Fortnum & Mason

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 6

Ooh, an interesting one today! I wouldn’t say I’m a lapsang lover generally. I don’t dislike it, but it’s not something I drink often or would buy. That being said, there’s a smoked Earl Grey from Lupicia that I adore, so I’m excited for this!

I quite like this. I will say, I’m surprised that some people found this to be overpoweringly smoky, as I don’t get that at all. The smokiness has a nice balance of savory meatiness with more earthy charred wood. I would maybe call it a moderate level of smokiness. The bergamot is there as well, and it has refreshing lemony flavor that cuts through the rich smoke well. It’s a rather mellow amount of bergamot, but this is still obviously an Earl Grey to me. Underneath the smoke, the Chinese base is smooth and earthy.

This won’t replace my Earl Grey Grand Classic, as I’m missing the juicy longan flavor, but I will enjoy working my way through the mini tin. Also, I had this with toast and some Bonne Maman Sweet Orange-Passion Fruit Spread, which was very yummy. I’m not generally a marmalade lover, as I find it can be quite bitter, but that wasn’t the case here. And the passion fruit added a nice punchy tartness! :)

Sipdown! (115 | 212)

Finished this one off with oat milk. It’s just too generic and meh for me to drink it plain. At least with the oat milk, it tastes like oats ha ha.

Not a fan, happy to be rid of this one. Four tins to go!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 4

I feel like a lot of tea companies don’t seem to put much thought into the order of the teas in their advent calendars. Take this one, for instance – four black teas in a row, three of which were breakfast-type blends. I know there are plenty of flavored and other types of tea in this advent, so why so much repetition? And B&B had a similar issue for me, with herbal tisanes for the first three days. Anyway, it’s odd.

This is a pleasant enough tea. It’s Assam, which I prefer over Ceylon generally, so it doesn’t taste like Lipton to me. But it is fairly generic. There’s a nice maltiness of course, just a hint of raisin. Not much else though, making it a rather boring cuppa. Some astringency on the tail end, but nothing extreme. Then again, I did keep the steep quite short.

Added a healthy drizzle of extra creamy oat milk to the second half, which smooths it out a bit. Still, nothing to write home about. In fact it might be my least favorite so far?

Sipdown! (40 | 40)

This was fine. I’m not a Ceylon fan, so it was never going to be my favorite. It is fairly smooth at least, with hints of wood and bread. Mostly it tastes like Ceylon though, tea-ish (lol) with a metallic edge and some astringency at the end. I found this one didn’t take milk that well either, it tasted a bit bland compared to the other Fortnum black blends I’ve had that way.

Anyway, another one done at least!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 3

Another black blend! I tried to guess the teas from the dry scent, but I was completely wrong, lol. This is a blend of high and low-grown Ceylon teas.

I admit, I was not excited after reading that, as Ceylon doesn’t tend to be my favorite. I steeped for 2.5 minutes just to be on the conservative side (my usual time for black teas is 3 minutes). Actually, I’m quite enjoying this one. It does have that sort of Lipton-esque “tea” quality than I just absolutely fail to find another way to describe, but there’s also a pleasant woodiness underneath that smooths it out a bit. There is a bit of a metallic note here, which seems to be characteristic of Ceylon teas (I see it described as “brassy” or “coppery” often but lack the knowledge to be that specific XD). But it’s not overwhelming and does contribute a bit of brightness. Slightly tannic as expected on the tail end, but it’s a pleasant astringency.

I’m having a hard time describing this, but it’s pleasant enough. Not something I would run out and buy, not being a Ceylon fan, but pairs well with a slice of toast. For me it would be more of a morning tea rather than afternoon though.

As far as the toast, today it’s topped with Bonne Maman’s Lemon-Yuzu spread from the advent calendar. I admit, I’m not generally a fan of yuzu in sweet applications. I just find its pine-y notes a bit odd combined with sugar (even though I love it in tea and with savory things). But here I’m mostly tasting the sharp citrusy notes which makes for a delicious bright and sunny jam. There’s a hint of pine but not enough to lessen my enjoyment!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 7 (tin)

Bergamot on Ceylon is a huge dislike of mine. Ceylon is usually too lemony on its own to taste good with more citrus to me, especially the high grown sort. Happily, Fortnum uses Keemun for their base!

I consider this blend to be on the mild end of the spectrum for Earl Grey tea. The bergamot doesn’t punch you in the face. I like that. Very nice with breakfast.

Fortnum Sachet Advent Day 5

Another tea I have not only had before, but it is also in the tin advent! It is what it says it is – a classic Earl Grey. I consider this to be mild in the bergamot department, and a fairly smooth base that did not in any way make me wish for milk or sugar. I experimented with adding a cardamom, saffron, and cinnamon orange marmalade to my oatmeal and oversweetened it accidentally (I usually add just a little touch of honey and some cardamom) and the light briskness did cut the sweet nicely,

Fortnum Advent Sipdown #20

Glad to have another sipdown. This one was easy to do, as it has a Keemun base and I really enjoyed it. The bergamot was a good strength for me. I have Earl Grey Green, Victoria Gray, Elderflower Green, and Smoky Earl Grey to go. That last one will be a sad goodbye.

Fortnum and Mason advent day 3

I was facing this one with a bit of trepidation. I like Earl Grey best with Keemun, Lapsang, or white tea as the base. I was afraid this would be a “volume ten in your face” Earl.

I made a toasted cheese to go with it and let it be a holiday tribute to our good friend, KS, who loved Earl Grey every which way. Rat lunch, just like the old days.

To my surprise, this is smooth and easy sipping! Stoo gave it a 6.5 of 10 for how much bergamot is in it and I agree. Plenty to taste but nothing overpowering here. I see that JacquelineM called it a favorite, and I see why. Plus she points out that the companies says the base is mostly Chinese black tea! This explains why I like it. Bergamot seems to be paired with Ceylon most of the time and it is just way too sour for me!

Big thumbs up for day 3!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 12 (tins)

I didn’t wait for afternoon but had this immediately after breakfast. I really should’ve reversed my teas today because afternoon blend was the one that had heft and should have come first. I was reading and having my first morning alone in a while and wanted to savor the feeling, so after my half portion of oatmeal and FTGOP Assam, I had this and some Spekulatius cookies from Aldi. So….second breakfast. But immediately after first breakfast.

It is a decent Ceylon, would take milk and sugar well and if Ashman had been home that is how he would have wanted it. Coppery, somewhat bold. Good with cookies, but I would not enjoy it as a stand-alone cup.

I stayed up until 3 am waiting for the storm, and Ashman had the alarm set for 4 am to go to work….because of the storm.

He and I drank this together yesterday for breakfast, and he really liked it. He drank one cup of it without milk or sugar, and there are very few black teas he can do that with. He did prefer it with additions and drank several cups that way.

There was one scant teaspoon left so I finished the wee tin with my solitary breakfast – Nonni’s Gingerbread Biscotti and tea.

This grew on, and I liked it more the last two times I had it. I have always liked Ceylon tea pretty well, as long as it isn’t high grown. This is a good one for breakfast, and as Ashman demonstrated it goes well with and without additions.

I doubt I would re-purchase but it was good. If I am going to buy a Ceylon tea, I would get Kenilworth from Harney or their Ceylon and India blend. I miss A Southern Season’s Ceylon Extra Fancy. I don’t know when I have ever seen such huge tea leaves, and it holds a special place in my heart.

I didn’t hate or love this tea. But I have a lot of tea to get through and since they recommend this one iced because it keeps a nice, clear color I decided to go for it.

These tins are generous so I will actually get two pitchers out of what is left. I steeped three teaspoons and resteeped, pouring into a Bodum pitcher with a little less than a half cup sugar to keep it true to my one cup of sugar per gallon ratio for Ashman’s tea. Left in fridge all day but it will probably be best tomorrow.

It was 76F and sunny here today and I worked in the garden a bit, so it is a great day to try out a new iced tea!

Indeed, the color is as gorgeous as they say with none of the cloudiness you get with Assam. (Usually that can be cleared up with a teeny bit of baking soda.)

The surprise is that the resulting iced tea, even with the resteep, is stronger than the Luzianne I usually use for iced. I was worried it was going to be weak. It isn’t, and tastes decent already. but didn’t send me over the moon. It was just decent iced tea, no fireworks but definitely lots of flavor. And iced tea is always better second day so I may be more impressed tomorrow.

I have at least three teaspoons of leaf left as these advent tins are 25 grams, so there will be one more pitcher.

Fortnum Advent Day 2

There are two entries for this tea. The other is under the name Afternoon Blend which is probably the correct name, and only has one review, so I chose to put this here.

My first tea was Breakfast, which was exactly as advertised but is definitely not my favorite type of tea. As expected, this was very similar but lighter.

I did sip it before eating so the flavor wouldn’t be muddied by the food, and it had that bright and coppery taste I associate with Ceylon tea. (I do enjoy low and mid-elevation Ceylons but high grown are too minty and astringent for me.) It is a little malty but I didn’t feel like the only way to get it down was with milk and sugar. (Breakfast Blend without food would deffo be with milk and possibly sugar, too.)

With food, this is quite nice. It serves the purpose of a breakfast tea and while it is muted with the food because the sharp edges are dulled, it has the gumption to still have flavor.

I agree with Ros on this one. If I am going to pay Fortnum prices, I want one of their unique blends. I can get plenty of breakfast and afternoon tea that I enjoy more than this one for less cost.

Since they recommend it iced, that is where the last of this is going.

Tldr: Better than Breakfast Blend, not as good as Queen Anne. Just my opinion.

Sipdown! (10 | 226)

I’ve been enjoying this one with oat milk. Not sure why I’m so into adding oat milk to black teas lately, it’s something I rarely do in general. Not that it’s a bad thing, just unusual for me!

Enjoying this last cuppa plain though. This one needs no additions as the base is very smooth and the bergamot is moderate and doesn’t slap you in the face. It’s a nice citrusy bergamot too (which seems silly to say considering bergamot is in fact a citrus…) with no perfumey notes.

Tasty, enjoyed it, but also happy to have another empty Fortnum tin! :)

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 2

Hooray, an Earl Grey I’ll actually like hopefully! \o/

I did a shorter steep than I usually would (2.5 minutes) because of yesterday’s tea and the smallish leaf. Turns out I didn’t need to for this one, it’s definitely a Chinese black base which wouldn’t have gotten bitter or astringent anyway.

This is a lovely classic Earl! The bergamot is very present but it doesn’t hit me over the head. It’s citrusy as opposed to perfumey, in fact it almost tastes like there’s lemon here too. Fortnum (annoyingly) doesn’t specify the origin of the tea anywhere on their website but I’m going to guess 100% Chinese black tea here, as it’s quite earthy in character and extremely smooth. A nice solid base for the bright bergamot without being tannic.

Love it, and definitely won’t have any trouble finishing off the 25g mini tin! :3

Also, with this I had today’s Bonne Maman jam on a toasted English muffin. It was also a classic – Seedless Raspberry Spread – and had a very good balance of sweet and tart with a rich raspberry flavor. It was a bit thin, but I don’t generally keep my jam at room temperature and I’m sure it would firm up a bit in the fridge (if it had lasted past today, that is!).

Sipdown! (14 | 230)

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge (September) – “A breakfast tea”

Finished this one off with oat milk. Nothing much to say about it really, a blend of Assam and Ceylon. Not a huge fan of Ceylon, would prefer just a plain Assam. But yay, only two Fortnum advent teas left to go! :)

Sipdown! (21 | 21)

22 more advent tins to go! I’ve been sipping this as my morning tea lately, with a light drizzle of milk to smooth it out and keep it from angering my empty stomach lol.

Nothing much else to say about it, a pleasant breakfast brew but nothing particularly special. I have another mini tin of it to finish, but I’ll save that for another time. :)

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 18

My first duplicate in this advent! If I remember right, there are only 2 or 3 duplicates anyway. This was my Day 1 tea, so it’ll be interesting to try it again after having what felt like their entire breakfast blend lineup.

I think I’ll raise my rating slightly, as this is putting a smile on my face this evening. :)

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 1

Happy December, tea people! \o/

So happy that advent season is finally here! And I’m kicking it off with this first tea from Fortnum & Mason as my morning cuppa! This is one of their many breakfast blends, and it’s a blend of Ceylon and Assam. It doesn’t specify in what proportions sadly, though I guess that’s a bit much to expect heh.

I will say I can definitely taste both teas. Perhaps the Assam is slightly stronger? Although it does tend to be a beefier tea in general. I had originally planned to steep this for 2.5 minutes, as the leaves looked quite broken to me. But after seeing how quickly the water darkened after being poured in, I shortened it to just 2 minutes to be safe. And I’m glad I did, this is very flavorful but not bitter, and even with the short steep it has a moderate amount of astringency on the tail end.

I confess, the beginning of the sip tastes a bit like Lipton, perhaps from the Ceylon? But midway through, the dark brown sugar and raisin notes of the Assam come to the forefront. It’s very malty as well. The Ceylon seems to be adding “tea-ish” notes (lol) and a bit of a metallic edge. And then at the end, the tannins come out to play and take over the cup.

I added a glug of oat milk to the second half of the cuppa, which smoothed out the dryness perfectly but also brought out a slightly musty flavor. I’m not generally a breakfast blend sort of person, as I don’t often add milk to my tea, which is almost expected for these types of blends. That being said, I’m excited to explore a few more that I know are hiding somewhere in this calendar! It’s always fun to go outside your tea comfort zone. ❤

ETA: Almost forgot about the Bonne Maman jam!

Today was Rhubarb-Strawberry Spread and it was wonderful slathered on the very last leftover Thanksgiving roll. I adore rhubarb. The end!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW9ig19NOOT/

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.

January Sipdown Prompt – tea with candlelight

It is gloomy weather, warm but very overcast with rain moving in by afternoon. On days like this, I enjoy a candlelight breakfast and rainy days make me think of lapsang for some reason, so this was a good fit. I find lapsang comforting. Perhaps it makes me think of a cozy hearthside.

I missed at first that this tea contains gunpowder green. I steeped it at boiling as usual and find it isn’t a problem. I really like this tea, but I am a lapsang fan and I also prefer my bergamot on Keemun or really any base other than a lemony Ceylon. The bergamot is not super strong but it is definitely present. I don’t have to squint and look for it.

This is one of my favorites from the Fortnum advent calendar. Their plain Earl Grey is also good, since they use a Keemun for the base.

I have finished seven of the mini tins and have a couple more that are within one pot of being finished. My goal is to finish the advent by February 15, and I think that is doable.

This is one I would consider buying by the full size tin when the cupboard is in better shape.

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 8

Keep in mind I loaded my advent myself, keeping most teas in the same order but shifting a few around. Even the ones they pack vary slightly in the order of tins, and I think the order in the refill box was slightly different as well.

I was so glad to see this one today. We have had clouds and rain for days, so even though it is warm, it is gloomy. And the neighbor’s dog has tummy trouble again so I will be trekking over there frequently today to prevent accidents.

I love a good smoky grey, though, so that was cheering. This is not terribly smoky to me and the bergamot is also not super strong, but it makes a very decent cup of tea which I enjoy. Great with food. Good alone, too.

Fortnum Advent sipdown 23/24

One of my favorites from the advent, and now it is gone! Finished it at breakfast this morning, but determined to try mixing some Russian Caravan I have on hand with some plain Earl Grey to see if I can replicate.

Not too terribly smoky and the bergamot was not heavy or perfumey. It made a nice breakfast tea.

Fortnum and Mason Advent Day 5

YAAAAAS! I really like this one and I am so glad they included it in the advent!

Smoke is not too strong – way less than Upton Black Dragon or Lapsang Crocodile from Dammann or same name tea from Thé O Dor. I give the smoke a level four or five on a scale of 0 to 10. The bergamot is pretty light, definitely there but not stealing the show.

Well done.