Oktoberfest Blend

My 3000th tasting note!

Damn this tea is good!
I love a lot of different full leave single origin type teas, but admittedly, I also love a good blend, something that combines the best qualities of 2 or more teas into one cup. I’ve been a fan of A & D ever since I tried my first cup of Tiger Assam, & I never miss picking up a can of whatever their latest combo is. This one takes the cake, as far as I’m concerned.

Let me get something straight. We’re not talking about refinement here, we’re not talking chocolate, pastry, & cream. We’re talking bold & brash, leather & leiderhosen clad manly men with full beards, hoisting goliath sized ornate ceramic steins, dripping with artisanal beer. As soon as I opened the can, I could smell hops & malt, with brats on the grill, & I can swear I heard an oom pah pah brass band playing in the distance.

This tea is savory & bold, & although the initial aroma portends smokiness, the taste isn’t that apparent. To me its heavy on the malt, slightly bitter like hops, leathery, chewy & a little sour like thick old world rye bread, & I warn you, it packs a serious punch!
Don’t drink on an empty stomach!

And of course, I love the little presents the A & D boys always include. This box came with a cute little German style rubber ducky. :)

Thank you Boychik for this sample. While I find this an enjoyable tea, it is a little too malty for my tastes. It is good though. It’s not incredibly malty, just too malty for me. I followed their brewing guidelines exactly so I don’t think I brewed it wrong. There is a little sweetness behind the malt too. As I drink the cup I notice just a little bitterness. This makes me wonder if it would be better brewed at 190 degrees? This tea was definitely worth trying.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 6g leaf and boiling water for 3 min.

I love this tea, tin is gorgeous and a little rubber ducky is cutie.
It is the best of both worlds – Indian and Chinese teas. Bold, malty ,a little spicy, some smoke(pleasant, not harsh, and mostly dry leaves). It’s very balanced and once brewed very easy to drink (for me). Perfect blend.
people who dont really like smoky teas should not be afraid. its not that noticeable while you drink it. And you can always add some little maple syrup to bring it to a different level.
I have in the same family Two Tigers by DevoTea(discontinued). Love them both!

http://instagram.com/p/tvrnQ4BwrX/

http://instagram.com/p/tvsDoShwsW/

Awesome! End review.

Ha ha.

Well I will try my best at a decent review. I have been trying to post this all day and it just hasn’t been working out in my favour.

I love Andrews and Dunham. Their teas are always good, but the showmanship makes everything taste so much better!

So on first opening the canister, it has a quite smokey scent. The tea brews up a very nice red/brown colour.

Don’t be fooled by the scent, the tea tastes only slightly smokey. The base is bold and very malty. The liquor is moderately thick. There is a definite sweetness to the tea, it made me think of honeysuckle. I am getting a bit of dirty old leather … darjeeling … I am pretty sure I taste dajeeling, it is quite hard to sneak that by my taste buds. But it is ok, it is just an undernote in the flavour profile. There is quite a drying effect in the aftertaste, but I would not describe it as astringent as there is no bitterness and no bite that you get with astringency. I would describe this tea as being similar to an amber ale. Perfect for Oktoberfest!

Quite enjoyed this one.