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Tea Flicks

OK, I exaggerate a little in the title of this post as there is only one tea flick that I know of. Maybe that’s all we need? Need one… need a miracle!

Are curious about tea? Do you want to know more about it? Here’s a fun documentary which follows a crazy person, David Lee Hoffman, into China as he advocates for a return to traditional organic tea production. It’s perhaps a little annoying for a guy from the U.S. to go to China and try to teach them about their own tea but he is genuine, really knows his tea, and apparently made some headway as there is an awful lot of good organic tea from China these days.

I was skeptical about the film because the box looks totally hokey. It does. Most of the movie was shot during the 1990s (I think) so the production quality reminds me of, um, a low budget documentary shot in the 1990s. And yet, this is a totally captivating documentary. If you’re new to tea, or even if you’re a jaded tea guy like me, you’ll be blown away by how neat the process is. David Lee Hoffman is just nuts about tea and that enthusiasm is infectious.

Here’s some gentle criticism: There are  jarring edits between David’s adventures in China and staged tea demonstrations in the U.S., and while the tea experts on film have good things to say it gives the film a bit more of an ad hoc aesthetic than I prefer. The “expert interview” is pretty standard fare in documentaries, for a reason I reckon, and would have worked better than the staged stuff. IMHO, natch.

Anyway, it’s fun, very educational and a good thing to watch as you wait for series 2.

Nepal Wins Again!

Loving the reviews, people. Loving them. It reminds us that we are not alone in this big heartless world.

Tea On Tap posted a great review of our Nepal tea. The recommendation is to keep an eye on the clock. Over brew it and you miss the subtlety. We couldn’t agree more.

Pirates & Tea

We’ve been trying for years to find a way to make a tin of tea look really hot and sexy. Well, we’re still trying but one thing that really doesn’t make a tin of tea look hot and sexy is to post a picture of it anywhere near pictures of almost naked good-looking people.  I know this after seeing our tea featured on Plunderguide today. Phew, now we know not to purchase any ad space in Maxim!

Seriously, it’s really fun for us to see our tea turning up all over the dang internets so thanks to all of you who’ve been posting about us!

On a side note, here’s a bit of irony: the one post we get on a site that’s pretty much devoted to objectifying its subjects is the only post we’ve seen that exclusively compliments the tea inside the tin without mentioning the pretty design. I guess the lesson is pirates will surprise you.

Even More

OK, my plan is working even better than I thought it would. Turns out it’s a lot of work posting all these links but I am devoted to the cause!

Here’s a nice post on Uncrate about my favorite subject (us).

More About Us

You know what’s really great to talk about? Us. And we’re even more fun to read about. From now on, we’re only going to post about us. Even better, we’re going to let other people post about us and we’ll just kick back and post links to their efforts, thusly:

Read this Article (about us) in Adagio’s Tea Muse Newsletter.

That was so easy!

Thanks, Christine, for the nice write-up…

Tea Guy Has Spoken

Bill over at TeaGuySpeaks.com is the go-to-guy for interesting tea-related posts and reviews.

We are proud to be review #97. It’s a good one! Bill even recommends our Nepal and Ceylon as good iced teas.

He also captures our crazy tea company idea perfectly:

. . . I was of the opinion that A&D might be on to something with their particular business model. To be honest, I’m growing weary of tea merchants who try to be all things to all people and thus offer a smattering of this and a bit of that and nothing that sets them apart from the mob.

Bill goes on to mention that there are tea merchants who successfully carry a wide inventory. We don’t hesitate to recommend other vendors. We want you to be happy even if it means sending you elsewhere for your tea. So check out some of the vendors under “Tea Shops” in our sidebar. Tell them Andrews & Dunham sent you.

And a big “thanks” to Bill!

Smoky Tea

I recently got back from an awesomely manly weekend camping trip so I was delighted to receive a request for a good Lapsang Souchong recommendation.  I used to brew up this type of tea at work and it was funny how it would always get the same reactions — the guys would walk into the kitchen and perk up from the campfire smell and the ladies would make a sour face. I’ve seen that sour face on countless women who’ve been dragged to a Rush concert and it spells trouble. Of course there are plenty of women who love Rush (I’ve met two) and plenty who love a good cup of Lapsang Souchong, including our requester, so here you go:

Both of my recommendations come from Peet’s Coffee & Tea. They’re a big chain out West but unlike Starbuck’s they’ve always been great and still are. I really like them, their coffee rocks and they have tons of great tea. Their Lapsang Souchong is by no means subtle, but if really smoky tea is what you want, this is it. Sometimes I find it can be a bit much so along the same lines try their Russian Caravan which is a nice, very full bodied blended black tea with enough smokiness to satisfy most Lapsang Souchong fans. It’s one of my favorites.

3 for 3 at Authoritea

The check cleared! I mean, er, Jessica at over Authoritea must have really liked our tea! She did, and while it’s not all that surprising it’s quite gratifying. It’s “Grateafying” if you will, and yes, you can go ahead and start a tea-related business with that name. Our gift to you, no strings attached.

Seriously, she’s a shrewd customer and knows her tea. I usually enjoy her reviews (even when we’re not featured) because she tells it like it really is. Like she did this time. Because our tea is so awesome.

Nilgiri FTGFOPWTF?

Have you ever had a tea from Nilgiri that’s any good? I have not. I keep trying them and have yet to hit on a winner.  I’m starting to think there’s a conspiracy to promote this region as one of the big boys but it’s not fooling us here at Andrews & Dunham Tea Opinions Ltd. Nope. And no, I’m not trying to be a hater — it’d be great to find a bunch of good, affordable teas grown somewhere other than the usual awesome places — but so far it’s not happening.

The Nilgiri mountains, also known as the Blue Mountains, are  on the South side of India. As the name implies, Nilgiri tea comes from this region. Head over to the Nilgiris wiki, look at one or two of those pictures and tell me you don’t want to pack up the rucksack and head over there.  I sure as hell do, but what awaits us in all those lovely mountains is tons of incredibly average, boring tea! Romance, memorable sunsets, sure, we’ll have those but the tea will bore us and drive us apart.

All the big retailers have some fine Nilgiri teas on the menu. Of course I haven’t tried them all, but since each one I’ve tried has been equally disappointing I feel like I have. So I mean it. Tried any good Nilgiri tea? Share the love please.

Batting 2 for 2

How long can this winning streak last? Authori-tea gives our Nepal tea top marks!

It’s like your favorite local sports team that breaks out strong at the beginning of the season. We are headed for the Super Bowl of Tea! Super Bowl!