Damn Fine Holiday Blend

It is raining HARD this lazy Sunday. Already went to early service and everyone came home starving (LOL! Starving at 10:30 am and I had breakfast before we left!) so we made a quick “rat lunch” – JacquelineM understands that is grilled cheese sandwich and tea! I made a single cup of this to test before Wednesday tea party. It is quite good and I took it sans additions. I was only brewing a single cup and I didn’t check to see how many ounces my cup held – it is one I don’t usually use – so I think I made this a little on the weak side. Still, it was good and met my parameters: not bitter, not too astringent, not screaming ASSAM! at me. I imagine that brewed properly and perhaps with the addition of milk and sugar, this is going to be a cup good enough to elicit a happy sigh from everyone!

This tea really hit the spot for me today, snowed in as I am. I’m generally not one for abstract analysis of the imagery-type variety, but today this tea seems like a perfect reflection of the snow-and-ice-covered world outside: bold and interesting, yet smooth and quiet at the same time. It’s tough to nail down a perfect description though…it’s not smoky like A&D’s Carävan, but there’s maybe a suggestion of it in there somewhere along with a hint of sweetness. I might describe it differently tomorrow, but I do say that it’s quite good and I quite like it.

Oh, this is good. This is wonderful. Bold and flavorful, but not bitter. Damn fine tea indeed. Words don’t do it justice.

Okay, friends. I’m really trying to contain myself here.

This tea is ridiculously good. I’m sensing Keemun, Darjeeling, and something sweeter? Yunnan? It’s smoky in a very smooth way with a sweetness and spice that is hard to describe. How did I fit that many adjectives into one sentence? But seriously, it’s all the right amounts of those components wrapped up in a warming cup that will truly complete you. I’m overwhelmed, really.

Shout out to Charles and Erik, who had two fine artists (Paul, age 10 and Maggie, age 6) decorate my shipped boxes with fantastic pictures, as per a silly special request in the shipping notes. Thank you, young artists, and thanks for such a lovely cuppa as well! Truly inspiring.

Two cups of this lovely blend today on a cool, grey day. Perfect start to my week!

Thanks to Ricky, I now possess a tea by A&D! I’ve been meaning to try their teas for quite some time. I really enjoy this one- it’s a full, rich and dark black blend. Lots of Yunnan flavor, maybe a hint of smokiness. Maybe a touch of Keemun? It also has a subtle sweetness lurking in there. This tea is so rich and smooth, very comforting!! Especially on this frigid day. I don’t usually like to add milk to my teas, but I bet this one would do well with it. I think I’ll try doing that with the next cup! I wish I could cozy up under a blanket with this one!

What can I say that hasn’t already be said? I love this tea! A&D managed to get a bunch of bold, strong teas to live and work together in harmony! This is absolutely my most favorite black tea right now. And yes, I too was a sucker for the sweater-knit AT-ATs on the label =)

Wow, I finally steeped this correctly today. I’ve been consistently either over-brewing this tea, or putting too few leaves in, or not warming up the cup or pot enough. This tea is a bit fussier than some, for sure, but it’s completely worth it. It’s a bit of a paradox with tea, because that moment when you aren’t yet caffeinated enough to do things right is when you have to figure out how to brew correctly!

Also, it goes really, really well with cinnamon sugar coffee cake.

Dry leaves smell like muscat. Brews rich amber and smells like honey and grape. Tastes mildly malty with a hint of smoke and aftertaste of hay. Full mouth feel. Moderate astringency. A little bitterness. A solid, archetypal black Tea (with a capital “T”).