: 6 min. If memory serves me right.

A repeat performance of Earl Grey occurred the morning after the first (yesterday morning, that is). He auditioned this cat that goes by Milk for a trial show to see how he jived with the band. Not a bad fit, but EG preferred the original set up. Milk would certainly do if EG got in a pinch and needed a someone to fill in in the band.

2nd steep: 6 min 30 sec, 200° F.
Milk came out with EG for the encore. The song was weak but you could hear EG’s influence under it all.

The husband was cooking brunch this morning and I told him don’t get the food done before I get my tea made because I really want to try my new A&D Earl Grey this morning. He kind of looked at me. I asked him if he’d like me to make a pot instead so he could have some. He said yes. Apparently, earl grey is the one tea he used to get at B&N on the rare occasions that he’d get tea instead of coffee and he was fond of it. So I steeped us a pot.

The Dry Leaves — Are black with some brown hints and small to mid-sized. Smell strongly of citrus, sharp, and a bit soapy in a good way.

The Wet Leaves — Look like wet black tea leaves. Smell the same as the dry but fainter.

The Tea — Tasted strongly of bergamot and little of black tea with a ting at the end of each sip. The husband noticed the ting too. He said it was like a mint ting but not mint. I thought it might be the black tea peaking through. EG could have used a little more black tea showing. But it was still good as is. The husband really liked it.

I’m not sure it would ever be my favorite EG or one I’d order over other EGs but I’ll enjoy drinking the rest of it. This is my least favorite of the A&D teas, which is not saying that it is not a great tea, just that A&D teas are that AWESOME!

2nd steep: 7 min, 205° F.
At first, I thought it was weak and I’d be needing to add a pinch of fresh leaves in the future. But as I drank, I realized that it was mostly bergamot and strong enough to drink without more leaf. The husband drank a second cup without being offered it. I think we’re found a tea that he clearly likes more than “it’s good”.

Backlog. Saturday night.

With Chinese – lemon shrimp with brown rice and veggies. Goes great with this. Second steep while online later.

2nd steep: 4 mins

A Jasmine Green tea experience fail has occurred. Cause: Faulty user cannot compute JGreen correctly.

Yesterday afternoon, I heated up some chicken curry with onions and green peppers. A cup of JGreen sounded like it would go great with the meal. For the past week or two, my allergies have been acting up in varies degrees of horribleness, trending towards worse over time. While JGreen was indeed a great compliment to the meal, somehow the floraliness of the tea was being associated in my head with contributing to the awful feeling of the allergies. The tea tasted delicious but my mind was interpreting it as this is bad for your allergies.

I finished the first cup and thought I would get another steep or few in at some point during the rest of the day. I thought about it several times but never brought myself to do it. I hated throwing out the leaves after only one steep. It felt a bit wasteful, especially since I so enjoy this tea usually.

I did start taking Zyrtec yesterday and am now going through the 5-7 day adjustment period where I’m pretty groggy at times until my body gets used to the medicine. I was hoping to make it through the allergy season with just some bad days but no meds. Alas, that was not the case. I am confident that once the allergy symptoms have subsided fully I shall be able to enjoy JGreen without any hangups.

A bit exhausted at the moment, I don’t think I have the mental faculties currently to write a tea review to do this lovely tea justice. But I want to set down my tealog before too long elapses since I drank it lest I forget too much of the experience and what I want to say. This is the tea I most wanted to try out of Series 3. I had a lovely experience with a jasmine green from Life in Teacup that I was a bit shocked to enjoy and I wanted to see if I really like jasmine teas.

The Dry Tea Leaves — Are very dark black-green with only bits of lighter browns, grays, and greens, mid-length/thickness and only slightly twisted. Smelled very strongly of a floral scent I’m coming to know as jasmine. Delightful. Like standing in the middle of a strongly scented garden on a hot day. Much much stronger than Life in Teacup’s JG, which I smelled again for comparison.

The Wet Tea Leaves — Are a deep warm green, uncurled pieces of leaves. Smelled strongly distinctively of grass with a bit of jasmine of a hot rainy day. Then changed to mostly jasmine with a bit of grass. Then ended up as jasmine and grass followed by a good amount of hay. I had kept sniffing to be sure of the grass, which I’ve never smelled so surely in a tea, and was surprised that the combination of smelled changed as I sniffed.

The Jasmine Green Tea — Is a light yellow-brown but not pale. Smells of jasmine but not nearly as strongly as the leaves. At first, tasted too faint. Where was the tea I liked so much in the LiT version of this? Even as it began to slowly cool, the yummy taste came on. There it was: Goodness. I think I can safely say that I really enjoy a cup of jasmine tea. I’m always a bit surprised by just how much I like a new type of tea when I try it since it has happened for each type since I started exploring loose teas and teas beyond black teas and herbal teas. It may just be my memory of a really nice first experience, but I think LiT’s JG is better. I do need to taste it again to refresh my memory. And A&D’s JG is close to it.

2nd steep: 3 min 30 sec, 180° F.
The wet tea leaves smelled only of jasmine after this one and less strong than before. The husband drank this steep and said it was good and he liked it. I’m a bit skeptical. We’ll see if he accepts some next time I make JG or asks for something else.

3rd steep: 4 min 15 sec, 180° F.
JG was not all that obviously weaker and still enjoyable. I think JG could definitely take 4th steep. But it was late and I wasn’t sure I wanted more tea since I drank two of the previous steeps consecutively.

I ordered my Series 3 when it was on Select on Tuesday, it shipped on Wednesday, and it arrived this afternoon! Totally wasn’t expecting it. A&D, you guys are AWESOME!

I was very excited to open the box and sniff the teas. Jasmine Green smelled like orchids to me but I’ll confess I know nothing about flowers and have no idea what jasmine should smell like. Possibly this. Earl Grey smelled citrus and sour, possibly soapy. I kept sniffing him trying to put my finger on what he smelled like. Not quite what I thought an Earl Grey should smell like. Caravan was easy, he smelled like smoked ham.

I’m most excited to try the Jasmine Green cause I recently had a jasmine tea for the first time from Life in Teacup, a surprise sample, and I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I’m interested to see if I really like jasmine teas or if the Life in Teacup tea is just that good.

I think I’ll be steeping myself up a cup while I watch the finale of Ugly Betty off the DVR.

I haven’t been logging my teas lately… The demanding work of being a design student!

Anyway, I’ll start logging in teas again starting with Andrews & Dunham.

I decided to purchase Andrew and Dunham’s because I was really intrigued with what was so “damn fine” about them. I received my collection of tins from series three, and two. I enjoyed the graphically designed labels, and the hand silk printed box it came in. Beautiful.

That aside. I started with Earl Grey.

Earl Grey has a special place in my heart, for being my first loose leaf tea I’ve ever brewed. It also happens to be the favorite, and the only loose leaf my best friend would drink. I cracked the tin, with the familiar aroma of bergamot. It’s a more aromatic version of the blend, reminds me of kinda like how a Tazo Earl Grey smells like, a bit more fresh, and no musk.

I steeped this in my white teapot, five minutes at boiling. The brew came out light amber. I tasted this straight with no additions. Nice start, full bodied, citrusy, but unlike other Earl Greys, its’ finish was surprising light, but still smooth, and (the shocker)- creamy…

I was so excited about the last detail so much that I immediately poured another cup, but with half and half with agave nectar. Delicious, enjoyable, sweet! Went well with a Russian tea cake I bought at Whole Foods.

I’d score this higher if it was organic, other than that- yes it is a DAMN fine cup of tea.

Good morning. Time for a cup of caravan tea to wake me up.

Strong and smokey and will hopefully help me with this lab report this late night.

I wanted something strong because I’m about to fall asleep and it was only noon. So I just sniff around in my cupboard until I found my Caravan tea. Very smokey and totally wakes you up