Michelle Butler Hallett

1.5 tsp for 350mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

My very last scrapings from my second tin of this stellar blend … I’ve got three more tins on the way to me, because this dependable, invigorating black tea blend doesn’t get bitter and has lots of nuance and depth. Magic. It’s gonna be a long wait for this package, though.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @ 95C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

I need to give my tin of Double Knit blend, which only arrived on Friday, a little rest. Between sharing some samples and, er, drinking a lot of it myself, my tin’s already one-third gone. So I rifled through my holdings on this overcast day when I feel ghastly and thought: Yeah. Horns up. Caravan Resurrected.

A light-to-medium-bodied black blend — mostly China black, I think — with some delicious and nuanced smoke flavour. It never gets tarry. With slightly cooler water, 95C versus boiling, sweeter notes release. The smoke tastes very natural, and a tiny bit savoury, almost salty, though that note is not as strong as it was in A & D’s original Caravan. The smoke is neither dusty nor powdery, as happens in some Caravans and Lapsangs. Refreshing and distinct. Not my everyday cup, but always enjoyed.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

WOW.

I don’t drink a lot of Earl Grey, because I’ve had so much crappy Earl Grey, stuff that tastes like it could be furniture polish (Twinings), or just tastes stale, or uses a crappy tea base (again, Twinings). Damn Fine’s Earl Grey, which came with in a set with Caravan and Jasmine, was lovely. I think Mount Gray is even better.

The black tea base seems to be a China tea: light body and a slightly sweet finish, no malt. The bergamot is beautiful. Not harsh but deeply fragrant. I brought some Mount Gray to my worklace, and I can smell it through a sealed Ziploc bag. The mineral finish works very well with the bergamot, which does not overpower the tea. All in all, an excellent, and vert refreshing, Earl Grey. Once again, Damn Fine lives up to their name.

1.5 tsp @100C, 4 minutes, drunk bare.

Pale liquor. Astringent and mineral — muscat and cold winds and clean, clean water. Leaves are tippy and greenish-brown. Earth notes. Just lovely, if you like a Darjeeling or a Nepal tea.

4.5 tsp for 750mL water @95C, steeped 4 minutes 30 seconds — Breville, basket cycle on.

The last of my precious Keemun Hao Ya.

RED liquor. Toasty, biscuity notes. Distant smoke in the nose. Some wineyness. A bit of oak. All the usual Keemun Hao Ya gorgeousness. Such a beautiful black tea.

1.5 tsp for 300mL @ 95C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

I try to save this Keemun for the weekends, because it’s expensive and hard to get, but after another try-to-choke-down-the-new-Davids-Breakfast fiasco, I figured I deserved this.

As always, a delight. I find the slightly cooler water brings out sweeter notes and more of the orchid scent. (The cooler water also tames some of the bitter smoke in the lower grades of Keemun, which can get a bit tarry.) Some lovely biscuit notes tonight, too.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

Trying this one again tonight, knowing this time to expect Ceylon.

CEYLON CEYLON CEYLON CEYLON CEYLON

Which is fine, if you want Ceylon. I am still grumpy about the change of this blend, as it’s hard to find a blend that’s got some China black in it. Yunnan is listed on this batch, but I swear, I cannot taste it. If you put a gun to my head, I might pick out some Darjeeling. Tastes a lot like Red Rose with some wood notes. Not brilliant. Made this for the sake of deciding which tea to drink this evening, and I’m expecting this one to go down the drain again.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @ 100C, steeped 4 minutes. Drunk bare.

Best of the Assams I’ve drunk, and I’ve drunk a lot of Assam. Damn Fine’s Captain Assam comes very, very close — God, I miss the Captain — but Kopili Estate wins in the end. Never bitter. Juicy and bright and creamy and medium-to-heavy bodied. Packs a nice caffeine hit.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @95C, steeped 4 minutes 30 seconds.

I’m experimenting with slightly cooler water for black tea. I am finding that Assams and Ceylons seem better with the full rolling boil at 100C. So does Scottish Blend, a CTC that seems heavy on the Kenyan tea. The 95C water doesn’t make the tea and sweeter, as happens with some China black, just duller. Live and learn.

WORTH EVERY PENNY. My only quarrel is the teeny-weeny tea scoop that hardly looks like it holds even half a tsp. Minor stuff.

I made two pots of tea in this baby yesterday, both black — Nepal Black (Jun Chiyabari Estate) and Assam (Kopili Estate) — and almost fainted in bliss. The basket cycle is glorious. I used to wonder if the tea steeped properly, seeing as the leaves spend a fair bit of time ascending back up the pole, and if you’re only making a small amount of tea, the basket will leave the water. It’s not an issue. If I want the tea strong, I scoop in a little extra. The basket cycle gets the tea stirred as it steeps and makes for complexities of flavour and aroma that you can’t get making tea one cup at a time. A weekend pleasure.

Yes, it’s expensive. But it makes good tea even better. What else might you spend that money on that will give you such lasting, and repeated, pleasure?

2 tsp for 300mL water @95C, steeped four minutes.

Yeah. That’s a lot of tea, but the leaves are long and fluffy.

Dark brass to copper liquor. Honey, musk and minerals. Not as peppery as a batch I drank from a few years ago but still lovely. Smells like an old forest: a bit dark, a bit sweet, ancient mysteries. Superb black tea. No bitterness.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped 5 minutes, drunk bare.

Mmmmmm.

Tasting the new version of David’s Organic Breakfast Blend really pissed me off, so I was picking up this cup with apprehension — but ahhhhh. In with the good air, out with the bad.

Honey notes, some Darjeeling-y crispness and even distant muscatel, and a Yunnan-like sweetness and smooth finish. Some spiciness in the scent and foretaste that morphs into floral and bready notes. No malt. Medium body with a slightly buttery mouthfeel that brings out the crispness and sweetness. Delicious.

1.5 tsp for 300mL @100C, steeped 4 minutes.

They’ve changed it.

This was a blend of Keemun, Assam, Yunnan and Uva. On the DavidsTea site, on the front page for black teas, it still is. When you get to the indiviaul listing, though, it’s now a blend of Darjeeling, Yunnan, and Ceylon. Could we get it together here, people? Grumble snort.

Ceylon, huh? I dunno …

And what’s with DavidsTea and Keemun? First, they dropped their Keemun offering, and now this blend no longer has Keemun. I had liked how this blend was heavier on China than India black tea.

So yeah, I am not feeling kindly inclined.

Lots of copper from the Ceylon, and that sunshiny but slightly flat taste some Ceylons offer.

Where’s the Darjeeing? Where’s the Yunnan?

A Ceylon-heavy blend. Fine, if you really like Ceylons. Disappointing, if you were in the mood for China. As for being in the mood for Darjeeling … yeah, go get some decent Darjeeling.

Not bitter, and not acidic — but only a medim body. No heft, no snap, no surprise — just a lot of coppery Ceylon. If you like coppery Ceylons, you might really enjoy this incarnation of the blend.

Bleah. Hauling my rating down.

1.25 tsp for 250mL water @90C, steeped 4 minutes.

I’m at a workshop and depending on big urn of hot water for tea. The water is hot and steamig but not bubbling, so I am guessing it’s about 90C. This temp makes for a creamy, heavy-bodied Keemun today, with sweet and almost fruity notes, plus a lovely floral scent. HEAVEN.

1.5 tsp for 300mL @ 95C, steeped 6 minutes.

Yes, I steeped it a long time. And that’s okay, because it did not get bitter.

I hardly tasted the mate at all, getting much more of the honeydew and green rooibos. It’s sweet, and it tastes mainly of honeydew melon. Quite agreeable, if you like honeydew. I’ll report later on any mate buzz.

3 tsp for a 500mL pot @ 100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

I made this a little strong, but it was also a matter of emptying the packet.

My local indie tea shop, Britannia Teas and Gifts, is shifting to online. The bricks and mortar store is gone. I will remain an online customer, and I most definitely need to re-stock on this beautiful blended black tea.

Bright, winey, and malty, with a good body.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @ 100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

Horns up, babeh!

Light to medium body China black teas with a mineral finish and a lovely bit of smoke. Doesn’t pack the caffeine punch of, say, a good Assam, but it does give a lift and a buzz. I miss the savoury note from the first edition of Caravan, but whaddya do — tea plants have a mind of their own. This is still one of the best Caravans I’ve ever had. Too many of them out there are dusty and point to the number one failing of many flavoured teas: a crappy tea base. Not this one. Caravan Resurrected can also be a very contemplative cup as you sit there and try to puzzle out all the nuances. Dry leaf looks a bit twiggy.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

A very good Ceylon. It doesn’t scream ‘copper’, like Lover’s Leap Estate does, but it is unmistakably Ceylon black tea. I tend for forget about it, as I like to around with the fancy China teas and the bold Assams, but Ahmnad’s Ceylon is quiet, dependable, and delicious. No bitterness at 4 minutes.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @95C, steeped four minutes, drunk bare.

I am experimenting with cooler water on black teas, but for this robust blend, I think a full 100C boil does the best job of bringing out the creamy heft of Assam. The smokier (Keemun?) tea dominated and got a little bitter. Very enjoyable, still, and it gave me a great boost this evening.

5 tsp for 1,000mL water @ 95C, Breville, four minutes 30 seconds, basket cycle on.

Ohhhhh, yes, baby. I’ve been waiting to treat myself with this lovely Keemun in the Breville. Today’s been rough. Tonight means Keemun Hao Ya. (Breville Tea Maker, you are my friend.)

Toasty, winey. Orchids notes. Some smoke. Some grainy/cereal notes I’ve not picked up before, a bit like Grape Nuts; I guess that’s on the toasty end of the spectrum.

Addition: I normally drink my tea bare — no milk or sugar — but this evening I added maybe 2 tsp of 2% milk to this Keemun. The milk mutes the smokiness at first, yet seems to increase the smoke in the finish. Milk als amps up the wineyness. It’s nice, but I don’t enjoy it as much.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @95C, steeped three minutes and thirty seconds.

Oh, oh, OH! I can taste orchids! The slightly cooler water brings out this tea’s sweeter, more floral notes, almost oolong-y. I used cooler water by accident. The oak and smoke and minerals remain but are gentler. So clean. Really special.

No notes yet.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped 5 minutes, drunk bare.

AHHHHHHH.

Five minutes gives a heavy-bodied, creamy Assam, still with no bitterness, some malt, and a notes of roses in the scent. So, so good.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes.

A toasty, slightly smoky, slightly winey Keemun. Orchid notes in the scent. Mineral finish. Delicious.