Eight at the Fort

i loved this tea’s eathiness. very dark and robust. cuz world leaders don’t mess around.

I ordered this tea in the late 90’s because the description really sounded intriguing. I mean c’mon son, if this tea was good enough for eight world leaders, it was good enough for me, so I ordered it. Back in the day, I really liked it alot! I’ve been meaning to reorder it for years and I finally did so.

I have been cupping this since November trying to accurately pen a review. So here we go.

Upon opening the tin, I could smell the Assam, Darjeeling, and white Jasmine. Yes, there are full, white Jasmine leaves blended sporadically throughout this blend, which was noticeable. You can actually see all of the different leaves here. In the wet leaves, the Jasmine & Darjeeling come through mostly, among the mixture of other teas.

The cup is a very dark brown, and when I stood directly over my cup, the light hit it just right and made my tea look nearly black. I watched the steam rising off of the darkness, looking like ghosts dancing on my tea! There was a decent, sweet aroma, mainly of Darjeeling, Jasmine, and Assam. Those three teas seemed to stand out in the flavor profile as well, not dominating, but more like vying for position, each wanting to be noticed. I will say the Darjeeling probably got the slight edge here. I honestly couldn’t distinguish the other teas specifically; however, occasionally I noticed a burst from a Keemun. Or was that a Yunnan?? Or a Puerh perhaps, pointedly prickling my palate?? Eight teas can be confusing to the taste buds, much like a totally tenacious tortuous tongue twister!

WWHHEEEWWW!! The key here is that this is a smooth enjoyable cup of tea. An interesting and solid-yet not stellar-blend, with medium aromatics, flavors, and briskness. Lower water temps and a little sugar may unlock more nuances in this tea, increasing my rating. If this tea is good enough for me-and it is-then it is definitely good enough for you too! :))

Cupped and Reviewed: Saturday, December 17, 2011.

I have been saving this sample, courtesy of our friend QuiltGuppy. My mother has been in and out of the hospital the last two weeks, we got a good report this morning so it is time for something new and good! Eight at the Fort covers so many of my interests. It was originally blended for a historic meeting, one of the attendees was from my home state, and it is black tea (still my favorite.) I find this a little on the complex side, it is hard to tell the eight teas, they blend and fit together very well. Dry, it is a little on the long side for black tea. I think Darjeeling is there, that wine note jumps out. The maltyness of Assam is also easy to find. The color as noted, looks reddish like a Ceylon. I really like this, and I think it could be better than my previous beloved Prince of Wales from Twinings.
One review mentioned it is a contemplative tea, I think I will give that a try…

A great grand thank you hug to the incomparable QuiltGuppy for sending me this sample. Through QuiltGuppy’s generosity my tea selection seems so much more well rounded. Left to my own devices, it would be all foodie/ candy teas all the time. Cucumber and cream cheese tea sandwich green rooibos? Yes, please!

This tea… This tea is very interesting. At first sip I get a malty and even smokey flavor. That moves to a sweet and, dare I say it, floral tone. The black tea has a hint of bitterness to it for me. I’ve noticed that some people dropped the steeping temperature to lessen the bitterness a bit. I have just enough in my sample pack for one or two more tries. I don’t mind the slightly floral tone of this tea, but I don’t think I’d buy it. It is lovely for a try though.

So after all the backlogging, I’m happy to be writing about one tea that is currently still warm in the cup next to me.

First off, a HUGE thank-you to ScottTeaMan for this wonderfully generous portion, among others. I had been intrigued by this blend for a while, and it seemed to elude my shopping list time after time. I originally fell in love with it’s backstory, and have been meaning to try for some time.

To get to the point, I’m adding this to the ranks of my other favorite Harney straight black teas, Malachi McCormick’s Blend and Royal Palm Court. It’s a wonderful breakfast tea, and perfect way to start the day. It’s brisk and bold, but has a pleasant maltiness, and full-body appeal to it. The presence of 8 different teas does not create chaos and incongruence as I sometimes fear has the same effect as wearing more than one perfume at once. These eight separate teas, however, complement each other nicely, adding depth and complexity and bringing out each other’s full potential. This would fit well among the ranks of the best solid black tea blends.

I am really enjoying this tea. The description of the blend, from H&S does not indicate the 8 teas used in the blend, but from looking at it, it is lovely, colorful and I see various types of leaves. I can definately see white tea, probably green and oolong. Assam is there.

Drinking this is like a pleasant puzzle to solve. There are multi-levels of flavor including some, but not a lot, of fruityness that brings sweet tones. You don’t need to add sugar, but try it occasionally to see if you can bring out any certain fruit flavor.

Bought a sample of this – youngest child aka the tea addict says BUY A TIN! This tea has a wonderful aroma – I could sit here sniffing the leaves for the rest of the afternoon but I have to go to the gym. (We had eclairs with our tea this afternoon so it is especially important!) The dry leaves are interesting to look at – black, straight leaves, thin lightly curled ones, and green ones that aren’t green tea I think but maybe darjeeling? At least when it is steeped they look just like my 1629 Blend Darjeeling from Southern Season. It was initially astringent, which I don’t like, and might mean I should steep it for less time. I added milk and a little sugar (my friend added only milk and was satisified -she’s a no sugar gal) and it was deeee-licious! This one is a keeper! Plus, I LOVE the history behind it. And my kid wants it, so…….

A blend of eight different teas (keemun, assam, oolong, ceylon, yunnan, darjeeling, nilgiri, and silver tips). A great “pick me up” blend for this dreary Sunday morning here in Millerton.

It’s an interesting looking tea. You can really see the different components: the long green leaves, the short brown ones, and the tiny dark brown leaves. Once wet it looks like fall leaves in my strainer.

It brews up into a red-brown liquor with a pleasantly sweet mixed with a lightly smoky fragrance. The taste begins with the light smokiness of an English Breakfast tea with the addition of a floral aftertaste and a slight toastiness. It is a surprisingly complex tea but without any astringency or bitterness. Very nice. Much thanks to takgoti!

after seeing a posting from a fellow Steepster, I decided to revisit this to remind myself how it profiled.
First I suppose is the question of its pedigree, as is the case with all blends. As my fellow tea lover Angrboda noted, there appears to be a distinct flavor break, so I thought going back to the leaf was the first step.
Dry Aroma: bright and soft on the nose, complex dark fruit, notes of blueberry, spice, tannic aroma reminiscent of Ceylon tea with a soft floral mulberry hint.
Wet Aroma: dark berry, peach, steamed fresh green beans, hints of citrus
Appearance: this is where the sleuthing comes in. From the color and the levels of oxidation, look of the leaves and the presence of stem, leave, and a few buds, my guessing and palate seem to point at a couple of components – Ceylon FTGFOP1, light mix of Darjeeling TGFOP, bud tips seem to resemble Ceylon silver needle or perhaps some other bud tip Indian white tea, and a Chinese ‘Congou’ style black tea. I don’t think there is an Assam, mostly because the tea has a more Darjeeling spicy profile and less the rich, malt-pepper that the Assam tea exhibit. The white tea buds that are few, lack the heavy ‘hair’ that I usually expect to see from Chinese white teas so I think maybe it comes from that.
Cup: the liquor is a beautiful deep reddish-orange, very common for Ceylon, Chinese Congou, and Assam. There is a hint of smoky subtly that is very like bohea congou and adds to the complexity and depth. Tannins and fruit, slight hints of muscatel and citrus, clean finish and accented aftertaste of smokiness and brisk spice. I great cup for a brisk day and a contemplative mood.