Fortnum & Mason

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I am truly thankful for this tea community and the kindness and support shown by everyone. You are a very special part of my life, and I am truly thankful for you!

Last year we bought the Fortnum & Mason tea advent calendar, and this year Ashman really, really, really, wanted the refill. I decided we would drink the refill teas whenever we wanted and not pay much attention to what was behind which door on which day since we tried all these last year. In order to have something new (mostly) to look forward, I ordered the advent calendar of single sachets as well. For those, I plan to stick to schedule and have them on the correct day with no peeking.

I decided before the tea even arrived that we would have cranberry tea on Thanksgiving Day. Since my kids who like cranberry sauce are not here, I decided not to make or buy any, so I am using the tea as my substitute, and to fulfill Mastress Alita’s November sipdown prompt – a cranberry tea.

When I opened the tin, the cranberry flavor actually made my nose tingle! Those are red bits of dried cranberry in the blend, and lots of cranberry flavoring. The scent is SO SHARP, but the flavor is actually very smooth and tasty.

I love that the base here is a Chinese black, which I generally prefer to Indian. Amd I love that they did not add hibiscus to make it any more tart than it already is. Hibby tea almost always needs sugar for me to enjoy it, but this is fine without.

Advent sipdown #17 (I think)

This one has an aroma that could be very offputting. It reeks, and I mean REEKS, of cherry cough syrup. It smells like it is made of red rooibos and cough syrup. But…it tastes good.

I am not sure if I would peg this as cranberry had I not known the flavor, but very fruity and it has the sharp tartness of cranberry without being hibiscus-like. Very good with breakfast and Ashman sipped the rest down later in the morning.

Seven to go…

FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 14

I had read Cameron’s note on this one before I tried it, so I knew a little bit what to expect. I thought it was great and was reminded of the flavor of Harney’s Cranberry Autumn. There are a couple of things I might like better about this one, though. Harney’s contains hibiscus to simulate or enhance the cranberry tartness, and also is not a Chinese base. That gives Fortnum two advantages in my book.

The Chinese black tea base makes this work for me. The tart fruitiness is somewhat light, not in your face. I really enjoyed it. I did have a fleeting moment where the cranberry reminded me of red rooibos, but not too bad. (Red rooibos is sooooo Robitussin cough syrup for me and I just don’t like it.) part of the time I really felt like I was tasting tart cherry instead of cranberry.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and look forward to drinking it again. These advent tins are 25 grams so there is enough tea for at least a couple of large pots of tea.

Thumbs up!

Sipdown! (53 | 269)

You guys, I did it! This was the very last tea left from my 2021 Fortnum advent! And with two months to spare! \o/

I’m a “save the best for last” type of person, and I remembered enjoying this one (and I do love elderflower) so here we are. Actually though, the elderflower is almost a bit too strong here? It’s teetering on the edge of being perfumey. And it’s combined with a very earthy, mineral, slightly smoky green tea so it’s a bit odd. In some ways though, I kind of appreciate the contrast as the earthier tea helps to tame the floral a little bit.

Anyway, I wouldn’t order this one because the elderflower is a bit much, even for someone who really likes elderflower. Still yummy tea though! I would really like to find a nice elderflower-lemon white tea or something similar, as I love elderflower and lemon together in cocktails (French 77 is da bomb!)… Any recommendations, tea friends?

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 14

OMG a non-black tea!!! :O Don’t get me wrong, I love black tea, but variety is nice.

I’m really enjoying this as an afternoon cuppa. The elderflower is present but not over-the-top, and there’s a slight fruitiness to it that reminds me of lychee a bit? It’s quite sweet and light overall. The base, however, seems to be a gunpowder green tea and it has a quite earthy, mineral flavor with a hint of smoke. So an interesting juxtaposition there… Heaven and Earth, perhaps?

Anyway, it’s a lovely tea, and perfect for a bit of an afternoon relaxation break on a busy day.

Sipdown! (24 | 121)

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge (August) – “A tea the flavor of a trail mix ingredient”

When I think of trail mix, I think of nuts and dried fruit, and this cranberry black tea from my leftover advent tins fits that perfectly. So hooray, working on two goals at once!

I’m bumping the rating on this a couple of points, because I found myself really enjoying it as I was working on the sipdown. The flavor does remind me of cranberry juice, albeit a somewhat sweeter version. But there’s a nice fullness to it, and it’s pleasantly tart. Some sips do veer a tiny bit medicinal, but I still enjoy the cuppa overall.

Not sure I would go so far as to reorder it, as I’m sure it would be expensive to have shipped and all that, and I’m not that in love with it. But I’m happy to have tried it, and I enjoyed it while it lasted!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 13

Can’t believe we’re halfway through! I’m both happy and sad about it ha ha. And also excited for this tea because I love cranberry! I haven’t found a cranberry tea that I’ve really liked though, so hopefully this one is different. It certainly smells amazing in the tin!

Steeped aroma is also wonderful – like tart cranberry sauce. And it tastes quite good too! Definitely a recognizable cranberry flavor, though closer to the sweeter dried variety. But it’s certainly the most recognizably cranberry tea I’ve had. The flavor is similar in value to the strawberry tea from yesterday, versus the more subtle lemon and apple versions. I will say, there’s something here that’s reading a bit medicinal to me for some reason, and it’s making the whole thing veer slightly into cough syrup territory. The aftertaste is more like cranberry juice.

So I’m conflicted on this one, on the one hand overjoyed to find such a cranberry-forward tea, on the other trying to decide if I’m bothered by the cough syrup comparison… Hmm…

As far as the Bonne Maman jam goes, today it’s Apricot-Mango Spread. I adore apricot preserves, so of course I love this one. Apricot is the star but the mango gives it a great punch of tropical tartness that really adds a nice depth. Plus there are big chunks of apricot, yum!

Sipdown! I was happy to discover that a few of these flavored black teas from Fortnum that we enjoyed most are plenty strong enough to mix with plain black teas that we didn’t love, stretching the good ones and redeeming the ones we were not excited to drink.

This was finished this morning with the final half teaspoon of Afternoon Blend, which was actually one of my preferred plain blacks in the advent, but there was so little of it that I decided to finish it.

The first sipdown of a tin from the Fortnum advent.

Very peachy and nice without milk or sugar but could take it well if you like those.

Had my Moderna booster yesterday afternoon. Arm is the most sore it has ever been with any shot ever. Headache and sore muscles means it is working, so yahoo!

I’m going to bed.

FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 13

This smelled lovely right from opening the tin! It has a very natural peach aroma. Steeped, I would say the flavoring level is equal to the strawberry tea rather than the delicacy of the apple tea.

I liked it. Ashman liked it. It was quite good and very peachy. I bet it would make marvelous iced tea.

I am accustomed to Lupicia’s peach flavored teas which usually have other things going on as well, like Merci Mille Fois or Momoko. So this seems a bit plain beside those, but if you are looking for a single note tea, this is good.

Much milder I think than Harney and Son’s Midsummer’s Peach which is decaf, but still plenty, plenty, peachy.

Thumbs up!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 14 (tins)

I really enjoyed this one last year, and I am really enjoying it again this year. The lemon is perfect for me, just like a cup of smooth black tea with just the right amount of lemon squeezed in. Not tart at all and also not super sweet in flavor, while still giving the lemon drop candy vibe, just simple black tea with lemon. No additions needed. So enjoyable with breakfast that I am tempted to make another pot.

Ashman likes it because it doesn’t taste like lemon Pledge!

Nothing new to say, just this is the 8th sipdown from the Fortnum Advent! This was one of my favorites, the black tea being not overly robust and needing milk and sugar and the lemon more lemon candy. The lemon was not strong or puckery at all.

I don’t need to hunt down a tin to keep on shelf, but it was definitely a favorite and I would happily drink it again if offered.

Today I imitated Bilbo Baggins and said, “Why not? Why shouldn’t I (drink) it?”

It is time to finish off the teas in the Fortnum Advent. The ones I loved will be finished off over the next week, I hope! I want to keep the tins stored with the advent box and I do not want it to linger half the summer (or more) with undrunk teas, so the faves will be hit hard this week and not so faves will be turned into iced tea.

My two favorite flavored teas, non-Earl type, were strawberry and lemon. Strawberry I will definitely only drink with Ashman because he loves strawberry teas best.

My favorite Earl Grey was the smoky, of course! I think the rest in order of rank were Classic Earl, Green Earl, Victoria Earl.

Favorite black tea blend – Queen Ann. I really wasn’t crazy about any other black tea or black tea blend in the set, but they were mostly okay.

I need to revisit Green with Elderflower. It is potently floral! I need to try it without food.

FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 12

I didn’t serve this with breakfast because Ashman doesn’t like lemon slices with his tea. I thought this might taste a bit like that. We had Carol by Lupicia instead.

But then I got hungry this afternoon and decided to have tea and toast. Cameron said this tasted like lemon candy so I figured Ashman would probably like it after all!

He did like it, I am happy to say. He commented that it tasted like lemon candy instead of lemon pledge, which made me remember that he dislikes lemongrass sometimes as well as lemon wedges. He did not ask for milk or sugar and had several cups of it.

I concur that it is a nice smooth tea base with lemon candy flavor, like those little hard candies that come in a tin. I wondered if sugar would make it even more candy-like, but we both liked it so well plain that we didn’t try it.

Special note: we carried our tea outside on a new tray. It came from a Canadian company but they have a US website so we were able to get it. It is darned handy and I recommend it. I think they are available in Europe as well but the only source I know for the US that has a reasonable price is Lee Valley Tools.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/kitchen/serveware/trays/74884-freeform-folding-trays

It is flat like a placemat but transforms to a tray when you lift it. I bought two sizes. It is really sturdy and I am using it like mad ever since it arrived. Just a handy thing I thought some other tea lovers might enjoy!

Sipdown! (29 | 245)

It’s so funny that I got a couple of Fortnum teas in my last swap, when I just finished some of the same teas leftover from my advent within the past couple of months. I feel like Fortnum teas aren’t very common, so it’s an amusing coincidence.

Anyway, I wasn’t displeased to revisit this particular tea! It has a pleasant sweet candy strawberry flavor and the Chinese black tea base is smooth but not overly earthy. I also enjoyed the second cup with some oat milk for a strawberries & cream oatmeal or Creme Savers vibe!

Sipdown! (24 | 24)

Another Fortnum mini tin down! (only 21 more to go… o.o)

This is a fairly enjoyable strawberry black tea. Definitely a more candylike strawberry IMO, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It reminds me of those strawberry candies with the strawberry-print wrapper that are juicy in the middle. Sweet strawberry with just a bit of tartness to it, which keeps it from being cloying. The base here is almost certainly a Chinese black tea, as it’s completely smooth with a strong earthy character. A bit of musty hay as well.

Overall a pleasant tea to sip on, but nothing to write home about. Now that I think about it though, I’m not sure there are any strawberry teas that I’ve really loved. At least, not plain strawberry. So maybe it’s just not my thing.

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 12

And the run of fruit-flavored black teas continues!

This smells and tastes just like those strawberry hard candies with the strawberry-printed wrapper and the juicy center. Very sweet and candylike strawberry flavor, and much stronger than the other two flavors so far. It sort of slaps me in the face with strawberry, he he. Honestly, I’m finding it a bit much. I bet it would be delicious with milk though, hmmm…

For jam today, I have Cherry-Elderflower Spread from Bonne Maman. I don’t think I could like this more, as I love cherry preserves and I adore elderflower in all things edible. The cherry has a great balance of sweet and tart, with a rich cherry flavor, and the elderflower adds an almost effervescent quality. Scrumptious! ❤

Sipdown! (102 | 199)

This one was good but not amazing. The lemon drop-ish flavor is fairly subtle, I think I would prefer a bit more to be honest. The base is a generic Chinese black tea with smooth woody and earthy notes.

Happy to have another Fortnum advent tin finished off! Just five more to go. :)

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 11

Ooh, this sounds lovely!

It’s quite tasty. The lemon reminds me of lemon drops, with a nice sweet flavor. But it is also a bit subtle compared to most flavored teas, though not as much as yesterday’s apple version. It’s the perfect amount to complement the base without taking over. The base here is the same one (I believe), earthy and smooth Chinese black tea. Some woodiness as well, and that same cucumber-y note that I thought might’ve been from the apple yesterday. I guess it was from the base tea, because it’s here as well! Overall, very enjoyable tea, and I have no doubt that it would be wonderful iced.

The “jam” today is Honey. Which is actually very exciting, because it means it’s not in Day 24! In previous years, Day 24 was always Honey, and I found it very anticlimactic. I mean, I like honey, but it’s not the most exciting thing to find on the last day. So hopefully this year they’ve make it more special! Anyway, having the honey with butter on (slightly burnt) toast, and it’s delicious of course. Sweet and rich with a fairly neutral flavor, no specific floral notes. I have some left, so I’m thinking I might drizzle a bit into the peppermint tisane from one of my other advents later!

Sipdown! (35 | 80)

Yay, another advent tin finished! But I still have 14 left… ^^’

I think this was my least favorite of the fruit-flavored teas, which is why I’m sipping it down early. Don’t get be wrong, I love apple and apple-flavored things. But this doesn’t taste like apple, which is very odd. There’s maybe a teeny tiny hint of apple skin if I really search for it, but the other fruit flavors were much more upfront. The base is fine, smooth and woody, but nothing special. So it mostly feels like I’m drinking a rather meh unflavored black tea.

But now it’s done, yay! On to the next mini tin!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 10

YAY! Finally, a flavored tea! \o/

I was so excited that I steeped this up in a pretty pink teapot and drank it from a proper cup and saucer. Fancy tea time this morning!

I agree with ashmanra that the flavoring is very subtle here. The base is smooth, earthy, a touch woody. Definitely a Chinese black tea of some sort. Very mellow for the morning, but would be perfect for an afternoon treat. I do taste some apple, a touch of tart Granny Smith in the background adding a refreshing crisp quality. But if I wasn’t already aware of the flavoring, I might guess that it was a natural note of the tea, as it’s very subdued. It almost reminds me of the cucumber-like flavor that I find in some silver needle teas. Quite a refreshing tea! Would probably be lovely cold brewed.

On to the jam. Today it was Peach-Mint Spread, and I really enjoyed it! The peach was sweet and juicy, and the mint was present but gentle enough to not bring it to a medicinal place. Just a touch of minty freshness that was a lovely accent to the sweet peach. Too bad it’s not one of their permanent flavors, I would definitely order more!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXUOG4muFJn/

Another sipdown! The Fortnum advent stands at 9 down and 15 to go! I think there are about six tins which have only enough for one more pot and five tins that I will need to finish all by myself since Ashman doesn’t care for bergamot.

This is a standard fare daily drinker Assam that is nice with breakfast and takes milk and sugar very well, although with food I drink it plain. Without food, I don’t drink it, but if I had no other choices I would probably have additions.

It is a good minutes since we finished breakfast and I still have the drying sensation in my mouth, but it isn’t unpleasant.

Fortnum Advent Day 3

I am not an Assam aficionado. This was fine while the bagel lasted and after that, really really brisk. My mouth was so puckery!

Last year, Ashman added a lot of milk and sugar to his, but this year he drank it plain!
Usually we polish off the whole 36 ounce pot of tea at breakfast, but there was a bit leftover of this one that was poured out. If I had put out milk and sugar we probably would have finished it. This is fine with food, but the only way I would drink it by itself is with additions.

FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 10

Ashman is off today so we had an everything bagel and tea in front of the fire. I forewarned him that this would probably be a milk and sugar tea for him and put some on the tea tray. He added it without tasting first. To get an idea of his tastes, he prefers white, oolong, green, and puerh plain and likes Bailin Gong Fu without additions but most other black tea is too astringent for him.

I drank it plain as long as the bagel lasted and found it to be a good tea for breakfast, with good flavor that held up even under the assault of the seasonings on the bagel. It didn’t feel too drying and it wasn’t sour. After the bagel was gone, the astringency was definitely noted and it was really drying my tongue, so I added milk and sugar and enjoyed the last bit quite a lot that way.

Ashman said it was fine, but he felt the body of the tea was not as creamy as he likes it to be when he adds milk and sugar. He said it felt a little watery to him, not in the ratio of leaf to water, but in the actual taste and body of the tea. He said he prefers to add milk to teas that already have a creamy body. He did drink two decent sized mugs of it, so he didn’t hate it. He said he didn’t find it too astringent, but he was having milk in it so probably wouldn’t have picked that up.