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“Friday morning, I need the caffeine but don’t want to put the overly strong caffeine of moka pot coffee into my still feeling overly full tummy. So I reach for this for a less stronger punch. Two...” Read full tasting note
“We’re out of coffee beans, so I wanted at choose a tea with some muscle to get me kinda, sorta going today. I chose this one because, it is the holiday time now!! Eee! Anyway – since this is the...” Read full tasting note
“Just brewed up a mug of this and am about to watch Home Alone on ABC Family! :-)” Read full tasting note
“1 heaped TB for 500 mL water, drunk bare. I admit it. The label got me. Sweater-knit Imperial Walkers. A & D could have stuffed the tin with grass clippings and I still would have bought it...” Read full tasting note
We weren’t planning to release a Holiday Tea this year. Instead, we thought we’d spend the Holidays the usual way – drinking leftover Carävan and Earl Grey, racing RC helicopters, and ranking our favorite concept albums. But lo, our designers were possessed by the spirit of the season and knit us these incredibly “tasteful” labels. We couldn’t resist creating a custom blend of delicious tea to stuff into a cozy tin. Sure, they’re a little itchy and the fit is a bit old-fashioned, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
The Damn Fine Holiday Blend is a one-of-a-kind blend of black teas. No, it’s not flavored with anything but pure, delicious tea. It’s full-bodied and bright, tastes great with or without milk, and is especially awesome with cookies. Brew it for four minutes in boiling water.
Andrews & Dunham knows that nothing beats a perfect cup of tea, and a great tea needs no explanation. We love the romance of tea. We love that tea might just be the healthiest thing you’ll ever drink. But if the tea you’re drinking doesn’t taste fantastic, you’re missing out. Only a few teas meet our mysterious, rigorous standards and we’re proud to offer them to you. We’re always looking for that perfect cup, so you don’t have to.
I was pleasantly surprised by the A&D Holiday Blend. At first sip my thought was “Fah! I already bought this tea. Damn you Andrews! Damn you Dunham! Damn your pretty labels!” It seemed much too much like their Yunnan. But! Much to my delight there is a kind of fruity twinkly finish that more than distinguishes the Holiday Blend. A very nice black holiday tea (not a tea for depressing morbid holidays, but a black tea for the holidays) for gray snowy afternoons.
Additionally, I’m experimenting with cream and sugar for the first time (successfully). It rounds out the bitterness nicely. I’ve tried in the past and always been disappointed, but I’ve always tried with non-fat milk and it seems that you need something a little thicker if you want a more robust flavor.
It is raining HARD this lazy Sunday. Already went to early service and everyone came home starving (LOL! Starving at 10:30 am and I had breakfast before we left!) so we made a quick “rat lunch” – JacquelineM understands that is grilled cheese sandwich and tea! I made a single cup of this to test before Wednesday tea party. It is quite good and I took it sans additions. I was only brewing a single cup and I didn’t check to see how many ounces my cup held – it is one I don’t usually use – so I think I made this a little on the weak side. Still, it was good and met my parameters: not bitter, not too astringent, not screaming ASSAM! at me. I imagine that brewed properly and perhaps with the addition of milk and sugar, this is going to be a cup good enough to elicit a happy sigh from everyone!
This tea really hit the spot for me today, snowed in as I am. I’m generally not one for abstract analysis of the imagery-type variety, but today this tea seems like a perfect reflection of the snow-and-ice-covered world outside: bold and interesting, yet smooth and quiet at the same time. It’s tough to nail down a perfect description though…it’s not smoky like A&D’s Carävan, but there’s maybe a suggestion of it in there somewhere along with a hint of sweetness. I might describe it differently tomorrow, but I do say that it’s quite good and I quite like it.
Okay, friends. I’m really trying to contain myself here.
This tea is ridiculously good. I’m sensing Keemun, Darjeeling, and something sweeter? Yunnan? It’s smoky in a very smooth way with a sweetness and spice that is hard to describe. How did I fit that many adjectives into one sentence? But seriously, it’s all the right amounts of those components wrapped up in a warming cup that will truly complete you. I’m overwhelmed, really.
Shout out to Charles and Erik, who had two fine artists (Paul, age 10 and Maggie, age 6) decorate my shipped boxes with fantastic pictures, as per a silly special request in the shipping notes. Thank you, young artists, and thanks for such a lovely cuppa as well! Truly inspiring.
Thanks to Ricky, I now possess a tea by A&D! I’ve been meaning to try their teas for quite some time. I really enjoy this one- it’s a full, rich and dark black blend. Lots of Yunnan flavor, maybe a hint of smokiness. Maybe a touch of Keemun? It also has a subtle sweetness lurking in there. This tea is so rich and smooth, very comforting!! Especially on this frigid day. I don’t usually like to add milk to my teas, but I bet this one would do well with it. I think I’ll try doing that with the next cup! I wish I could cozy up under a blanket with this one!
Wow, I finally steeped this correctly today. I’ve been consistently either over-brewing this tea, or putting too few leaves in, or not warming up the cup or pot enough. This tea is a bit fussier than some, for sure, but it’s completely worth it. It’s a bit of a paradox with tea, because that moment when you aren’t yet caffeinated enough to do things right is when you have to figure out how to brew correctly!
Also, it goes really, really well with cinnamon sugar coffee cake.
Dry leaves smell like muscat. Brews rich amber and smells like honey and grape. Tastes mildly malty with a hint of smoke and aftertaste of hay. Full mouth feel. Moderate astringency. A little bitterness. A solid, archetypal black Tea (with a capital “T”).
I had a samples of this tea that originated from boychik though I’m not sure if I received it from the source or if it was passed on by someone else. Nonetheless, thank you to those who made it possible for me to try this blend because it is delicious! Even drinking it cold, I can appreciate all this has to offer. It’s rich and malty and has a certain coziness that screams holiday. It is also smooth and sweet and just downright tasty.
