3458 Tasting Notes
January Sipdown Prompt – your oldest green
This is far from a sipdown, but every cup is progress. Two years ago I managed to drink all the teas that were past their “best by” date. Now I have few on shelf that have aged into that zone and we need to get drinking.
This is one of our favorite green teas to go with meals. We had it today with homemade miso soup, filled with fresh herbs amd greens from our garden. Ashman is off early for a dental appointment so we have a rare weekday lunch together.
How did this get old if it is a favorite? We can no longer drink caffeine in the evening. Supper that suit green tea must be accompanied by herbal tea or hojicha now. During the day we both tend to reach for black tea. I will try to start reaching for green instead, especially as spring comes and we look forward to the fresh light flavor. I will probably try to start cold steeping quite a bit of it, too, as we bought a large amount when we ordered it.
Sipdown
There is now enough left for one small pot of tea and I decided to make this a sharedown.
I had this a few weeks ago during a tea time with two students who I had allowed to go through all the remaining Fortnum tins and choose what they would like it try. , I got the impression that one young lady (the only one who tried it) didn’t care for it. When I mentioned last week that I had made a different tea for them since they didn’t care for the this one, she said she knew her mother and sister wouldn’t like it because of the smoke so she steered them away from it, but she did like it personally. This last bit that is left after my pot of tea today will therefore go home with her next week, especially since Ashman does not tolerate much bergamot in a blend and definitely doesn’t care for smoke….yet.
I like this one. The smoke isn’t too heavy but if you do not like Lapsang types tea, I don’t think you will like this either. It is not the smokiest tea I have ever had, but it is definitely smoky. I like it a lot!
I think the order of preference for Fortnum Earl Grey teas I have tried would be – Countess Grey, Classic Earl Grey, Smoky Earl Grey, and Victoria Grey. Victoria would move up a notch if they took out the licorice root. And depending on the mood of the day, Classic and Smoky might trade places.
Sipdown
January Sipdown Prompt – a tea you plan to buy again
This is Ashman’s favorite tea in the whole Fortnum advent every year. When I saw how much he loved it, I drank other teas and saved it for him because there are only a few teas that elicit such a response from him.
For this reason, I plan to add a whole tin to my next Fortnum order and I am considering getting the wooden caddy of special Darjeeling as well.
The special one seems to change occasionally over the years and the current offering is Badamtam First Flush FTGFOP1. Does anyone have experience with these two teas or something similar enough to give an opinion as to whether he is likely to love the more expensive one? It is possible that the very characteristics that make it unique and desirable to some people will have the opposite effect. They speak of it being high grown and having notes of minerality, whereas they describe the one we have here as smooth and drinkable.
More expensive, finer, more nuanced, more layers – may not translate into “preferred by every individual.” For instance, I prefer middle to low elevation teas from Sri Lanka because the highly desirable (to some) high elevation teas like Uva Highlands and Lover’s Leap are a bit too sharp for me. That could be the case with this tea for Ashman. Decisions, decisions.
I guess if I buy it and he doesn’t like it, at least we have a cool wooden caddy.
It’s weird to me that they don’t tell you which flush this tea is. Later flushes tend to be smoother in my experience, and first flush is generally more floral but also a bit sharper. I don’t generally love first flush Darjeeling, but I do enjoy the later flushes. Also the price on the Badamtam seems ludicrous to me, but obviously that’s very subjective ha ha.
I agree, it would help to know which flush this tea is. I can’t check the price of the Badamtam FF without dealing with their cookies, but you might consider buying Darjeelings from What-Cha or even Rare Tea Company if you plan to order from them again.
This one that he likes is almost certainly not First Flush. It is priced like a daily drinker and if you click “shop first flush” on their website from the blog article on the expensive tea, you only get the Badamtam as a result.
As for the price of the Badamtam, I bet you are paying dearly for the wooden caddy. The square ones in the past were expensive and I have never purchased one, and I was going to dive a bit deeper even with this one to see if it has an exceptionally good seal as opposed to just looking cool.
I think you are both right and I will stick to buying just the one I already know he likes.
This sounds wonderful — I am adding this to my wish list to try someday!
Sipdown
I thought this might be in the running as a replacement tea for my daughter who loved only London Cuppa, but she found it to be just okay and prefers a couple of other teas we have tried. Still nothing has caused her eyes to light up but several have been drinkable to her.
I really like this one. It has that rich TEA smell that grabs you at breakfast time, but doesn’t have to be tamed with milk and sugar, although it does take additions well. It resteeps for a combo pot pretty well, too.
Yesterday I got a package from derk with plum jelly that she made herself with her very own hands and I was totally stoked! I got up and made fresh biscuits and instant (expired- it’s fine) bacon while my daughter made eggs and we had a nice brekkie together. The jelly was soooo good. There was tea in the package, also, but I had promised daughter we would have Queen Anne together before I knew about the tea, and besides, I am saving it to drink with my bestie when she comes as she doesn’t drink black tea anymore! So….perfect!
Thank you, derk! I love it!
Sipdown
This was really lovely today and the lavender was stronger than last time I served it. I just wish it didn’t have licorice root, not because I don’t like the taste but because I have had blood pressure issues in the past and don’t want to risk it. Yes, I know it PROBABLY takes a lot of licorice root to affect blood pressure, but I prefer to sweeten my own tea as I choose, and I almost always choose not to sweeten at all.
This is one of their better teas, IMO.
Sipdown
This was one of the teas I was most excited to try in the advent as it was one of the few that I hasn’t had before. It was very good, figgy enough for me and not too figgy for Ashman. I do prefer Fig and Lavender from Tea Grotto over this one I think, but this really is comparing apples,and oranges because this Fortnum tea is what it is supposed to be – a black tea with fig flavor. Tea Grotto has a lot more flavoring and would probably suit different pairings than the Fortnum tea which is more black tea forward.
I would definitely enjoy having this tea again and if we do the advent again sometime I hope this one stays in the line up.
Sipdown
This is one of the many teas given to me in December by my daughter in my advents. I am surprised to see that I haven’t reviewed it yet and here we are at the Sipdown.
This is exactly as advertised. Cinnamon first, chocolate second. The black tea base and the color of the steeped tea and medium light and let the flavors show off. Since brownies and chocolate are hard for me to separate, I will say that I don’t know if I taste brownie or if I am tasting chocolate that clearly isn’t intended to imitate a bar of chocolate, so either way I would have to say it is spot on to its name.
January Sipdown Prompt – your newest tea
I decided to go with whichever tea shows as most recently added, but we had our Christmas gathering yesterday and I received NINE EXCITING NEW TEAS! I opened the gifts from my son and ChelseaR first, and the ones from Superanna and her husband next, so this was put in cupboard last!
I read reviews and saw that several people found it to be subtle so I made sure not to underleaf. I have a three minute rule with French black tea blends as they have a tendency to be finicky. (I’m looking at you, Marco Polo. So delicious when prepared just exactly right and so infuriating when there is the slightest deviation from your perfect time and temperature.) I observe it for the first time making a French tea and adjust subsequently if needed.
I made biscuits and bacon for breakfast with daughter this morning and she made eggs. We had a new, locally produced apple butter that was a gift from yesterday as well. It was very different from the White House Apple Butter I grew up with and very tasty. Texture more apple sauce-y and a dash of vinegar in the recipe lends it a brighter, fresh apple flavor.
I did not find this tea to be subtle. It is a elegant, rich tasting tea that made breakfast feel extra fancy. It is called Melange and that is what the flavors have accomplished here – no single ingredient stands out boldly but rather they are thoroughly melded together with an overall impression of cinnamon and almond. I would not have known there was bergamot in this, so this will be a safe tea to offer Ashman, who isn’t wild about Earl Grey teas. I concur that it is slightly reminiscent of Pleine Lune but it is much less almond-y.
It does have enough heft from the base to take milk and sugar if you like to add those, but I drank it plain and will continue to have it that way. It can serve as a lovely breakfast OR afternoon tea. It would go exceptionally well with cookies or dainties, even cupcakes or cake. It would be brilliant paired with something frosted or iced.
