Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

Woke up this morning with another pot of Caravan. Smoky, deep goodness <3

So my shipment came from Andews & Dunham came today and I’m thoroughly excited! My first taste of the series is the Caravan black tea because I’ve never had caravan before. It’s deep and quite yummy and hopefully will keep me good company into the long hours of the night along with my neuroscience notes.

Finishing off the last that I have of this Earl Grey. It will be missed.

I am glad that I have time to be able to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea before the craziness that is my Monday ensues!

I wanted something strong and comforting… and this is what I grabbed… And it is indeed strong and comforting! The black tea is not as stout as some other teas that I have in my stash, but, it works well for this particular Earl Grey. The bergamot is very pleasant. Not a hint of perfume. Just delicious fruity bergamot with a hint of flowery sharpness in the background. I love it.

Waking up to a cup of Earl Grey this morning. It’s been at least a couple of weeks since I’ve had A&D’s Earl Grey, and I could hear it calling out to me this morning. (Yes, it’s still morning – only officially 9 minutes left to the morning)

Lovely – I like the bergamot in this blend. Pleasantly citrus-y, only hints of floral. Smooth. Rich. Delicious.

Starting my day with this Earl Grey, today! (poetry!)

I want to thank Stephanie for so generously gifting me with the remainder of her tin of this outstanding Earl Grey. Thank you Stephanie!

Oh… delight! I do love this Earl Grey.

I think that I shall struggle with my splint today and finally finish the review of this tea that I started so long ago!

Enjoying my first tea of the day. This morning was my youngest daughter’s ballet recital and I didn’t take the time to brew some tea before we headed out. But this was really nice to come home to.

This is lovely.

Yay! Earl Grey!

I really like this tea. I steeped it a bit longer than I did previously. Even though Andrews & Dunham suggest 5 minutes steeping time, I just can’t do 5 minutes for a black tea. I think my palate tends to be overly sensitive to bitter taste, and since most black teas do take on a slight bitter edge when brewed over 4 minutes (there is the occasional exception, but, for my palate, I have found this to be the standard), I don’t usually take a black tea beyond 4 minutes for the first infusion.

So I decided to push it to the 4 minutes this time (usually, with a black tea, I have a “standard” time of 3 minutes, regardless of what brewing parameters might suggest). Only a slight bitter note at the back of the palate… but not off-putting. But what I do notice is that brewing it longer brings out more of the floral qualities of the bergamot, whereas the 3 minutes, I’m left with a fruitier bergamot with only hints of floral.

It’s quite good both ways … but I think I prefer it with the 3 minute steep time…

This Earl Grey is delightful. The more I drink it the more I am liking it. I still maintain that I prefer Lupicia’s Earl Grey… but, it certainly is NOT the worst I’ve ever had either. I find the bergamot in this tea to be quite remarkable as it possesses a fruitier flavor to it. Yes, I know that bergamot IS indeed a fruit… but my experience has been that bergamot possesses a very “fragrant” flavor that I can liken to a flowery quality (since flowers are fragrant). This bergamot is less flowery and more fruity. That is to say that while it is quite fragrant to the nose, it is less fragrant to the palate.

Eh… suffice is to say that I like it.

Another sampling from Doulton!

When I first saw Andrews & Dunham’s third series, THIS is the tea that I really wanted to try from the three. I didn’t think I would be interested at all in the Caravan as I’m not really into smoky teas, and the Jasmine didn’t excite me to the point of wanting to place the order. I mean, Jasmine greens are great, don’t get me wrong, I love jasmine… but, I so prefer jasmine pearls to jasmine greens and since I have quite a few jasmine pearls I didn’t feel the necessity to order a jasmine green.

That being said, and now after having tasted both the Jasmine and the Earl Grey from A&D – I must admit that the tea I am now excited to receive from them is the Jasmine!

Don’t get me wrong, this is a good Earl Grey. But lately, I’ve tasted some really REMARKABLE Earl Greys (Lupicia, Steven Smith Teamaker), and this one isn’t quite as remarkable as those two. However, this is a very, very good Earl Grey.

I like that the bergamot in this tea is a very clear and focused flavoring. You can actually taste that the bergamot is an orange in this tea which is something that I can’t always taste, because the bergamot oils used in some other teas tend to be too flowery. This has less flower and more fruit.

The tea base is much smoother than in the other two Earl Grey teas I mentioned in this note, and perhaps that is the reason why I prefer those… I’d like the black tea in this to be just a little brisker… and if it were, this might be a contender.

Overall, an excellent Earl Grey, but not an exceptional one.

I’ve “re-discovered” this tea and have been drinking it a lot lately! It’s simply excellent—such a fresh, sweet jasmine flavor that seems to never get bitter. I’m on my second steeping and the taste is mellow and creamy. So refreshing!

I deliberately overbrewed this using boiling water and keeping the leaves steeped in my travel mug—and it still tastes wonderful! The flavor is deliciously toasty and potent but the overall effect still manages to be bright and creamy. There is briskness toward the end, but no bitterness!

This is a very easy-going tea. It seems I can’t go wrong with it.

(instead of a demanding, high-maintenance diva :) )

What can I add that hasn’t already been expressed? If you’re at all a fan of jasmine, then you will love Jasmine Green.

Simply put, Jasmine Green is an absolutely lovely rendition of a classic.

I love jasmine and this Jasmine is soulful and delicious!

This is my third smoky blend. This one has just enough smoky flavor to not be overhwelming.. If I compare, Samovar Russian Blend is like a roaring fire, Upton’s Caravan is a wisp of smoke, and this one is right in the middle and perfect.

I try to live my life with no regrets, that being said, I regret not having purchased this tea. I love this tea! Ricky thank you so much! I have experimented with a few different infusion times, so bare with me.

The tea leaves smell delicious, slightly sweetened, smokey, with a slight earthy note. The first time I had it I did a strong brew. Hot, no additives, five minutes. The liquor is very dark, brassy color. The tea tasted smokey and earthy up front, which mellowed into a sweeter, richer tea. Absolutely delicious.

I was able to get three more infusions out of this spoonful of tea. Brew times lessened to keep similar flavor without a burnt, overdone flavor. 4 minutes. 3 minutes. 3 minutes. 2.5 minutes. The liquor color remained roughly the same, the flavors did not intensify or stifle out, each infusion had a new balance of flavor. There was shifting in the front-runner flavor between the smokey and the earthy, but it was always followed by the sweet, strong mouth-feel of the caramel note.

I decided I would write my rating today, so one more spoonful, three more infusions.

First infusion, hot, no additives, 3 minutes. Though the tea is still rich, the earthy flavor is lesser and the smokey flavor is a little more prevalent with a lesser brew time. This alteration in flavor does not hinder the sweet caramel flavor that this tea follows up with. The second infusion (3 minutes) I think added a little more of the earthy-ness and less of the smokey (in comparison to the previous infusion of these leaves). The final infusion (3 minutes) yielded a taste sensation similar to the first time I had it with a five minute infusion: balanced smokey and earthy notes with a sweet rich tea with a stronger mouth-feel than expected.

I have one more spoonful left, I am saving it for a special occasion. Again, Ricky, I cannot fully express my gratitude, thank you, this tea was fantastic!

Had a few cups of this and loved it, have not yet been able to describe the beauty that is this tea in a review yet, definitely will soon…

I am having a cup of this today, and de-Cupboarding as I only have enough for another pots worth.

A really lovely jasmine. Not my favorite, but, definitely a good one. The jasmine is soft and sweet and the green tea tastes lush and vibrant. This tea has managed to maintain its sweet, fresh taste even though it’s not the youngest tea I’ve got in my cupboard.

Still quite nice, and happy to be sipping on it.

Since I just placed an order for this tea, I figured I’d finish up the sampling that Doulton sent to me. (Thanks again!)

This is truly a delightful jasmine. It is important to get the brewing parameters correct (or as correct as you might get if you’re an “eyeballer” like me) because too hot a temperature can be detrimental to this tea.

But when brewed at a lower temperature, the taste is divine! A very strong jasmine flavor which is remarkable in itself, since I typically find non-pearl jasmine teas to be a bit soft in the jasmine flavor… perhaps soft isn’t the right word. But, it’s just OFF compared to that of the pearl – as pearl is the standard toward which all jasmines should strive.

I’m bumping this score a notch, just because I can and I feel like it.

Another sampling from Doulton! (Thank you Doulton!)

At first wiff – the aroma of the dry leaf is remarkable. Jasmine. (sigh) How I love Jasmine. Fragrance wise, this may be – perhaps – even more beautiful than jasmine pearls. That is very difficult for me to say, for my love affair with the pearls is a very passionate one, indeed. The aroma of the brewed tea is quite a bit softer.

Lovely! The green tea is very fresh and pleasantly vegetative – not a strong vegetative presence, but enough grassy flavor so that it melds nicely with the floral essence of the jasmine. This is perhaps why I prefer jasmine greens to other jasmine teas, because the fresh, grassy essence pairs so well with the jasmine.

I cannot say that I prefer this to pearls. But, I can say that this is probably the best jasmine green tea that is not pearls that I’ve tasted… certainly worthy of an order from me! I only wonder what I shall do with the caravan……

Hello again Steepster,

I haven’t been logging many teas of late because as the weather warms up, I’ve been drinking less tea, and because most of what I have been drinking has been stuff I’ve already logged.

But apparently I haven’t logged this tea yet. Which is sort of a shame, because it’s a nice tea. It tastes pretty much exactly like an archetypical jasmine green tea. Are you familiar with jasmine teas? If so, imagine a nice jasmine tea in general without imagining any specific jasmine tea. Then add a little bit of extra jasmine flavor. You will then be imagining this tea.

Many thanks to Ricky for sending me some of this extremely limited tea! I’ve been holding off reviewing this one for a while because I wanted to make sure I’d have ample time to give it my complete, undivided attention as it deserves. Unflavored blacks are my favorites, and from what I hear, this is quite good!

This is a very dark tea. One could easily mistake it for a cup of coffee if their nose wasn’t working right. It doesn’t smell anything like coffee, though. It smells sweet and smokey, almost like a BBQ but without the meaty-ness (I’m a vegetarian and I’ve never had BBQ’d anything, so my description might be a bit off – forgive me!).

The fist sip was very smokey and it had a slight honey taste to it. As I take other sips and hold them in my mouth longer, I can taste some caramel – wonderful, wonderful caramel. This is a very bold tea, no doubt about it. It’s not for the faint of heart. This could certainly stand up to some cream and sugar and I imagine it’d taste divine.

This was my first A&D tea, and it was quite yummy. Thanks again, Ricky!

P.S: Rawr.