Ysaurella

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Ysaurella drank Coquelicot Gourmand by Dammann Freres

I went to the Dammann Frères shop today. I am very disappointed but it’s nothing to do with the tea itself so I won’t say anything here but I will in a note for Dammann Frères place.

This is a very pleasant tea, opening the bag the smell is very very strong, maybe too much ! it’s candy candy candy, over-flavored.

I followed the steep instruction written by the saleswoman on my bag : 80°c and 4,5 min – not sure there are the correct ones- so I’ll give another try with a 90°c as it seems to be more classic for a black blend.

The flavors are really mixed and to me the taste is really like poppy candies. I can pick out marzipan in addition.
I love it but I have a reproach to do with the tea base which is too weak, light bodied.
Now it may be because I didn’t brew the blend at 90°c so I will give another try and amend my note soon.

This is really a pleasant dessert tea anyway, very smooth and mellow.

For my experience with Dammann Frères shop please have a look here : http://steepster.com/places/2733-dammann-freres-paris-ile-de-france

2012-10-13 14:16:36 -0400

175 °F / 79 °C

4 min 45 sec

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Bonnie 2012-10-13 14:57:48 -0400

I hope it works out for you! if not I guess you could put a little more black tea with it.

Ysaurella 2012-10-13 15:09:13 -0400

yes you’re right Bonnie, I will if the additional steep time is not enough.

meliorate 2012-10-13 19:44:08 -0400

80 degrees doesn’t sound right for a black tea… I didn’t realise the strong flower flavour was poppies after all – this is good to know! Lovely review! ♥

ashmanra 2012-10-13 21:05:16 -0400

I have only a few Dammann Freres teas. I have this one, Osmanthé d’Or, and Charlotte Audi Chocolat. (I hope I spelled all of those right!) I also have a few sales of their teas. They are wonderful, and this one was one of my favorites. I hope you find just the right way to make it so it is most pleasing for you!

ashmanra 2012-10-13 21:05:41 -0400

Autocorrect changed au to Audi!

meliorate 2012-10-14 07:45:59 -0400

Also, on reading your review of the shop – I bought my Dammann Freres tea not from a Dammann shop but a wholesaler of their tea, and I received very similar service! The same thing happened to me, I wanted about 6 different teas and two different assistants worked on it, one of them put away a tea they hadn’t packed yet so I nearly left with 5 instead of the 6 I wanted ): bizarre!

Ysaurella 2012-10-14 09:27:21 -0400

I realize the saleswoman wrote 80° on each of the 3 bags of teas…I will make a 90°c as I normally do for any black tea base and ignore her “advices”.
Ashmanra I bought as well Charlotte au Chocolat and will review it today. Osmanthé d’or seems really nice I think it is a oolong if i remember well.
I found a French website where the Dammann products are distributed and it is possible to buy 50 gr. I sent an email to the owner to know if she can ship to Europe and north America too.
I’ll let you know because if she does for a correct price it can be a good way to taste more teas for the Steepster community as I know the brand is not very present in North America.

Ysaurella 2012-10-14 09:31:48 -0400

Melanchocolate, I think next time I’ll come back on a Sunday at their shop because I really had a warm welcome by the assistant.
However they now have a second shop in Paris I may have a visit as well.

ashmanra 2012-10-14 10:14:13 -0400

The base for Charlotte au Chocolate was too astringent for me made with 100C. It was not smooth like Coquelicot Gourmand, but when I used cooler water and a shorter steep it was so good and chocolate-y! I am a wimp when it comes to astringency so other people may like it just fine prepared the way they told you. I am surprised it is so hard to get in America. The company was bought by Illy Coffee and they have offices in Texas. They sell a few samplers and such of Dammann teas and they are BEAUTIFUL!

fleurdelily 2012-10-14 13:41:13 -0400

http://shop.illy.com/online/store/category_teas_us?ef_id=UHr5IQAAUeVUvRUW:20121014174049:s

Ysaurella 2012-10-14 14:05:25 -0400

oh my god ! it is sooooo expensive …they sale the loose leaf with the boxes only. In France you can get 100gr of Douchka or jardin bleu for 6 or 7 €. The teas proposed are really few as well.

ashmanra 2012-10-14 14:53:24 -0400

I know! There is only a small selection, and very expensive. They used to have a beautiful sampler gift set but it was well over $100. The containers and leather cases are just gorgeous, though! My daughter ordered my tea as a gift for me and she had it shipped from Paris to Northern Ireland, and then she picked it up when she was there.

Ruby Woo Scarlett 2012-10-15 18:23:58 -0400

I had efficient but rather dismissive service from Mariage Freres too. I’ve never been to Dammann. Frankly, as much as I’d love to smell my teas first, shopping in person is too much of a gamble and I usually order off the Internet.
What a shame you had such a bad experience – you should drop them an email, I did that once with a perfume brand and somehow got a 50% discount off my next purchase. You never know!

Ruby Woo Scarlett 2012-10-15 18:24:57 -0400

This tea sounds amazing, by the way. The marzipan looks very interesting.

Ysaurella 2012-10-15 18:29:20 -0400

you’re right Ruby Woo Scarlett, I’ll drop them an email at least to mention they can offer a better service and gain more customers if they are more friendly

Welcome to Steepster, an online tea community.

Ysaurella

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