Partridges, London

After months of drought, we’ve had two solid days of cold, drenching rain. Looks like Trunk or Treat will be inside this afternoon, although that creates its own set of problems: a dozen hyped pre-Halloween preteens cooped up in a small area and expected to give away candy instead of eating it themselves. Thus, morning tea needs to be substantial. No fannying about.

Mr. Shepherd to the rescue, extra leaf, extra time. Normal strength yields the wheat toast vibe that makes me swoon; this morning’s mug is “pumpernickel with the toaster set to scorch.” But that’s OK. Some days you just need tea with a spine to strengthen your own.

I hadn’t even looked at any sipdown prompts yet, but chose this deliberately on New Year’s Day as a favorite. My preferred adjectives for it are toasty and wheaty, and I won’t invent any new ones, because it is what it is. Pretty much perfect in my book.

This one’s for the Queen. Husband originally found the tin at Tuesday Morning some time ago and thought I’d get a giggle out of the royal warrant. Which I did, and then I discovered why it earned the honor: superbly malty and toasty with enough strength to open one’s eyes of a foggy morning. If the quantity of repeat reviews reflects how much one likes a tea, I haven’t done it justice, but there’s not much to say beyond I love it and I’m saddened to see the bottom of the tin approach.

I haven’t reviewed this often, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love it. Perfection in a breakfast tea. Wheaty. Toasty. Smooth. Takes milk graciously but doesn’t need it.

This was a serendipity find at Tuesday Morning a while back—after falling in love with Mr. Shepherd, my husband kindly went back and bought the two remaining tins. I had a Sunday morning date with the last spoonfuls of Tin #2. Favorite hobnail mug. Steeped to perfection. Thirty unscheduled minutes before I had to get ready for church.

And then, Beelzebub and Son in the feline forms of Minnie and Tazo, decided to play tag. Minnie, a 20-pounder, jumped on the small side table holding the mug and drenched everything within a three-foot radius. Cleaned the rug. Threw away ruined magazines. Blotted soggy books. Scrubbed stained carpet. With order nearly restored, I lifted the small table, half the weight of the cat who caused the commotion and felt a sciatic nerve go snap.

And that is why I have been walking around hunched over like a gorilla all week.

Even so, I’m still more peeved about the loss of a perfect cuppa than I am about the injury. So glad there’s one tin left.

Reviews have been sparse the past couple weeks, primarily because I’ve been imbibing the same cadre of favorites for days. This one has moved near the top of the list, to the point that I asked hubby to run back to the store and grab the remaining stock. It’s just a good, solid, morning-strength rye and wheaty blend that requires no pampering. Recommended for heavy-duty unflavored unleaded fans…there are some of you out there, yes?

Hope you loved on your mom a little today. Moms leak if you don’t fill their buckets once in a while.

My bucket is brimming—between husband, son, and (ahem) cats (or so the gift tag says), I have a basketful of treats to paw through, including this dignified tin of black tea with the Royal Warrant. We’re huge “Keeping Up Appearances” fans, so Royal Warrant Tea holds a special place in my heart.

Other than the little niblet on Partridge’s website (East African, mountain grown), Partridge’s is a little sparse on information. I’ll take scent and flavor over information any day, and this is replete with both. It’s loose leaf rather than CTC, and smells like a bucket of buckwheat. The flavor is equally sweet and wheaty, smooth like velvet with a color like the dark cherry wood finish on my tea chest. Fine stuff.

Great taste and relax

Santa Claus was very good to me again this year (even though I wasn’t always a good boy). He brought me some Partridges English Breakfast Loose Tea.

I love powerful bold black teas in the morning to knock me out of my post-slumber stupor; the stronger the better. However, I may have found a black tea that is potentially too strong even for me. This is not a criticism of the tea, but rather, my brewing method. I steeped the tea for five minutes at 212 degrees. I think this tea would have a more mellow flavor with three minutes of brewing. I will try that next time.

This selection has a prominent malty taste. The flavor is full and enduring, providing a big bang with every sip. Even with my over-steeping, the flavor is not bitter, just very rich and strong. The color is like maple syrup.

I do like this tea. It reminds me of other robust UK black teas that I was offered when I visited Scotland years ago. This is the kind of tea that will slap you awake in the morning. I will definitely keep it in my daybreak rotation for those mornings when I need an extra shove to reunite with the land of the living.