111 Tasting Notes
Very pleasant white tea with a subtle and refined taste. The lemongrass is very light, almost indistinguinshable. When drinking it, the first taste is decidedly different from that remaining in the mouth afterwards; the first one is really flowery and tangy, while the aftertaste is much stronger and reminds me a bit of cinnamon (not advertised as such by Gryphon, but my personal perception).
Though really nice, I do not like it as much as the Nymph of the Nile from the same brand which had something more original and striking.
Were it available loose, I might purchase it.
Preparation
When I travel in very basic hotels and guest houses in Asia, I am usually rather happy to find Lipton rather than other totally unknown lower-end brand.
It does not really make for a good tea, but at least it’s not bitter from the first dip of the bag into the water, the tea within the bag is not so powderish as to seep out of the bag and fill the bottom of the cup. The taste is very bland, very basic but not unpleasant.
I’ll never buy it and have it home but I find I can drink it without unpleasantness ;)
Preparation
I drank this tea in a hotel at breakfast. It’s more an afternoon than a breakfast tea, in my opinion.
However I really liked it and when I asked for further information about it, I got 3 tea-bags of this Nymph of the Nile and 2 of the White Gingerlily of the same brand to bring home. In less than one week, I finished the Nymph of the Nile…
The color is a golden yellow. The roses give out a nice fragrance and most probably contribute to the sweet mellow taste. The basil leaves small pieces give a refreshing and slightly herbal taste.
Even when forgotten a few minutes more in the teapot, the tea does not turn very bitter.
I would definitely buy it, were it not always conditioned in mousseline bags and will probably try again drinking both white peony teas and teas from Gryphon, which make very high quality perfumed teas.
Preparation
During my latest visit to Le Palais des Thés shop, I stumbled unto this new rooibos-herbal tea blend, which seemed created for me, as I often drink tea in the evening but have a low tolerance for coffeine and theine. I also have difficulties in finding good high quality fine tasting herbal teas, even in organic high hand brands/shops.
In comparison with other rooibos, I noticed the leaves are finer and therefore more numerous inside the teapot as they largely escape my tea ball. The Verbena also comes almost in dust form and definitely not in full leaves. The second brew always turns out really clear, much more so than the Mariage Frères, even though I use more of this one.
Regarding taste, the rooibos does not have a very strong taste and is rather bland and almost non-descript; however the Verbena really adds a nice and fresh twist to it.
It also tastes nice iced (after hot brew).
I rather enjoyed it, but prefer drinking some others and will not buy it back once the pack is finished.
Preparation
This sounds very interesting! I love verbena and I think it might go very well with rooibos, very soothing. (maybe even with green rooibos? Now that is something I will try to make for myself). And it is MF rooibos, I find their rooibos base so nice.
Not sure if you know it, but you might like Mariage Freres Nil Rouge. It is (red) rooibos with mostly lemongrass, though there are other citrus and (IMO. maybe it is just me) verbena there.
It is not Mariage Frères rooibos, but Le Palais des Thés. As they flavor more heavily than MF, it’s quite difficult to assess the quality of the base; it seems pretty good though not as great as MF, but I am still comparing.
First time I hear about green rooibos.
Nil Rouge is one of my absolute favorites from MF; I am currently at half my second pack. I just have not reviewed it yet ;) I’ll check for Verbena next time I drink it.
I also love love Nil Rouge – and Marco Rouge as well. Need to restock from both, better stick to just one if only I could pick which one I love best (uh.. difficult)
Love those two and I find the MF rooibos always so good. About verbena in Nil Rouge, maybe not, I mean the lemongrass is the strongest thing, but there are so many different citrus there I would swear some is verbena.
Green rooibos is good! It produces a orangey liquid as well, only not quite as dark and not as “staining”. It´s more delicate, not bitter, less strong. Red rooibos has got more oomph but green rooibos is more delicate. I was sort of hoping Mariage Freres would make a Nil Rouge-Vert, LOL, though I guess maybe a green-red tea would not work too well. Maybe the language is one of the reasons, but not sure I have ever seen a french company make green rooibos blends. It was actually the first rooibos I ever had, from a health food store. I have had some green rooibos blends mostly from german sellers, and in tea bags from this south african company. I got some plain green rooibos from a local tea seller, I like it – and improvise some evening teas with it. I really like to mix some green rooibos with a plain lemongrass tea teabag, and mean to try also verbena now I got that idea, and lemonbalm maybe as well (A very popular tisane in my country!)
oh just to add, the south african green rooibos I was mentioning.
http://steepster.com/teas/carmien/19132-organic-green-tea-honeybush-and-green-rooibos-with-mint
nothing too extraordinary but nice and I confess I find the teabags so convenient for the last cup of tea of the day!
I like to drink tea in the evening after dinner. This tea is perfect for that moment.
First of all it contains a lower theine level than regular oolong, which did not prevent me from sleeping soundly afterwards a whole teapot. Secondly the taste is both fruity and flowery, quite mellow.
I left sometimes the tea brewing for much longer than the 5 recommanded minutes; however the tea did not turn very bitter.
I enjoyed this tea and even bought a second 100 g-pack. However during the second one, I started to like it less and less, as I noticed the quality compared not as great as Mariage Frères blends. One of the things that really started to irk me was the oily remains at the bottom of the teapot and cups, after brewing this tea, which gave me the impression some of the flavors were brought through adding perfumed oils to the tea leaves or to the flowers.
Preparation
Do agree Palais des thés proposes nice blends but nothing equivalent to Mariage Frères. Never tried le thé des songes but I drink thé du Hammam the evenning and it is really nice.
I’ve read your review about Thé du Hamman and thought I should try to smell it (and possibly buy;)), if I manage to drop by Le Palais des Thés, in addition to Mariage at Christmas.
Have you noticed any oily puddles also ?
I may have systematically brewed it at too high a temperature… However I have tried it with shorter and shorter steeping time. I found the tea always tasted too bitter for my taste. The quality of the leaves seem however rather nice.
A box was given to me as a Christmas present; I have probably tried it between 5 to 10 times, always ended up draining the teapot in the sink after 1 to 2 cups that I had not enjoyed.
I’ve also tried it iced without success.
I will probably end up throwing it away…
Preparation
The first few times I drank this tea, I was not wowed, though I found it very pleasant. But then, I realized this brew was one of those I picked the most easily from my cupboard, knowing I will enjoy it whatever my mood and taste preference are.
What I really like about it, is its simplicity : it taste like rooibos, with just the right hint of vanilla, which is never overwhelming, hence a very suble blend. For those of you wondering about Bourbon, it’s actually the brand name of the vanilla, grown in the Indian ocean (Mauritius, Madagascar or Ile de la Réunion); no link with the US whiskey.
I also have used it for making ice-tea (after a hot brew); it is absolutely perfect, both refreshing without any bitterness or aftertaste; the vanilla taste gives a smooth flavor, as if it were lightly sugared.
A favorite of my husband as well.
Very nice with honey, to doctor a cold or a sore throat.
I will soon have finished the pack and will definitely buy it again sometime.
Preparation
Precisely! I was nodding all the way through your review.
It is a sort of underwhelming tea at first, the vanilla is so delicate, it is just plain rooibos but it is such good rooibos and that delicate vanilla just makes it so much better than plain rooibos. Like chocolate I guess, it needs a hint of vanilla to became better even if it is not a strong vanilla.
Amazing, yesterday I just tried adding one more paragraph to my review but couldn’t save it. I’ve just input it. Guess my surprise when I read your comment that means exactly that ;)