Fortnum & Mason

I used up the last of my sample of this one in a cold brew. I do love a cold brewed Earl Grey because I think it really brings out the citrusy flavors of bergamot and of course covers a multitude of sins in blends. This was a tasty blend to start with, but the cold steep really brought out the bergamot as an equal player to the orange. Quite a lovely cup with the two flavors nicely balanced.

Thankfully I’m feeling much better today. Whether I’m actually improving or it’s just all the new cold medication I have now, I don’t know, but either way I’ll take it. I thought I’d dig into another one of my samples from SimplyJenW. Thanks! I know these Countess/Lady Grey teas are usually more of afternoon type blends, but I don’t follow the “tea rules” anyway, heh.

The dry leaf smells very orangey, with perhaps a hint of brighter bergamot backing it up. Steeped, I again get that orange aroma, along with some black tea. The orange is pretty fresh and juicy smelling. The flavor pretty much follows the aroma pretty closely. Primarily orange, but with just a hint of the brighter bergamot in the background. The tea base is smooth and pleasant, with a bit of maltiness, but it’s not a very strong component of the sip. This reads as a nice orange tea with a little something extra!

The experience of purchasing tea from Fortnum & Masons in London is fun – its poured from a large antiquated looking cannisters into a sealed sachets to take away. There is a lot to choose from and some of the blends probably would not suit my tastes – but they do have a very interesting selection of single estate teas.

I discovered their Castleton Moonlight Darjeeling Oolong – which is wonderful. To me this is the ultimate refreshing tea – its delicate and mellow yet flavourful – and gently uplifting – no hints of bitterness and very elegant. It uses the natural flavour of the leaf with no enhancement and has a soft honey aftertaste and light amber golden colour. It needs no enhancements – no milk or sugar. Even though its not cheap – the leaves can be used up to three times successfully. Its a good daytime or evening tea. Sometimes I use a teapot and strain leaves, but mostly I just add a teaspoon of tea to water in a glass or china cup and watch the leaves swirl.

I had a lovely afternoon shopping with my mom. I bought a nice set of bracelets, some candles and this tea. I brewed a cup of this tea and added a splash of milk. This is a solid, bold tea. The milk pairs perfectly and I’m really enjoying it. This would be an ideal cup for the morning, afternoon or evening. I might even have a second! Delicious.

Tea of the morning….

EDIT TO ADD: Their delivery service is appalling. I cannot in good conscience give this tea a good rating. Service = 0, the tea was about an 80.

And likely my last pot for a while as it is gone and my refill is stuck in a warehouse somewhere. I was so fortunate to be able to make an order at their online store for some tea for myself as well as a gift for a friend. I thought I ordered in plenty of time Nov. 23. My invoice showed a delivery day of Dec. 8. I was pretty confident that would give me time to get the gift in the mail and off to where it was going in plenty of time for Christmas. The 8th came and went….and after a few emails with Customer Service at F&M, I found out that my order has not shipped out (on Dec.22) because they are having warehouse issues. Wow. It is a good thing I emailed, because there was no offer of this information. I know it is bad to review a place based upon one experience, but I am very disappointed. It will probably be my only order from them ever, and I will just have to enjoy other teas. For those considering an order, my suggestion is to plan way ahead. And maybe avoid the holidays all together. I would cancel my order, but the allure of orange marmalade with gold leaf in it celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee for my friend is just too cool…along with a commemorative tin of Jubilee Tea. Maybe by Valentine’s?

Tea of the morning…..

…And a lesson in water temperature. I had my kettle set for green tea and made up my tea this morning without checking the dial. Once I started pouring the water into my pot, I realized my mistake and tried to compensate with a little bit longer steep time. While it is not bitter like I thought it might be, it is not nearly as strong and satisfying as when I actually brew under the correct parameters. I am bummed, but I will drink it. Lesson learned.

For this pot, I rate it at about 70. Usual teapot method with the exception of the temp being 180 and time being about 6 minutes. Tea FAIL on my part!

Tea of the morning……

I don’t recommend shoppping with this company using their delivery service. They completely messed up my holiday order. I had promises of a full refund, and promises of a refund of shipping since they sent only a $15USD value of goods (from a $133USD order) along with their huge cost of $30USD to ship. Never got it. Had to get my credit card company involved to get a refund. Ordering from here is only worth it if you like slim chances and setting fire to your money.

This is my favorite version of English Breakfast….a good basic Keemun. I think Adagio got me started, and then I moved onto Harney which is my usual go to. This one is just a lovely treat for a Keemun lover in the US as it is really only available in Britain. There are days when I think of a possible future order to Fortnum & Mason, and I would consider purchasing more of this. It does look like their shipping policy has changed a little in that the shipping rate is now a flat 20 pounds to the US if I am reading it correctly (before it went up after 5 items…). I may put a group order together in the future….. :D

Steeped by the usual parameters….

Tea of the morning….

I don’t recommend shoppping with this company using their delivery service. They completely messed up my holiday order. I had promises of a full refund, and promises of a refund of shipping since they sent only a $15USD value of goods (from a $133USD order) along with their huge cost of $30USD to ship. Never got it. Had to get my credit card company involved to get a refund. Ordering from here is only worth it if you like slim chances and setting fire to your money.

Oh, how I love a Keemun in the morning. This one is reminiscent of the English Breakfast from Harney that I usually drink, and even the English Breakfast from Adagio. I did have a small issue when steeping this morning. The bus was 20 minutes late and I ended up having to take my kids to school. The tea was steeping the whole time as it was a rush out the door. I was afraid to even try it after steeping the whole time I was gone….. It has been an interesting Monday…..

I forgot to add: I dumped it and brewed a second pot….. I am a wimp!

EDIT TO ADD: Their delivery service is appalling. I cannot in good conscience give this tea a good rating. Service = 0, the tea was about an 80.

Along with the Countess Grey, this was my other requested tea from the friend who went on a trip to London. I do love Keemuns. The leaves are a little smaller than I thought they should be. I am wondering how this compares to Hao Ya B as it is definitely more intense than my English Breakfast from Harney. It has just a little more bite than I would like.

24 oz teapot, 4 1/2 actual tsp tea, 4 minutes, freshly boiled water. Note to self: go lighter on the leaf and shorter on the steep. I think it will be even better.

I am kind of second guessing this choice, mostly because straight teas don’t vary a great deal from vendor to vendor, even though there is some variance in quality. I have a pretty good stash of Keemun, and am planning a grand Keemun side by side sampling at some point to work out the nuances of each variety for myself. The tea is wonderful, but I wish I had stuck to requesting something that is just from Fortnum & Mason’s Picadilly offerings. There are a few varieties of this company offered in the States at Williams- Sonoma, so I did try to skip over those for now. I guess my advice to take away from this…if you have the chance to get tea from a place once in a lifetime, it is probably better to stick with their specialties.

My iced tea for the day….

EDIT TO ADD: Their delivery service is appalling. I cannot in good conscience give this tea a good rating. Service = 0, the tea was about an 80. I don’t recommend shoppping with this company using their delivery service. They completely messed up my holiday order. I had promises of a full refund, and promises of a refund of shipping since they sent only a $15USD value of goods (from a $133USD order) along with their huge cost of $30USD to ship. Never got it. Had to get my credit card company involved to get a refund. Ordering from here is only worth it if you like slim chances and setting fire to your money.

I decided to try this one out as an iced tea. It definitely delivers a nice lemony note to go along with the bergamot and black tea. Yum!

Fiestaware Disc Pitcher (about 60 oz), about 10 tsp tea, 5 minutes with freshly boiled water (half volume). Allowed to cool, and added ice for the rest of the volume. No additions.

This pot of tea has been a long time in the making….

EDIT TO ADD: Their delivery service is appalling. I cannot in good conscience give this tea a good rating. Service = 0, the tea was about an 80. I loved the tea gift from my friend and wanted refills. See the places section for Fortnum & Mason – online for my review.

First of all, a dear friend was making a trip to London this past month where she usually stops at Fortnum & Mason. I asked if she would mind picking up some tea for me. After perusing the site, this is the main one I chose. It is a light and citrusy twist on Earl Grey. I really like it (which is good because she bought a big tin)! The bergamot is light and it almost tastes like there are lemons in there! Refreshing! Kind of like Lady Grey from Twinings but better.

24 oz teapot, 4 1/2 actual teaspoons tea, freshly heated water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

The other part of this was my new electric kettle.
Aside: I did buy an inexpensive plastic one on vacation last week because we did not have a kettle of any kind at the lake, and I was not wanting to pour boiling water on the counter every time I made tea (pouring boiling water from a saucepan is tricky and somewhat dangerous.) The plastic electric kettle was cheaper than the stovetop one at the store. Now, I have a serious electric kettle dependency…It is so fast! I am saving the plastic one for travelling.
Back to the story: I ordered the Adagio VarieTEA last May as a gift for my birthday and it arrived today. Thoughts on the Adagio kettle> Pretty slick. I was a little concerned when a few reviewed it on Adagio’s site and complained of leaking. So far, no issues, but if I had them, I am pretty sure Adagio would make it right. The buttons on the front are just touch sensitive and don’t really press. The only plasticy parts on it are the handle and a removable filter near the pour spout which is out of the way of the heating water. I am guesssing this gets pretty hot on the outside, and it was heavier than the plastic one, which is pretty much expected. The fill guage is under the handle and not super easy to read, but it works. All in all, I am happy with it, as long as it does not leak. I like that it has several setpoints at 150, 165, 180, 195, and 212, and a keep warm feature.

It’s a good start of the day with a cup of this

One of the best earl greys I have ever tasted

A delicious, slightly bitter green tea. Best when steeped to strength – creates a nice amber color in the cup and the bite is a nice touch after a meal.

I’m beginning to run out of this tea & I’m starting to worry about how I’ll replace it. It is a lovely, dark, strong black tea.

Have also continued to drink this & have found that with really hot water & a long time to steep, it is really good!

Not very much flavor. Some flavor if allowed to steep for a realllllllyyyyyy long time.

However, this tea is very old & has possibly been stored improperly.

[Edited to add: I’ve revised the score for this tea as my experience has improved.]