This pot of tea has been a long time in the making….
EDIT TO ADD: Their delivery service is appalling. I cannot in good conscience give this tea a good rating. Service = 0, the tea was about an 80. I loved the tea gift from my friend and wanted refills. See the places section for Fortnum & Mason – online for my review.
First of all, a dear friend was making a trip to London this past month where she usually stops at Fortnum & Mason. I asked if she would mind picking up some tea for me. After perusing the site, this is the main one I chose. It is a light and citrusy twist on Earl Grey. I really like it (which is good because she bought a big tin)! The bergamot is light and it almost tastes like there are lemons in there! Refreshing! Kind of like Lady Grey from Twinings but better.
24 oz teapot, 4 1/2 actual teaspoons tea, freshly heated water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened.
The other part of this was my new electric kettle.
Aside: I did buy an inexpensive plastic one on vacation last week because we did not have a kettle of any kind at the lake, and I was not wanting to pour boiling water on the counter every time I made tea (pouring boiling water from a saucepan is tricky and somewhat dangerous.) The plastic electric kettle was cheaper than the stovetop one at the store. Now, I have a serious electric kettle dependency…It is so fast! I am saving the plastic one for travelling.
Back to the story: I ordered the Adagio VarieTEA last May as a gift for my birthday and it arrived today. Thoughts on the Adagio kettle> Pretty slick. I was a little concerned when a few reviewed it on Adagio’s site and complained of leaking. So far, no issues, but if I had them, I am pretty sure Adagio would make it right. The buttons on the front are just touch sensitive and don’t really press. The only plasticy parts on it are the handle and a removable filter near the pour spout which is out of the way of the heating water. I am guesssing this gets pretty hot on the outside, and it was heavier than the plastic one, which is pretty much expected. The fill guage is under the handle and not super easy to read, but it works. All in all, I am happy with it, as long as it does not leak. I like that it has several setpoints at 150, 165, 180, 195, and 212, and a keep warm feature.
