Caravan

Doulton’s Shakespeare: a Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act I scene 1

For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In complement extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.
Othello Act I, scene 1, 61-65

Today my Shakespeare prize that Doutlon created arrived to a standing ovation. I am rather overwhelmed by her generosity and will definitely “pay it forward” in the future as soon as I can put together something even half as lovely as what she did. There’s even a lovely handmade knitted tea cozy included – I’ll create a flickr account just so I can post a picture. It’s so perfect for my teapot Tim! There’s a beautiful block print card featuring a scene from Julius Caesar with a handwritten note. Thank you so much Doulton!

Now, to the toughest part: choosing the very first tea. After oohing, aahing, and squeeing over all the samples I knew the one that would persuade me. The one that I’d been avoiding because I knew my heart might break once this series was sold out. Caravan by A&D.

Throughout these “Shakespeare” tasting notes I’m hoping to label each tea either a comedy, tragedy, history, sonnet, or character. This one’s a character and one of my favorites: Iago. Here’s the persuasive bad boy whom I love to hate (and vice versa). I really didn’t think I’d find him so soon into this box if ever. This is different than any smoky tea that I’ve had so far. Most smoky teas remind me of campfires. This is not a campfire. This is the remains of a forest fire that happened at least a year ago. It’s rugged and masculine and it makes me jealous. I do not want to share this tea with anyone. There’s so little of it for such a short period of time and it brings out the irrational MINE feeling.

I think that I won’t fall into the same trap that Othello did. Or at least I hope that I won’t. I feel like I’ve finally made peace with all “limited edition” teas and am willing to have my heart broken when they’re gone. I shall openly wear my heart on my sleeve and be willing to have the jackdaws peck away. No ulterior motive. No jealousy. I just want wonderful tea while it lasts. TG

Since Steepster is featuring Andrews & Dunham today, I thought maybe it was time for yet another debut for me. Because their Caravan is the third of the smokies that Auggy shared with me. I can’t actually remember what anybody has said about this one, which makes it a brand new experience for me. I’m expecting something Russian Caravan-ish.

Lovely smoky smell, but there is also a very sweet note here. Like syrup-y sweet. And something vaguely spicy.

As for the taste, OMG!

Oh! Em! Gee! o.O

So smoky! So sweet! SO GOOD!

It’s primarily sweet, as if it had sugar in it, and then the smoke is just rounding it off and preventing it from being too sweet. This is like SO seriously good. I’m all…

Excuse me, Steepsterites. I can’t finish this post. This tea and me, we would like to spend some time alone…

Thank you Auggy!!! (Again)

ETA: If I give it a double-lenght steep, I can get two good steeps out of these leaves. A bit thinner the second time around, but definitely still very nice. Little bit of cane sugar added to enhance the sweetness.

I do seem to have contracted a case of the mini-burps which is quite annoying, but hopefully not tea related…

So. Came back from dinner out and as we were driving up, noticed that the lawn care people had finished mulching all our raised flower beds a couple of days ago and that some of the petals of the spring blooming trees are falling down on it – there’s the last of the cherry blooms floating down as we speak and right out in front, there are dogwood blossoms sprinkled on the mulch. Now here’s the thing – I thought that the drying white dogwood blossoms on the black licorice mulch looked just like black tea w/ magnolia or some such thing. Do you agree with me that maybe I should cut back on tea?

Anyway, back from dinner out and I wanted this tea! There had been steaks and baked potatoes and baked yam and ribs and salads. My hubby came home requesting tea so he got some ginger tea concoction, my kids got Kusmi Caramel (a family favorite after-dinner tea), and I made myself a nice strong batch of Caravan! Just wanted something strong and tasty and this fits the bill! After all that for dinner, it’s smooth and slightly salty and strong/robust and slightly smoky (isn’t it funny that I don’t even notice the smoky aspect where once I really dreaded it? It’s now just part of this wonderful black tea).

Today’s version: 1 level Tbsp loose tea, 16 oz boiling water, steeped 5-6 minutes or so (I was busy making the other teas and didn’t time it exactly).

OH YUM. To think that I was so hesitant to try this tea in the first place and now, several weeks later, crave it! I’m bumping the ratings up a tad because I am craving this tea more and more (at all hours of the day!).

Yesterday morning, Caravan was calling my name and I could not say no. Afterward, I did not regret it one bit. I upped the steeping time 15 seconds from last time and was rewarded by a mug that was like 2nd steep Caravan goodness with a bit of the strength of Caravan steeped longer. The 2nd steep took another minute with no bitterness and retained the deliciousness that I love.

(PS For those who follow my tealogs, the recent addition of italicized notes at the bottom are so I can hop on Steepster when I haven’t had a tea in awhile and easily see how I preferred it steeped, given the vague timestamps once a tealog is over a month old. I had noticed that I’d have varying times and temps as I experimented with a new tea and either couldn’t tell which one I’d settled on or couldn’t tell easily without reading through several notes when all I wanted to do was check quickly and make a cup of tea.)

Good 1st steep: 3 min 30-45 sec. 3 min 30 sec is close to 2nd steep yum. 3 min 45 sec adds a bit of strength. 4 min is a bit stronger than I like.

Good 2nd steep: 6 min plus. Takes 6 min with no bitterness. I think it could go 7 min.

I’m seriously in love with smoky teas. No, correction: I’m seriously in lust with them. It’s a physical craving. None of this emotional, touchy feely crap. We’re talking pure, visceral enjoyment. That being said, yeah, I’m looking forward to trying this tea.

The leaf smells awesome. Sweet and smoky – a bit like a sweet barbecue sauce. (That’s a good thing, in case you were wondering). So hello lapsang souchong! Once I’ve poured it into my cup, it smells a bit earthy, like a good Yunnan. I have no idea if there is Yunnan in here, but I do get something that smells like it. There’s also something that smells a lot like Jackee Muntz, so some Keemun.

The taste is much less smoky than the smell… there’s got to be some Yunnan in here. Because that’s the main taste. A nice, smooth, clean, earthy black tea. That’s not to say it isn’t smoky. It is, but the smoke doesn’t overpower (for me). Then there is a little chaser of high, sweet smoky (I’m going to say this is the lapsang souchong) and a darker sweet but still smoky taste (which reminds me of the Jackee I just had so I’m again going with Keemun) sort of wraps around the whole tea taste.

This strikes me as very coffee-like. Not in taste so much as overall taste intensity. Very dark flavored. Sweet on the edges with an acidic smoothness (is there such a thing?) and richness to it. Not a chewy tea, but there is definitely some weight to it. The husband, on the other hand, is reminded of barbecue sauce (which I can totally see). He says that this is something he’d like on meat, but not in tea. Then he had me smell the pecan-smoke Liquid Smoke and while the Liquid Smoke is much smokier smelling, with the sweetness I can see a similarity even if the tea is lighter (not light, just lighter than the Liquid Smoke).

So yeah, I love this tea. It’s dark and broody and smoky and sweet and perfect for an overcast rainy day like today.

Sorry Yunnan Golden Tips, I am officially casting you aside like yesterdays jam.
The aroma of Caravan’s leaves are overwhelmingly smokey, but the flavour rounds out to that perfect balance of tea and woodsmoke with a faint hint of sweetness… I’m completely in love. Smooth enough to drink plain, plus it held almost all of its kick for a second steep – you should order some now before its gone for good.

I’m so cute-ed out by this company, you have no idea. And not just for entertaining my tea gang idea/reality on twitter. Prompt international delivery, rad packaging, awesome wee extras. Can’t wait to patch up and roll through town with my gang, terrorizing people who drink bad tea…

It’s FINALLY happened…

I finally got to try this tea. I’m so happy right now I could pee…
ok…well, maybe not pee, but I’m pretty darned happy!!!!

Special thanks to Gretchen for this – got it in the mail today! YAY!

I have had BAD experiences with smoky teas and ok experiences with smoky teas. I can honestly say this is the BEST experience with a smoky tea – to date – for me!

Well done!
Great, great Cup!

So here’s what happened.

I put this into the Breville to steep, and then forgot about it and took my 4 year old to pre-K. When I came home I remembered, and the timer on the Breville indicated it had been available for drinking for approximately 54 minutes.

I figured it would be cold and probably not very good, but I tasted it anyway.

WOW.

It was lukewarm. But the first thing I noticed was the mouthfeel. Thick. Not really chewy, but thick and textured, somewhere between broth and syrup. And then, unexpectedly, the most wonderful flavor. Gently smoky, with a naturally sweet, smooth undercurrent of tea that tastes like… bread on the initial sip, and as it rounds out in the mouth, plums?

Enough. I have to go make more of this and see how it is hot.

While it’s making, I’m backtracking to the dry tea. Fairly large, brown tippy leaves. A very smoky smell, that has the salty, meaty smoke thing going on.

And yes, it’s even better hot! The thickness of the mouthfeel isn’t as apparent, but there’s a carby sweetness, sort of yam-like, to both the aroma and the flavor. The smoke is an accent, not the main event, but a noticeable one. There’s a lot of depth and character here, something that reminds me of what I like about Samovar’s black teas. That particular quality is more apparent as the tea cools. Too cold, as my first cup has now become, and the magic goes poof. Would not recommend this as an iced tea. But any range between right out of the pot and lukewarm is delicious. Like a nice wine that’s left to breathe, it changes with time. One flavor may not be better than the others, just different and equally wonderful.

I was moved to give this a 100, but I can’t bring myself to do it on a limited edition. It would just be too sad to have decided on a perfect tea, and then have it be unavailable.

Ever had maple-smoked bacon?

I wanted to spoil myself this evening, so I added a tsp of maple syrup to my smoky Caravan. So very delicious! 2nd steep, 6 minutes, likewise. The sweetness and the flavor just make a lovely counterpoint to the savory smoke. I have dark maple syrup, so it’s more flavorful than sugary-sweet, so I wouldn’t normally use it in tea, but I thought it would go really well with Caravan and it does.

Of the three teas in the third series, this was the tea I feared the most. I am not a smoky tea fan by any stretch of the imagination. I can appreciate a delicate smoky back note to a tea so long as it enhances the overall tea flavor. But one that is so strong in its smoky essence that this is the first aroma I sense, and the first flavor I taste… not for me.

But I still ordered the collection as I was lured in by the Steepster Select offer… and I do love the Earl Grey and especially the Jasmine of this collection. And… I must admit, I LOVE the tin and its graphics. Reminds me of Motley Crue.

Yet, I am a taster, so I didn’t want to let this tea to without tasting it. It is smoky. I “rinsed the tea.” It is still smoky. I added raw sugar. It is still smoky. Then I heated up some milk, added a dash of cinnamon to the milk, and whipped it into a froth, and turned this smoky tea into a smoky latte. It’s still smoky. But, with the little touch of cinnamon and the latte… it’s a tolerable smoke for me.

My dear Doulton … if you don’t mind, I am sending the rest of this to you. I have seen how much you love it, and I truly appreciate the work you put into the Dammann Frères teas. I hope that this small token will show you how much I do appreciate it. I also hope you don’t mind… but, I took the tea out of the tin. I … um… collect tins. And I love this one… The tea, sans the tin, but safely deposited into a tea storage bag… will be headed your way in tomorrow’s post.

I love this tea. The dry aroma seems to arise from the dead ashes of last nights campfire with the assorted drippings of the barbeque’s mixed grill and even the s’mores.
The taste is smoky deliciously deep.

This is one of those teas that make me want to expand and expound like Walter Pater did in his study of the Renaissance period. He wrote: “A counted number of pulses only is given to us of a variegated, dramatic life. How may we see in them all that is to seen in them by the finest senses? How shall we pass most swiftly from point to point, and be present always at the focus where the greatest number of vital forces unite in their purest energy? To burn always with this hard, gemlike flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life. In a sense it might even be said that our failure is to form habits: for, after all, habit is relative to a stereotyped world, and meantime it is only the roughness of the eye that makes any two persons, things, situations, seem alike.”

For me, this tea burns with Pater’s gemlike flame. It seems ancient and wise as if it had witnessed the lichen growing on the rocks and the mosses forming around the firs.

I do love smoky teas with a passion. I wish that Andrews and Dunham would maintain a constant collection of teas. If they always sold Caravan and Jackee Muntz I would be relaxed and happy and not need to constantly roam, with a hungry heart, looking for the next great Smoky Tea.