Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea

Yesterday morning I had Tiger with breakfast – an English muffin with butter. It came out very strong. I drank the second steep right after the first. Mid-morning I had a smoothie to use up very ripe fruit – plain yogurt, peach, strawberry, blueberry, and spinach. It was one of the better smoothies I’ve made lately.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

Standard ceramic mug = 10 oz. One rounded teaspoon.

It seems like it’s been quite awhile since I’ve had any Tiger, though I think I had some last week. Either way, today’s mug was pure comforting, strong, yumminess. Again, using a more correct amount of leave for water, the Tiger had more taste without necessarily being stronger/more steeped tasting.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.
To my husband. ♥

All the standard ceramic mugs = 10oz. One rounded teaspoon.

Backlogging. Three days ago.

Tuh-Tuh-Tuh-TIGER! yeah.

No resteep. Too hot for more tea, then too late in the day.

At 7pm yesterday, it was too late in the day to be having a black tea. But I needed one so I had one anyways. It’s been a tired week so I thought the boldness of the Tiger might stand up well to some local honey and it sounded comforting. The honey came through nicely but it totally muted the essential Tigerness of the tea. Hence, I think this is not the best combination. Though, I did enjoy drinking it. I gave my husband the second steep when he woke up before going on night shift.

In other exciting tea news in my world, I am cold brewing for the first time! I’ve been thinking about doing it for awhile now, but have been unsure what teas would make a good cold brew. I’m also not a huge iced tea fan. I decided on a Lemon Sencha that I only had two servings left of.

I think flavored greens might cold brew nicely. I think flavored blacks would too, but I don’t have many of those. I have mostly plain blacks and I think the nuances of nice black loose leaf teas would be lost in cold brewing them. Ditto for plain oolongs and whites. I don’t know, for some reason, it just seems like flavored teas/tisanes would be better for cold brewing than plain ones.

Anyways, the Lemon Sencha. I only had a small bit left and it is not a tea I like a whole lot so if it doesn’t turn out well, I won’t feel like I wasted a yummy tea. If it does, I’ll be more inclined to try cold brewing teas I like more.

It went in the fridge at 7pm. I’ll check it when I wake up in the morning and see when it needs to be tried again. I’m curious if one resteeps the same leaves when cold brewing? It seems like it would be a one-time thing and I should try to get the most flavor out of the leaves without it going bitter.

The breakfast mug of tea backlog. Yesterday.

It’s the Tiger. It’s just that good. One needs no reason to pick the Tiger. No resteep, but I wanted one.

I was planning on 52 Tea’s Black Current Bai Mu Dan as my mid-day tea today. I’ve been wanting it for a few days but it and I keep missing each other.

I ended up having a late lunch of Indian leftovers from last night and wanted something that could stand up to their spiciness and be tasty with them. I’m finding the Tiger to be a great all purpose tea. Good with food, good without. Good in the morning, good at in the middle of the day. It’s pretty much all Tiger all the time, sometimes. =)

2nd steep: 5 min.

Second half of the pair of my back-to-back same tea days. I did consider going Earl Gray briefly. It was a bit watery today. I didn’t realized that the mug I used was much bigger than mugs I normally use, which is what I think did it.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

Sometimes you just know you want the Tiger. Yesterday, it was a day for the Tiger. Strong and bold. Two good cups.

2nd steep: 5 min 15 sec.

Since I didn’t get as much Tiger as I’d have liked yesterday, today was another Tiger morning. Two yummy steeps while I was barely awake.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

When it’s got to be good and it’s got to be strong (cause you can’t seem to wake up), it’s got to be the Tiger. A bit less water, a bit more leaf. Strong, but not bitter, goodness. I had to hurry and get out of the apartment to get some time dependent errand done so I didn’t get to resteep, which I badly wanted to, and it was too late in the evening by the time I got home to.

Backlogging. Monday morning.
After my rushed cup of the Tiger the previous morning, I need to repeat and enjoy. It was just what I wanted. I got to drink the 2nd steep, with Tupelo honey. I liked it better without the honey.

2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging. Sunday morning.
Running late to Mother’s Day brunch, I had to have a cup of tea before I left the house. I remember the cup being brisk and strong, which was just what I needed. Sadly, I did not get to steep the leaves a 2nd time.

I tried slightly more leaf and a bit longer steep time this morning looking for the stunning Tiger I had yesterday in my larger mug. Alas, I did not find him. But it was the same good old Tiger I know and love. I think whenever that mug is not in the dishwasher and I am looking to drink more tea in the morning, I shall devote it to the Tiger.

2nd steep: 5 min 15 sec. 205° F.

Whoa Tiger, was this tea GREAT today!

I wanted to use my pale blue pottery mug yesterday morning, which holds 12oz instead of 8oz, and I wanted more tea. I used 1.5 tsp of tea and steeped for 15 seconds longer, not wanting my tea to be weak. It was strongly Yunnan, crisply tannic, and finished smoky sweet.

As I was composing my tealog in my head while I drank (don’t laugh! I KNOW I’m not the only one on here who does that. In fact, I bet there are more than a few.), I used a complimentary word to describe how great the Tiger ending up being yesterday. And now I can’t remember the word and it’s bugging me. It was highly complimentary, more than something that would mean really good, and not a word I’d give lightly to a tea. Something around the level of stunning. It began with a D, possibly a DE, and for some reason I’m thinking reminded me of something British. It was not delicious, delightful, or divine. Argh! And my writing of the tealog got interrupted twice, by the husband and the phone respectively. Argh!

I brewed up some Tiger yesterday morning cause I wanted to see how he’d take to milk. The answer is well enough. He is good with milk but probably better without. This was not the surprising yum that Jackee was with milk. I drank the 2nd steep without milk.

2nd steep: 5 min, 200° F.

Yesterday afternoon I drank my 2nd steep of the Tiger. The Tiger tasted just like a nice black tea this time. He was good but not great with that usually Tiger magic. I think it may have been my stuffed up allergies.

2nd steep.

From getting up through my morning routine and feeding the cats to tea making time, I could not decided between Jackee, Thomas, and the Tiger. I opened my cupboard and the Tiger was dominating the forward teascape. So he went into my cup. Bold and enjoyable as usual. Lots of stuff going on so not as much an a sit-down-and-enjoy-the-tea-straight-though drinking experience.

Before tealogging the Tiger, I was skimming tealogs I hadn’t read on his page and came across takgoti’s on lower steeping times for blacks, which I tend to prefer too. She’s steeping her Tiger lower than I am so I intend to try lowering the steep time next time I have him. After the second steep of him this afternoon, that is.

Again, a cup of Yunnan around noon. I seem to be drinking my tea in pairs. I’ll drink the same tea for two days, then another tea for two days. Today’s Yunnan didn’t seem as smokey as it has previously. Am I getting used to the smokey? The smokey was still there but it wasn’t the okay-this-is-smokey it had been before.

I had a lovely cup of Yunnan at around noon today. It was just what I wanted and expect it to be. I had thought I’d have Thomas, but I changed my mind on the way to the cupboard. I am thinking about making the 2nd steep of the leaves with a bit of milk before bed.

Steeped my second cup of Yunnan with dinner (southwest chicken bake, broccoli, and couscous). Less smokey, less bite, less strong. More goodness continuing on to another cup. I hope to try one of the new bagged tisanes tonight.

Cravings for a specific tea don’t usually occur often for me. Normally, I’ll want a cup of tea, maybe I’ll have an idea of what type of tea, and then I’ll go to my tea cupboard, look at the teas, and pick one or peruse until one makes its need to be drank known. The past three days, not only did I want tea but I wanted a certain tea. First, the odd urge to try a jasmine tea despite my mistaken belief that I wouldn’t like a floral tea, then Dragonwell saying drink me now and lots of me, to today’s Yunnan calling. I could not resist. But who can, when such a handsome tea makes his intentions know?

I steeped for 15 sec less again today, making that 30 sec less than the recommended steep time, and I think I’ve found my ideal time for this tea. Smoky but not too smoky, strong but not bitter, and all around enjoyable, sure to lead to increased drinking.

On Saturday at Earth Fare, I splurged on some tea purchases looking to lay in some tisanes for evening consumption. I got two Earth Fare blends on sale, Cold Season Tea and Red Wellness, and a berry tisane from Two Leaves and a Bud. I also got brave and brought a Puerh, Numi’s chocolate one. It had a coupon on it, and who can resist four boxes of sale tea? I need to lower the top shelve in the tea cupboard to convert it to housing for tea, which will make one and two-thirds shelves in the cupboard for tea.

Backlogging
Shared a pot of Yunnan with the husband and takeout Indian chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, and baingan bhartha. The Yunnan stood up to the strong flavors and spiciness of the food and still tasted smokey. 2nd steep: 5 min.

I wanted to try the Yunnan again today even though I was quite unsure of how it would go with breakfast. It went surprisingly well. I wasn’t able to really taste this cup as well as the previous ones due to some slight nasal-throat things I have going on due to the cold dry weather and heat running a lot. Don’t worry, I haven’t gotten sick.

The eagerly awaited A&D DFT Yunnan arrived today!

The husband brought it up. We didn’t wait until I’d rescheduled his eye dr appointment tomorrow. We didn’t wait for the husband to take a shower. We didn’t wait until we were ready to drink it. We opened it up within moments of it entering the apartment.

The tin was wrapped in brown paper instead of in a bed of shredded zig-zags. I liked the art better on this tin than tins from Series 1. This tin opens like a mini paint can lid. I had to open it with a flat screw driver and bang it closed with it. I do not like that about it but am hoping it becomes easier to open and close with time. In the meantime, I’m keeping a screwdriver over the stove in the misc. cabinet. Oh, and we got two Series 4 stickers in our box. Anyone else get two?

The tea leaves were dark brown with golden yellow brown and ash gray mixed in. They smelled smokey and like something else that I can quite put my finger on right now but am hoping will come to mind when I’ve smelt the tea more. It smelled strong, bold, and good but not what I was expecting.

After putting a huge pot of chilli on to cook, the husband pushed to try the new tea tonight even though it was after 7pm at the time and it’s a black tea. So we steeped up a pot. The wet leaves were a dark brown of two shades and smelled smokey, like burning paper in a good way if that is possible. The tea was deep brown in color. It smelled smokey, rich, and full.

Sip sip. Sip sip.

It tastes smokey, no surprise there. But yummy smokey. I thought I wouldn’t like a smokey tasting tea. It also tasted ashy, non-cigarette ashy though, unctuous, and bold. The surprise was no bitterness or dryness. More notes on taste will comes as I drink more of this tea I’m sure. It’s unlike any other tea I’ve had. The husband also liked it but wasn’t as surprise he liked it or as into it as I was.

We steeped a second pot for 5 min. I was expecting it to be watery and need a pinch of fresh leaves to keep the taste strong enough. It was not at all. It was as full of flavor as the first steep but muted, less smokey. I think I liked this steep better. I also drank the end of this steep as I started to eat my chilli and was surprised that it held up to the chilli and complimented it well.

I decided to steep the leaves a third time to see what happen since the second steep went well. I steeped for 6 min this time. It was watery with nearly no tea taste. I threw it down the drain.

In conclusion, A&D’s Yunnan is a damn fine tea, I look forward to drinking it again quite soon, and it’s possibly better than Series 1’s black teas.