Fortnum & Mason

mmmmm morning tea was delicious and bold and exactly what i needed. Longest week ever coming up so i needed something to get me through the day.

T&C TTB 13/23

I had this tea a few nights ago when all the computers in my house decided not to like Steepsters, every other website worked. I finally have everything packed and ready to ship tomorrow morning for the T&C TTB I just need to catch up on here.

The tea, the tea was lovely and tasted like Spring flowers. The recommended steep time I was given was very short, less than a minute. I’m glad I followed it, the flower taste was not over powering or bitter.

Thank you bluebell for sharing

Another great black sample sent to me by the most generous Sil – thank you.

I really liked this one too. Totally different than other blends I’ve had. This was bold, but not overwhelming, not astringent, not bitter. Just a really good cup of black tea.

Drinking this one at work this morning, and it’s a bit too finicky for work. Even slightly over steeped this gets astringent. With a fairly short steep – approx 2 minutes, there are lots of stone fruit (preach – apricot?) notes to it.
I think this would be ok for me at home when I had time to treat it right, not so good at work. Thanks Sil for passing on a sample of this to me.

Sil kindly sent a bit of this my way. This is a decent blend. Clean and nice. It has a bit of strength behind it but at 3 minutes it didn’t get too bitter. Thanks, Sil! :)

Sipdown 389
One of Sil’s contributions to the BBBBox, which is currently headed my way to thwart all of my sipdown efforts. I’m sipping this one while warming up for the first of 2 weddings that I’ll be playing at today. I’ve still got about a half an hour before I need to get dressed (have I ever mentioned that I mostly live in my pajamas?), but this will be my last cup of tea this morning, as I don’t want to be water-logged at a wedding! This is earthy, bold, & actually very bright, with a kind of oaky tannin quality to it.

Another BBBB offering from Sil. I enjoyed a pot of this while teaching my Skype student, but I accidentally used a little too much leaf, so I added a splash of vanilla almond milk, and problem solved. The rest goes into the sipdown box, as there is just enough for one more cup.

This is one of Sil’s contributions to the most recent round of the BBBB, & my cup to enjoy with breakfast. It’s a decent blend.

First sipdown of the day, this is one of Sil’s BBBB offerings, a nice cup to enjoy with breakfast. That’s all I got :)

Another contribution from Sil in the BBBB, this one is more to my liking, at least in this moment. It’s deep & bold, with a slightly bitter edge. Just what the Doctor ordered (if I were to ever go to a doctor, which I don’t…)

I put a Tb in the 16oz pot & steeped this for 4 minutes. I loved it!
It was bold, well grounded without a doubt, with an interesting almost cream like flavor.
Great with breakfast!
This one is from the most recent BBBBox, contributed by Sil.

Thank you Sil for sharing this blend with me. The funniest is I hesitated to buy a tin last Wednesday while I was in La grande Épicerie – finally I decided to leave it and Sil sent me some :)

It’s a so strong assam…bitter…at the very first sip I knew I would not be able to drink it. I’ll retry with a 2 min steep to see if I can have it.
So I added milk and sugar…à l’anglaise…and it is really enjoyable, really nice.
So clearly a blend I should reserve to drink with a dash of milk.

served with toasts with butter and Tiptree crystal orange marmelade …yummy.

I’m feeling really broken today. Drained, defeated, devastated. If only tea could cure what ails me. “There are some things that it is better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark.” – Aragorn

I burnt my entire mouth yesterday on homemade beef stew, so it probably wasn’t smart to try out a new tea this morning. I think I may have about 2 taste buds left on my tongue. From the little I can taste, this may be the perfect breakfast tea. Thanks to Sil for this sample!

Thanks to Sil for this sample! This tea is heavy on the Assam, so I had to add milk and Truvia to calm things down a bit. It’s much more drinkable this way. Five minutes later and I can feel the caffeine jolt my system awake. Wow, I’m alert now!

This is a great first thing in the morning cuppa. Super strong and super bold. Meanwhile, my purr cat is keeping my feet warm. :) http://instagram.com/p/kPc4ZMF-px/

On another note, I just checked out this new “Flavors” section of the tasting note log. If you just click in the box, a dropdown menu appears with a ton of options. Curious, I scrolled through and found, among other things, “Roasted Chicken.” What tea tastes like roasted chicken??!

TTB #16

Yummy! I don’t know much about elderflower, but it seems to taste a bit like prickly pear and a little bit like quince. It gives this green a cool spin. The tea is smooth and a little bit creamy. While it is not particularly complex, I could definitely see this one as being my default-go-to tea in the afternoons!

farewell queen anne! Likely never to return to my cupboard since, while you’re a decent enough queen, you’re not amazing enough to reign for long in my cupboard :)

this one was in my travel mug today…timolino of course ‘cause it’s a keychange rememberlike tea. + maple = yumtastic…though i think that’s moer the maple than the tea lol

I had a cup of this a long time ago with my morning bagel. I’m less in love with this than i was with royal blend from F&M but it’s not a bad every day sort of tea. Only a few more sil sized cups of this left so i’ll enjoy it while i have it, but likely not a repurchase :)

another solid cup of this in the morning. I’m still insanely busy but today i’m trying to take 5 mins for myself even if it means getting up early tomorrow to catch up on work i should have done tonight. This one always goes in the keychange’s timolino since i always associate the queen with her…even if it’s queen catherine :)

Dropping the rating of this one a little. This has a bit of bitterness in the background that i don’t find terribly appealing. it’s not a bad cup, but this strikes me as more of a milk and sugar cup of tea versus royal blend that i can drink straight – my preferred way of drinking tea.