Malachi McCormick's Blend

This smells awesome in the sample packet. It has that planty, earthy smell I get from good Assams with something else as well. It’s not really chocolate, not really vanilla, but it might be a hint of either of those. Not really smoke but could be a hint of that as well. The leaves are really pretty and bird nesty looking like some Ceylons (which is interesting since this doesn’t have Ceylon in it according to the picture at the top of this page).

It makes a dark, mahogany colored tea, with a sweet, smooth and malty aroma. The flavor is really yummy. It is a hearty flavor without a heaviness to it like some of the stouter breakfast teas (e.g., Queen Catherine). I’d describe it as medium bodied leaning toward full. It isn’t overly complex or deep, but it is full flavored, fairly smooth (a got tiny nip at the back of the throat, but it’s not consistent), and not overly sweet despite its malty aroma.

My main problem now is that I’m liking so many black teas, I’m not being very successful at narrowing down what I buy after sampling. With the exception of a few real stand outs, I’m getting a cluster of very goods and excellents and I’m having a hard time cutting them more finely. I also can’t keep them all in my head each time I taste a new one.

Does anyone have a systematic way of doing this successfully?

Tea of the morning…….

And a crazy morning it was! The school bus was early (the kids missed it), and as I opened the garage door to take the kids to school, the opener went kur-put which meant the car was stuck inside. Everything was resolved, eventually, and this tea along with a breakfast of wheat toast with soft boiled eggs restored my sanity. I am definitely buying some! Thank you to ashmanra for sending me a taste! It is more than a decent cup of tea in my book!

A couple of short notes today. I drank this early in the morning, and it is now late and I’m yawning!

My partner’s last name is McCormick, so when I saw this I went oh my goodness! It’s McCormick tea! I’ve been on a quest lately to find some decent, inexpensive, everyday teas and ordered a tin of this. After all, it bears the last name of someone I love very much, so for that alone I figured I could like it.

And I did! It’s not going to knock your socks off (in other words, it’s no Laoshan Black), but this had a pleasant malty flavor with a hint of cocoa, and no astringency. Although I disregarded the instructions and brewed it for 4 minutes instead of 5.

As a testament to its name, this is in fact a Decent Cup of Tea.

I have spent the morning with Malachi McCormick, the last of the black tea samples from Harney and Sons. This is described by the company as a simple and unpretentious blend of black teas. Before tasting it, I wondered if it would therefore be boring and blah. I must say no, emphatically no! It is a very flavorful cup of tea-smooth and sweet with a grainy/toasty aroma. That being said, I like black teas in general and as long as a black tea is decent, I’m probably going to like it a lot and rate it at least in the 80’s. This goes in the very good category for me, if not outstanding.

I’ve not had a good night’s sleep in almost a week. Each night I wake at 3 am and obsess about stressful matters at work and then don’t get back to sleep until 5:30 am. Since I must rise for the day at 6 am, this is completely inadequate. As a result of this lack of sleep my husband told me this morning that I look like a particularly ill raccoon.

I pulled this tea from my collection of samples because it looks like it can work caffeinated magic on my sleepy soul before a critical vendor contract meeting this morning. Straight from the envelope it smells strong and bracing. The malt rises to my nose and slaps me around a bit as if to say, “Wake up, Sleepyhead!” Once in water the flowery fragrances of Darjeeling mingle with a musky tea aroma. It smells appealing.

It brews up into a dark burgundy liquor with a nice no-nonsense sharp malty flavor with very little bitter and no astringency. I can feel it filling my veins with liquid power enabling me to negotiate well.

It is not a Dawn substitute since I wouldn’t want it strong musky malt every morning, but it’s great for mornings like today when things must get done and I lack the strength pre-tea to do them. This is truly a sturdy cup of tea.

This is a simple yet flavorful toasty-sweet tea and I really like it! It’s smooth. Another good one to have in your stash for daily or stand by…both apply!

Thank you TeaNSympathy for this generous sample! I have always wanted to try this blend, and was so happy to receive this sample. :))

It is nice sometimes to drink a cup of tea that is a good, quality cup if tea, without having to think about it too much. Enter Malachi McCormick’s Blend. It is a decently aromatic blend in the leaf and cup. Well balanced as it is, I did notice the Keemun slightly more than the Assam, which is a good thing because the Keemun aids in this tea’s smoothness. What you get is a strong yet smooth, delicious tea. I drank two cups neat, and was very satisfied.

This tea is perfect in the morning, and I think it could stand up well with a dash of milk (which I will try eventually). Now one of my go to teas when I just need a cup of tea, and don’t want to think about it. Sometimes, there is nothing more relaxing than simply having a decent cup of tea. :))

Cupped: Thursday & Friday, March 8-9, 2012.

Reviewed: Saturday, March 10, 2012.

Part of Doulton’s Nabokov prize!

It says what it does and it does what it says. The keemun and assam play delightfully together, balancing very nicely with the barest inkling of smoke.

A very nice way to start a fairly blah day. I started drinking this while watching three crazy squirrels chase each other through my yard, over my fence, into my neighbour’s yard, over their shed, and up a few trees. It also stood up nicely as an accompaniment to a fresh tarragon and parmesan omelette with turkey bacon. :9

All in all, a truly decent cup of tea, and one I’d be delighted to find in any non-tea-specialist restaurant or shop. I usually avoid ordering tea from most places, as I know they’ll probably only have Lipton…XD

Hmm…this is okay.

Kind of earthy, malty, a little sour. Has a biscuity, grainy aroma. Smooth. Not much bite. Soft.

Overall, very drinkable but no “wow”-ness.

Malachi McCormick vented frequently about the difficult of finding a decent cup of tea, and I really feel that this tea would make him proud. The sweet, malty notes typical of Assams waft airily from the cup. The strong liquor boasts flavors of honeyed toast supported by boldness familiar with low grade Keemuns.

A little excerpt from Malachi’s book:

“Tea?” inquired my host. “Lovely idea,” I said. Then came the bad news: “Rose Hip or Sleepy Time?” My darkened countenance went unnoticed: “Oh, I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

A venerable old black cast iron teapot caught my eye. Like a ‘senior citizen’ to a nursing home, it had long been retired, and now stood mute on a shelf, its mouth stuffed with dyed dried flowers. We both – the pot and I – looked on helplessly as my host poured hot (hot boiling) water onto herbal teabags placed in (unscalded) mugs.

I ran screaming from the house! Well, actually, no, I didn’t: I stood my ground, but hoping that this mug would pass. Later, while visiting my mother in Ireland, she told me things were pretty bad on her side of the Atlantic as well.

To cut a long long story short, the Decent Cup of Tea movement was born soon after. (By the way, ownership of this book automatically puts you on Active Reserve: we will be in touch.)

“The best thing to do, when you’ve got a dead body and it’s your husband’s on the kitchen floor and you don’t know what to do about it, is to make yourself a good strong cup of tea.” -Anthony Burgess

Stay tuned for more from the book next time we drink a decent cup of tea!

Overleafed the pot (on purpose), then SQUIRREL and steeped it for…one hour? Two? Not really sure. It was a long time, I know that much. I decided to reheat it in the microwave and found it’s still drinkable.

I’ve had this before and it was really light and smooth. It’s pretty close to that now, except for a little acrid afterbite that is punishing me for my indiscretions.

Now can finals week be over, please?

The fragrance is sweet and biscuity with a faint note of smoke. Once steeped, there’s a slight stone fruit presence. The flavor is both malty and astringent which makes for a great morning tea.

This is a well balanced and artfully blended tea.

I bought a sample of this tea for my husband who likes plain black teas. I stole it and took it to work so I could try it (no worries I’ll give the rest back to him). When I first tasted it, I liked it and thought, ‘this is an ok black tea’ and then the more I drank it, the more I liked it. It’s nicely malty (not overly so) and has no astringency. It has an earthiness to the scent, but not too much so. It reminds me a lot of the dragon balls from Teavana. I’m betting that my husband will like this one and will beg for tin of it (esp since he is almost out of the Mountain Malt).

This is one of the better black teas that I’ve had in a long while.

Lightly sweetened with agave nectar.

With his book referenced in the description above being among my favorites, and one of my own personal tea-bibles I had high hopes to say the least. And when I found out it was an alluring blend of Keemun and Assam, I knew I had to have this tea. I was not disappointed.

I wasn’t expecting anything revolutionary or mind-blowing, just a new improvement to my morning routine. I found that in this delightful breakfast blend. My first cup of the day is generally the only one to which I add some almond milk and sweetener, but it needs to be a strong enough tea to hold its own, wake me up, and get me going in the AM. This not only fulfills these requirements, it exceeds them.

All in all this tea isn’t anything crazy. It’s not ostentatious, or gimmicky. But, true to the spirit of it’s namesake’s book, it IS one decent cup of tea.

This is indeed a decent cup of tea! Thank you, TEAEQUALSBLISS for this sample! I was
expecting this one to be very like an Irish Breakfast since it is blended in honor of an Irishman. I would say it is a lighter, cleaner, crisper cup. Not weak, and not astringent though it did leave a tiny tingle on my tongue that I liked, and I DO NOT like astringent teas. The tingle reminded me of a lighter version of what happens when you drink Uva Highlands and get the mintiness after you drink it. Great with milk and sugar. Is that just a touch of Darjeeling in there?

I love black teas, and there are few black teas I won’t drink. I … didn’t care for this one. It was just bland. Bummer.

This is a very dark brew with an odd aroma I can’t quite place. The flavor is straight-forward and quite good. I can taste the Assam and the Keemun. This is a full-bodied blend and goes well with cream and sugar. For folks who just want a decent cup of tea, this one is perfect.