Fortnum & Mason

Had a really bad cup of coffee this morning, and this tea washed all the flavour away in a pool of smooth, slightly dry, bright sweetness. A pick me up if ever there was one. I’m bumping up its rating. The only minus to this tea is that it’s not particularly interesting – what you taste at first is what you get all throughout the cup

This tea brews bright red, with a smooth, almost creamy feel to it and no astringency. It’s a wonderful example of a Ceylon – a cheerful breakfast tea that can be brewed strong ad taken with milk and yet I also enjoy it in the afternoon and evening, brewed lighter. A comforting, reliable tea that your guests are guaranteed to enjoy, no matter who they are. It even brews to a good iced tea. Keep a caddy of it in your cupboard (or at least a box of tea bags) “just in case”. It is a safe bet, and money well spent – the tea that will get you out of a pinch :)
This tea is a Ceylon blend, which perhaps explains why it’s precise taste notes elude me still. Oh well, just another good excuse to brew a cuppa ;)

This tea brews to a reddish gold colour that has a pronounced yet not unpleasant astringency to it. It is has the muscatel flavours that F&M advertise, but if you like your tea with milk or don’t enjoy teas with a kick then perhaps you would do better buying one of F&M’s other brews. As a Darjeeling this tea is good, it just isn’t very memorable.

Had a nice cup of this this afternoon. Definitely a tea that I will repurchase, as I’m close to running out.

Haven’t had this in a while. One of my favourite black teas, and I missed it. Glad to taste it again.

Haven’t had this in a while, and I’ve missed its slightly smokey presence. F&M teas are overpriced, but they tend to be top notch (some blends are hit and miss, though). My regular tea partners weren’t at work today, so I had to drag newcomers to enjoy tea with me. I prefer sharing tea with other people to drinking it by myself. How about you?

A beautiful cup of this in the afternoon, as a pick-me-up.

New caddy of this at work. One teaspoon of leaves in a brew basket made for four cups of tea of regular strength, and two lighter ones. I wouldn’t push it further, but it just shows that good tea can be economical, if you rebrew it.

Had a cup of this yesterday at work, and today again. This is hands down my favorite Keemun, and one of my favorite teas. The smokiness vs. maltiness ratio in this tea is just perfect for me.

I am down with a cold, and am drinking tea with great abundance. The heating is out, and I’m waiting for a technician to arrive and fix it. Meanwhile, I have pulled out my traditional comforter, F&M’s Keemun. I’m not feeling it’s smokey, nutty, malty goodness quite as well today, but it was good enough to cheer me up and warm my hands.

Sipdown! This is the last of this 125g at work tin, but I still have an at home tin, and I also think that I have another spare. This is one of my top ten teas, and I like to drink it best after lunch or in the evening. I highly recommend it, even though the company could be more welcoming and warm, and the tea is rather expensive.

My favourite Keemun, and one of my favourite blacks! It tastes like roasted chestnuts by a crackling fire, and at this time of year, when the weather is turning, I could drink it exclusively. I am actually down to one last sipdown on this tin (my at work tin), but I have a new one lined up and ready to go. Excellent alone, can take milk (although it takes some of the delightful and gentle smokey edge off), and with very little astringency. This is not a kick you out of bed tea, but a fine afternoon companion. Highly recommended!

This tea is such a hit in the office that it has converted avowed low quality tea bag drinkers to high quality loose leaf tea drinkers. Just mentioning that I’m going to make a cup pulls people away from their keyboards and screens. I just love it’s sweetness and subtle smokiness: it always makes me feel better, warmer, more alert. One of my top 10 teas, easily.

Backlog from Thursday. Had this tea at work with two colleagues after giving a presentation about TEA to my department. Worked on the presentation for two days and was super worried that it would bore people, but it turned out to be a huge success! I’ve already had people come and ask to try white tea, or puerh :)
Anyway, this is turning out to be my comfort tea, a dependable, smoky delight that always calms and cheers me up

I’ve had a very hectic week, so I’ll be doing some heavy backlogging today :)
Finally took the time to properly brew and taste this tea. Fantastic – sweet, with a slightly smokey taste, and a roasted hazelnut vibe to it. A very good tea that is going straight to my to buy list.

Back logging from yesterday. A great afternoon tea

A delicate and naturally sweet tea – made a perfect pre-lunch drink

Slightly acidic aftertaste. Good post lunch tea

A large leaf tea that brews light red with a smooth sweet flavour and a slightly astringent aftertaste. It’s honey-like flavours also work fantastically well with milk, providing that you brew it slightly stronger. A wonderfully versatile tea

Upping the rating of this tea after two more cups. It is much more delicate than an Assam and has very little astringency. Will buy a pack for my cupboard