Fog Cutter Black Tea (Irish Breakfast w/ Hint of Lemon)

Happy Hanukkah! Catching up on tasting notes after being sick for a few days. I liked Plum Deluxe’s Hanukkah sampler enough last year that I got it again this year. They’ve definitely upped their packaging game – not as nice as the advent calendar but nicer than last year’s sampler. There’s no numbered envelopes so I am just going in order of how they are packed in the box. This kind of black tea/black tea blend often messes with my stomach, so I only taste tested it but my partner drank the rest. I went with an overnight cold brew hoping that it might cut down on the tannic quality but no such luck, or at least not enough of it. It’s still very tannic and brisk. The lemon does complement those qualities well, and for a tea called “fog cutter” I can see why. But also – no. This flavor profile is just so thoroughly not my speed. I don’t want to feel like I’m fighting with my tea. I couldn’t even tell you whether the tea/blend is good relative to its peer group or not, because this kind of black tea is just so not what I personally enjoy that I’m entirely out of my depth.

ETA: My partner, who primarily drinks black tea when he drinks tea at all, added a bit of sugar to this and reported that it’s actually quite enjoyable. So take that for whatever it’s worth.

For me, this one was pretty boring. It tasted like a breakfast tea, but not a super rich or satisfying one. There was something missing. I also didn’t taste the lemon. I added way more sugar than normal, almond milk, and whipped cream to pep it up, but I still sort of wish I’d just saved myself the caffeine and poured it out. The resteep was decent.

Plum Deluxe Advent Day 4
Ended up drinking this late last night, to get me through the last bit of a later shift. It’s exactly what it says it is- black tea with a hint of lemon. Definitely not something that I would purchase, but a pleasant cup nonetheless. The black tea is smooth and lacks any bitterness. While the lemon is mild, it tastes authentic and not like a lemon candy, which I appreciate.

A breakfast build with some lemon this morning! Prepared the whole sample in 500ml as that worked well for my black tea yesterday, which came out so smoothly. Since I’m taking it to work in my Contigo thermos (I love this thermos, it is lined in ceramic so it doesn’t change the flavor of the tea, but has steel on the outside so it keeps it toasty for a long time… usually I have to wait a while for it to cool enough to drink!) I currently just have it sitting here steaming with the lid off, taunting me, while I wiff it. It smells very malty, with some subtle cinnamon and autumn leaf, but I’m getting that slightly smoky/citrusy note that I pick up in Chinese teas that reminds me of umami sauces. Which is odd, because of all the black teas in the blend, Chinese blacks are the only ones missing, har!

The flavor is mostly the notes I’m picking up on the scent: malt, bread, spices (hints of cinnamon and pepper), a subtle smokiness, a slight woodiness, and a sharp and pithy citrus lemon. It’s a pleasant breakfast blend! Strong, but not too abrasive. I imagine it’ll go far to get me through a Friday morning of book mending.

Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar – Day 4

Well this looks interesting. I’m not one to drink English or Irish breakfast teas, as I find them to be quite brisk and I don’t generally add milk to tea. The addition of lemon here sounds interesting, and what a varied mix of black teas! This has Assam, Ceylon, Kenya, and Darjeeling teas.

Yeah, this is not for me. It mostly tastes “tea-ish”, meaning like a bagged black tea. I have a hard time describing that flavor for some reason. There are some bits of malt and leather, hay from the Darjeeling, and a bit of a grainy cereal sort of note. The lemon is very faint and I’m not sure I would know it was there if it hadn’t been pointed out. I will say, it’s fairly smooth with no bitterness and very little astringency.

I don’t think I’ll assign a rating, just because this really isn’t my thing. But it was fun to try!

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIYX874AFsO/)

Advent day 4

I keep reading the name Fog Cutter and thinking Toe Cutter, which is fresh on my mind since the actor that played that roll in Mad Max died.

I did not get enough sleep last night, by a long shot. So this morning I am most certainly in a fog, and so I thought I’d try this.
Good choice! A strong breakfast blend. Not so malty or overpowering that you feel like you’ve been whacked in the head, but strong.
Thank goodness. I’m going to need all the help I can get this morning!

This is a nice solid, basic tea to me. It’s definitely what I think of as a breakfast tea, hearty and strong, a touch bitter and malty but not overly so. The lemon isn’t strong but is definitely present – I’d probably like a touch more, but I like a ton of flavor. This isn’t a tea that I’ll drink often just because of personal preferences, but it’s nicely done and solid.