Fortnum & Mason

Had this earlier today from mom’s stash of tea. While its not a bad little cup, it was a little too bitter for me at 3mins. I likely won’t get another chance to have some but if I did I’d try 2.5 minutes with water just a little cooler, to see if that helps. I much prefer the breakfast tea I have from fortnums to this one but it was good to try.

Thank you very much NofarS for this sample.

After my manic cupboard searching which was made much easier thanks to yesterdays cleaning I came across this Darjeeling sample. Just what I have been looking for.

The leaves are crisp and pungent with thick floral and perfumey musk tones. Certainly one of the strongest Darjeelings that I have sniffed.

Once steeped the tea is light brown and orange in colour and has a musky floral and fruity aroma.

Flavour is delicate in terms of flowers and fruit but thick on wood and musk. It is very perfumey with some dryness but light enough to still be refreshing. It also has a slightly sour tang but it quickly subsides. I actually brewed this one a little weaker than I usually would based primarily on it’s very strong raw scent. I’m glad I did because the levels are ok, it’s not as floral as I was hoping for but nice by all accounts.

I am still on the hunt for the perfect Darjeeling….

This is certainly one of my favourites.

I was in London a few weeks ago, and went to one of my “tea heavens”—Fortnum & Mason. I picked up this gem and let me tell you, it’s pretty perfect.

It’s slightly citrus-y, complemented by bergamot. The nice thing about this one is that the citrus-bergamot flavoures don’t overpower the tea. Seriously, this is one well balanced blend.

Happy to have it in my cupboard now, so I have a little cup of London every morning!

Drinking a cup of this with milk and a touch of sugar. Solid breakfast tea that brews a rich coppery red colour.

Had a cup of this, with milk, this morning. Not as strong as I thought, but still a good breakfast tea. Reserving judgement for later – I’ve decided to take my time with marks from now on, giving each tea at least two separate tastings before rating it. But for now this tea is in the 70-80 range – a good, solid breakfast tea, but not something to go out of your way to find.

No notes yet.

Another tea from a swap with Sil.

This is a bold breakfast blend. The assam is malty. I want to say its robust, but I would not normally have used that term to describe it until I read the description. There is a roasty taste to it and there is a very slight sweetness to the tea, but it does leave a bitter aftertaste.

This does make a good breakfast tea, gives a kick to start the day.

Thanks again Sil!

It’s a good quality daily drink Darjeeling. A light and refreshing tea, it has a gentle, smooth taste; smells pretty good, too.

Like what is said: Darjeeling and Assam aren’t usually combined. I personally am not fully convinced by this blend.
The dry tea smell great, whilst the tea liquid doesn’t smell much. It’s defitely not bad tea, just I couldn’t see the point of it. The light fragrant of Darjeeling is not pronounced, and the richness of Assam is not enough there. There is a astrigency in mouth which is not much balanced by the ‘remain flavour’. In the end you kind of have to put in a little bit milk, but it’s also a bit too light for adding milk…
I don’t know, or there’s a way to brew it nicely?
Again, I really like the smell of dry tea though.

It’s an expensive tea. London Harrods also sell Dikom estate Assam in their golden tin series, but maybe this one is higher level. I got 50g, steeped a little amount in half cup of hot water (can’t get hot enough water in my office so might try another temp next time).
It has the dark amber colour of Assam tea, also the malty, or say a bit mature, woody or earthy smell of Assam. Other than that, it almost tastes like a very good Darjeeling 2nd flush: sweet and smooth, almost no astrigency, and a nice ‘remain taste’ in mouth and throat. The remain taste is obviously Assam though.
I didn’t drink it with sugar and milk, and I wouldn’t want to put them in this tea. It’s tasty enough to drink it alone, and I don’t think milk will do much good for this quite luxury tea.

Compare to F&M’s Darjeeling Green, the Green Ceylon has much taste as a tea. Surely the processing methods are different, I guess the Green Ceylon got a bit ‘fire’ to remove the raw greeny smell and release more flavour. It tastes interesting as a green tea: golden color liquid with a hint of green, smells refreshing and tastes balanced. The sweetness back the throat is quite pronounced. The second brew is also very nice. More elegant than some strong Chinese green tea, but not as weak as Darjeeling green. One of my favorite green tea.

The question is: why you would want to try a Darjeeling Green??

This tea has a very ‘green’ leaf smell, well, it actually looks very green. That fresh but over-raw smell gone after putting in hot water… but no much other scent coming out. The tea taste alright, slightly bitter and quite a bit of astrigency. A tiny bit of sweetness. In general, very very light, and if you over brew it (over time of over amount of leaves), the astrigency becomes too pronuonced. I have tried a much more expensive Darjeeling Green, which is better but not that better. I guess it’s just how Darjeeling Green is like.

For all the F&M tea I have tried, this one is probably the only one smell most constant for dry leaf and tea liquid—- in a good way.
It’s a fragrant tea, not the floral or fruity smell, but a pleasantly mature, not over smokey scent. Although the liquid is quite dark in color, it’s surprisingly not over astrigent and actually quite tasty.

a friend gifted me with this tea. i am a fan of Darjeeling, but it is somewhat delicate. this is a lovely version, very aromatic. i may have steeped a wee bit too long at five minutes.

It is not said that which estate or which flush this tea from. I guess it’s a blend so the flavour might vary every year. The one I got is an old one that expires in autumn of 2013 (which I got it half-price).
I think lower temp works for me for fine darjeeling tea. When using slightly lower temp, I found this tea has an elegant smell and soft sweetness, astringency basically not exist. A light sweetness stays at throat but not too strong. More ‘easy-drinking’ than certain more expensive estate darjeeling. The best temp to drink is when it’s warm.
Very happy about this tea.

given to me by a friend. i’m overjoyed at how lovely this is. strong enough, yet still tasty. love the malty flavour. it has substance.

a friend gave me this marvelous tea. it’s rare that i can find a tea that is strong enough, but this one gets there.

Mucho gracias to Sil for this sample!
I am really liking this blend. Uber yummy!! Reminds me of the Strawberry tea I bought from Pippins last summer, and still have a smidge left of, but it’s lost all it’s flavour since I didn’t have a tin for it and so ended up storing it in it’s gold foil baggie.
Anyhow, I digress.
This tea tastes just like a strawberry campino candy! Creamy and sweet. Yum. I love that it was amazing without any additives, but just a touch of sugar, as in 1/3 tsp, made it into a truly decadent dessert. I should have waited til later in the day haha.
The black base is nice as well, standing up to the flavouring. In some ways I think it is very similar to the 52Teas black base, only smoother and not so abrasive.

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml

A little too astringent. I think that I must have used too much leaf. I should use only 1 tbp for 375 ml in the future. Good strawberry flavour.

Thanks to Sil for sharing!

I think I have only ever had a tea or two from this company that is why I chose to swipe it from the ’here’s hoping ’traveling tea box today! I will be replacing it with something else. In the meantime I wanted to share with you my findings on this tea while I was sipping it!

Right away I noticed the vibrant maroon type glow this tea had once it was infused! It’s a gorgeous color! The aroma is somewhat bakey and croissant like but also a little like sun dried tomatoes. YUM!

The flavor is a little woodsy but also a bit minerally – like ‘stones’ almost like some oolongs I have tried. There is a sturdy black tea finish that has a hint of bitterness to it – but in a good way.

I really like this tea – the flavor is full and rich in spots – but I have the say the aroma is what makes me want to continue drinking it! Ahhhhh!

This is a fantastic blend. The citrus is quite strong as soon as you open it (which I like), and is prominent in the taste. I only steeped it for 4 minutes, though I think it could’ve stood a little longer. I had it with one milk. Will add more notes for sugar/steeping time.

Had some of this today while running a few tea related errands :) I like that the strawberry doesn’t overpower the black tea base, though i wish id had a bit of sweetner to add to it just to see how that changes the blend. next time maybe! Overall i will enjoy drinking this one :)

backlog from yesterday day. I wanted to try this since my mom picked this up without asking me when she was in london haha. I have to say, i can get behind this as an every day morning tea. There isn’t a lot going on with it but it’s bold and black without being too bitter/astringent. I don’t get too much malty, but that’s maybe because i’m used to some of verdant’s malty teas heh. overall not too shabby, but also not a good tea for anyone who doesn’t like robust blacks.

Not feeling so good this morning…I drank this on the way to work as it is slightly sweet and honeyed. See previous notes for HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS TEA!