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Daughter Advent Day Four

Not every day in the homemade advent is tea, and I saved this one for first breakfast today. (Ashman was quite late coming home for lunch, necessitating second breakfast of tea and biscotti to tide me over.)

I hesitated to have it with my omelette which had Penzey’s Sunny Paris seasoning in it. The purple shallots are rather strong and I was wondering if the lavender and blueberry might suit this tea more to pairing with something daintier. Sniffing the dry blend gave me the confidence to pair it with this breakfast because the lemon was pretty strong and the base was, too.

Wow, I am glad I made it this morning! All the flavors came through so well, and it was very well balanced. The food didn’t overwhelm the tea at all. I think this tea could be a real chameleon. I want to make it to drink with something plain and simple like Bordeaux cookies because I think you could focus on each of the flavors here one at a time and they would step into a spotlight. Want a berry flavored tea? Think of blueberries and you will taste them in the forefront. Want a flowery bower? Think of lavender and the spotlight shifts to a new player. (I love lavender and violet teas!) And the lemon really did help carry it alongside the shallots.

Very nice tea!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 6

The aroma of the dry blend has a nice lemon candy scent. Steeped up, this is a plenty strong green tea but if I didn’t know what I was drinking, I would have thought this was a plain green tea with natural lemon notes. I did double steep and combine both times I had this this day, by the mug at second breakfast and by the large pot at lunch with Ashman.

Ashman had it breakfast and said he thought it was very lemony smelling this morning when he made a mug for breakfast, and he didn’t resteep and combine. I will have to try it that way.

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 5

I was excited to see this tea on the list of teas included in the advent because I really like vanilla tea. Both Vanilla Black and Vanilla Comoro by Harney were early introductions to the world of tea for me. Since then I have run into vanilla blacks that had watery bases or too little vanilla.

This one is quite good. Both Ashman and I drank it sans additions but it would be good with milk and/or sugar if that’s how you like your tea. The base is strong enough for breakfast. The vanilla is not quite as strong as Harney’s but it is certainly strong enough and very pleasant. This will be easy to finish! It would even be a good tea to blend with another to flesh it out for enough to make a big pot. I love using vanilla tea as a mixer with other teas! I might save a little to go with the last of the peach or strawberry tea.

Fortnum & Mason Advent – Day Four

December Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a smoky tea

I had this at lunch because a friend came for bagels and tea this morning and she doesn’t drink black tea anymore. Breakfast was Fortnum’s Green Tea with Mandarin and she loved it because it reminded her of Revolution’s Tangerine White that we used to buy. (Discontinued now – sob!)

This is only mildly smoky to me but a lot of people found it too smoky. I love lapsang if the base is nice and flavorful, and this has a good base. The bergamot is present but not strong enough to taste sour or perfume-y. This is one of my Fortnum favorites.

Day 3 Daughter Advent

Apparently my advent made by my daughter is going to include a few teas as well as art supplies and self care items!

This smells so rich and chocolate-y and that is great because I was craving chocolate this afternoon. This is a very natural smelling chocolate that Ashman would like and NOT the chocolate flavor that he thinks smells like mildew. (And I can totally see that.)

This tea has captured the tastes of a turtle with chocolate, caramel, and nuttiness all shining and thank goodness the base is not weak and watery! Big thumbs up!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 3

This is one of my least favorite Fortnum black tea blends. The first sips with breakfast were pretty good, but pretty standard black tea. Even cooling a little, it began to get a little bitter. I should have added milk and sugar or honey. I made a resteep and it was better.

Someone in another note mentioned that this blend was made for King Edward iirc, amd perhaps his tastebuds were dulled because he was a smoker. Seems like it could be the reason this was his sort of thing, but it isn’t mine. If I took milk and sugar it would be fine but there are lots of teas out there I enjoy more.

December Sipdown Prompt – an herbal tisane

Yesterday my daughter surprised both me and Ashman with homemade advent boxes full of gifts and candy! Tonight she had another surprise.

Every December for over 25 years, we have read one Beatrix Potter book each night for the first 23 days of the month. We light a candle on our Cradle to the Cross advent spiral from The Keeping Company (a newer addition to our traditions) and have a very short reading with that as well. On Christmas Eve, we read Luke 2.

Tonight as we prepared to listen to Ashman reading Squirrel Nutkin, she made a pot of tea and brought it to me, saying that it was supposed to arrive in time for Peter Rabbit but was delivered late.

I had no idea what was in it and guessed apple first. That was the chamomile I was smelling. I guessed green rooibos and that was correct. The spearmint and strawberry flavoring gave a sweet candy vibe, but I would not have pegged it as strawberry tonight. I would have guessed a fruity bubble gum.

It was really good and I am glad to have a new night time tisane for the cold, dark months ahead. I bet it is super good iced, too. I have to do that soon!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 2

This is a favorite from their advent line up and I am happy it has been in every advent since we started buying them, including the sachet advent.

The aroma is fantastic. The bergamot is strong enough but not overpowering. It has a candy sweetness in the aroma but is very refined in the cup, and smoother than many Earls. I really like this one and I think it just keeps growing on me.

December 2 Sipdown Prompt – World Pollution Prevention Day: drink an organic tea

I usually have this for lunch after overnight cold steeping, but it is chilly today so I poured it in a mug and heated it in the microwave. (Please be kind. Many of us do it. No shaming.)

This is a mild English breakfast style tea and neither hot nor cold does it need any milk or sugar for taming or enhancement. The flavors are light and playful. They suggest drinking like a glass of chilled wine, and I agree that it is a lovely way to take this tea.

I love this company and their sister charity! So many good teas doing so much good in the world – let’s have more of that!