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Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 8

Surprise, surprise, another straight black tea. And I love black tea, but I feel like Fortnum is shooting itself in the foot a bit here by not mixing up the teas more. It just becomes boring to have slightly different shades of the same thing every day, when I know there are other types of tea and flavored teas in this advent as well.

Anyway. This is a mix of high and low-grown Ceylon. Ceylon doesn’t tend to be my favorite, but I’ve had a few that I’ve really liked. This isn’t one of those, but it’s still fairly tasty. It does have rather a lot of acidity to it, so not something I would want to drink on an empty stomach probably.

Otherwise it’s fairly smooth, woody, a touch bready, very slightly grassy or vegetal. It does have a lot of that Lipton-esque “tea” flavor that I don’t have another word to describe. A touch of briskness but nothing major, and some musty hay. I feel like I’m tasting just a teeny hint of some sort of aromatic herbal flavor like pine or eucalyptus, but having a hard time pinning it down. Fairly standard Ceylon taste to my tongue, though I’m probably not explaining it well… :D

On to the jam! Today it’s an interesting one, and I think it’s new this year? It’s Wild Blueberry-Balm Leaves Spread. I’m assuming they mean lemon balm…? But unsure. It’s tasty though, with a very sweet and rich blueberry flavor. There is a subtle herbaceous note that’s slightly minty, so could definitely be lemon balm. It adds a nice bit of interest to an otherwise very sweet jam! :)

Flavors: Bread, Grass, Hay, Metallic, Musty, Pine, Smooth, Tea, Vegetal, Wood

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Martin Bednář

That jam sounds like my jam. Ha ha. I really enjoy a true, genuine blueberry jams.

ashmanra

I have the jam advent, too, and I assumed since blueberry is so frequently paired with lemon that it must be lemon balm.

Evol Ving Ness

This jam advent is sounding very seductive. Maybe next year. Tea and jam. What could be better?

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Comments

Martin Bednář

That jam sounds like my jam. Ha ha. I really enjoy a true, genuine blueberry jams.

ashmanra

I have the jam advent, too, and I assumed since blueberry is so frequently paired with lemon that it must be lemon balm.

Evol Ving Ness

This jam advent is sounding very seductive. Maybe next year. Tea and jam. What could be better?

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Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron!

I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, Korean skincare, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- November sipdowns: 9
- Total 2024 sipdowns: 152

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia.

I tend to reach for fruitier flavors rather than desserty ones these days, but I do have favorites from both categories. Willing to try anything once! There are a few ingredients/flavors that aren’t generally my jam, such as coconut, rose, lavender, and chocolate flavoring. But I also have teas that I love with some of those things, too! :)

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing

Location

Austin, Texas

Website

https://www.instagram.com/tea...

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