408 Tasting Notes
Phénix is not a very well known MF blend, no idea why because it is quite good.
It reminds me about Thé du Loup of Theodor EVEN IF there is no chocolate in Phénix but caramel.There is due to the presence of Hazelnuts I think and the smoothness of the both tea bases.
I get honey on aftertaste, really well blended.
I wonder if the tea base is a keemum…we never have these informations with MF. But it’s a very mellow tea.
cteresa this is a tea I would love you to review…if you are still continuing to drink tea at this period of the year (it’s cold in France perhaps the same in Portugal ?)
A very greedy tea.
Preparation
I was a little worried seeing the ratings of this tea but really wanted to try by myself too.
This is clearly a mild tea base, but not weak. Inversely, the aromas are strong and especially on citrus. There is a kind of je ne sais quoi really joyful with the citrus here.
The vanilla adds something very interesting to the blend.
Saying that where is the crème brûlée promised by MF ? in the air I would say, like a spirit, an inspiration : there but not really too…
I really like Thé de Pâques and I’m happy to have bought 100g today.
It smells like a mystery blend to me…blended by the Easter rabbit ? arrived with Rome’s bells ? I just surrender to the fantastic aromas especially due to the fantastic way the citrus come with vanilla.
Preparation
SIPDOWN – I really loved this tea as you can read in my previous review but I am happy to clear my cupboard as I bought almost 1kg of teas today :S
I kept a little sample of it if a steepsterite wants to try it.
omg 1 kilo of teas…. that sounds fabulous!
yes but remember we are obliged here to buy by 100g ! I have 8 new teas in cupboard “only” lol
Yes but it’s still exciting to have new teas :) especially ones that sound tasty!
1 kg of tea? you go girl! I am looking forward to your tasting notes!
@ cteresa : yes …I would love to send you some before spring really arrives !
Spring, what spring, pfh, it´s like a refining of nastyness for nasty weather. It is admittedly a bit warmer and there are flowers, but it´s cold, rainy and windy all at the same time with total randomness just to make it more cruel. I have had more umbrellas than can be believed… ah, spring.
And I still got some samples from the last time to try (some sniffed, but not yet tried. the christmas tea, oh cherries!), so I am totally undeserving. But maybe later? I might get some new teas at the end of this month, maybe after that?
I sent you the xmas tea with cherries ?I thought have sent the one with apples:S
Good question, must check! I opened all the bags and sniffed (could not resist) and I think I got a cherry note, but could be imagining it! Too many tempting samples – though I admit I am perverse at saving having new samples to try later, in order to have a “new” tea to try saved. I am not making any sense am I?
it does ! I have almost 25 unopened samples …:S
You win then :)
This is my first plum tea, I have the chance to taste it thanks to Sil
It’s a very mild cinnamon-y tea perfectly balanced with the plum aroma.There is a slight tartness on aftertaste.
The tea base is really nice and present, not too strong neither.
I preferred it very hot rather than just warm, so I need to hurry up to finish my cup !
Preparation
This is my second George Cannon Tea and I should recognize I am quite impressed by this brand.
Le Petit prince de Kharkov is a marvel : everything is so well balanced, so perfectly blended, it is really amazing.
The tea base is a very good quality one, robust without being strong.
If you don’t like cloves, try this tea, because you may change your mind.
It is a very cloying tea but citrus work perfectly with, on a very special way, unique to my opinion.
It is clearly an holiday tea, but not another one,not an additional one to the long existing list of spiced teas.
It is really a very very good surprise.
The tea name made me dream as well when I bought it…who is the little Prince of Kharkov (Kharkiv in English) ? No real nor official answer but to me, it may be Alexander Siloti, the famous Pianist as this tea is a perfect spiced symphony.
I may be wrong because a lot of famous people were from Kharkiv (Chess masters especially) if someone has the answer…I’ll be happy to know it.
Preparation
Interesting, I’ve never heard of this company before. Ill have to check it out.
the company seems to be quite old, here is their website :http://www.georgecannon.fr/
I love the mystery behind the name Ysaurella! I also like your interpretation of it :-)
This is a sample kindly shared by Sil, thank you Sil !
I really appreciated this tea.
Even if I’m not a big plain tea drinker, I manage to recognize an high quality tea and it is really one.
It’s not an heavy malty black tea but a medium bodied one with wonderful notes of wood (that’s what I felt !)
There is absolutely no bitterness with this tea.
I love it.
Preparation
I am upset…my enterprise decided to move outside of Paris, meaning my transport time is more than doubled…
This is my second day on the new site and I had a very bad day : problems with trains I spent 2 hours and a half to come back home tonight…so “just” spent 4 hours today in trains and buses without even doing a tour travel in Cambodia ! rrrr Paris Suburb without car…(anyway with a car you can remain 4 hours in a traffic jam…so I think I prefer train, at least I can sleep or read or laugh while hearing some silly stories from the other travelers)
3 hours /day…for a normal travel 1 hour 1/2 to go and 1 hour 1/2 to come home…too much for me, really…I already sent some candidatures hoping I’ll get soon some interviews. Oh yes really hoping to find another job soon.
Arriving home at 9 PM, while opening my mail box…awwwwww SMILE ! I get my tea swap box from Sil – thanks for being the ray of sun in my dark day !
I decided to try this one first because it was wrapped very carefully with 3 small bags to isolate it from the other samples.
This is because the perfume of dry leaf is soooo beguiling, so captivating.
After steeping, the perfume is really less present and drinking it I get a very natural strawberry taste, really very nice. and some hibiscus, for tartness but not overpowering.Rhubarb is not detectable by my tastebuds
I am just a little disappointed by the tea base, I find it very light, almost weak for my taste.
A very natural tea very different from my favorite tea collection with rhubarb & strawberry (Jardin bleu DF & Thé du Hammam Black leaf PDT)
Thanks for sharing it Sil !
Preparation
Oh I’m so glad that you had a smile at the end of your day! Stacy and I are finalizing this blend so the official version might be slightly different but I’m glad to get your feedback on this before we finalize it!
I am drinking the end of my mug cold now and actually i prefer it cold, I get a mellowness I didn’t had while hot
good luck with a new job! And a strawberry-rhubarb tea seems like a wonderful pickup.
Pauvre toi, C’est impensable tout ce temps perdu! I really hope you find another job quickly…
thanks Mlle La fée du Thé and Teresa :) hope soooo ! and quickly !!!
I have to confess I bought this tea because of its romantic name.
I found it (along with 2 other teas I’ve never heard about) in a small independent tea shop rue de la Convention in Paris.
I smelled it and was seduced – The good thing with independent shops is we can buy small weights of teas (50g and even 25g)- I know for USA and Canada it seems absolutely logical to be allowed to buy 1/2 oz or 1 or 2 oz but here in France we often need to buy 100g because the brands (Mariage Frères, Dammann Frères, Betjeman & Barton, Palais des thés, Kusmi teas…) doesn’t allow to buy less so when you enter one of these brand shops and want to buy loose leaf this is 100g minimum. Complicated when you don’t know the tea and want to taste it.
Rêverie sur la Néva is really a very good surprise – this is my first George Cannon tea (good quality teas). I struggled to found some information on the web about this tea so I did my own pic to show you the dry leaves.Beautiful with pink berries and probably aniseed.
It is really a surprising tea, I’ve never had such a tea. The tea base is a medium bodied one, very smart.
The aromas are incredible : citrus are just a perfection, spices are not hot spices but mild and very original ones.
If I had knew there was some aniseed inside I probably wouldn’t have bought this tea – for stupid prejudice – I like aniseed in candies and cooking but never thought it could be a good idea in a tea- I was wrong.
It is really mellow and soft with a hint of something incredible which wakes you up to pay attention to the beverage.
Really a successful tea.
And this is my 101th tasting note ! As I rarely write twice about a tea this means I tasted around 90 95 different teas since I am on Steepster, I want to carry on :)
Preparation
Lovely review Ysaurella:-) I can’t picture myself buying 100gr of a tea I don’t even know I’m going to like! That must be a problem indeed, I understand why the idea of independent shops must be appealing… I’m sure Mr. Cannon will be very pleased with the good publicity and exposure you are giving him :-)
P.S. I have aniseed specially made for infusion, the ingredients are just that: aniseed! I understand why you would be hesitant to have it in your cup, I was too. But it turned out to be one of my favorite! Of course, you have to like that licorice distinctive taste. If you do, you’re in for a treat, it’s very sweet and soothing and has so many healt benefits attached to it, I have a cup everyday!
Mmmmm- anise :)
Great review! Some tea shops here have the same requirement of buying 100 grams, but if you buy four teas you can get just 50 grams of each. It is nice when you can buy just a sample or a small amount, isn’t it?
What a lovely name for a tea! And a good review. :)
So proud of you! You bring romance to our lives!
thank you girls !
for those of you who are planning a visit to Paris here is the shop : http://www.themerrymonk.fr/
and here is the Tea brand website :http://www.georgecannon.fr/
i’m going to paris in 2 weeks :) and i’ve added the address to my list of potential destinations. thank you!!
I wish. :) We had a chance for a 20 hour layover in Paris on our June vacation, but since my husband had already been to Paris he wanted to layover somewhere else. Sigh. Nairobi just isn’t the same as Paris. :)
I really need to get back to Paris lesigh
Nairobi ? you’ll get exotic teas to review so :) Kenyan teas are reputed too
Just to prove that obsessive, er, perseverance can pay off, I found a company that sells the teas online: Tea Boutique at Home. I know I won’t get to Paris anytime soon, so this helps a bit. :)
They should definitely provide you with free tea for these amazingly enticing reviews, Ysaurella!
yes Tea Boutique at home is a kind of spin off of Cannon teas, it was a former employee who created this website. Unfortunately they don’t have this Rêverie d’un soir sur le Néva !
LA Néva…. I’m typing like a penguin today :S
I ordered this one for a blind taste :) with my last Butiki order.
I had no idea how it was but it was a lucky blind taste. I love it really much : it’s so perfumed , wonderful.
I’d love to know why it is called xylophone…because for sure I know why it is called watermelon ! it’s so watermelony :)the aroma is just fantastic, like a fresh and really mature watermelon.
Surprising idea of a watermelon tea.
People who don’t like tea often say it’s just hot water…watermelon is a very refreshing fruit full of water (more than others !) let me tell you dear tea haters that Stacy managed to blend a mathematical tea…water+water = a wonderful tea !so you can begin to drink tea now, no more excuses, convert yourselves to the God Watermelon Xylophone !
Preparation
Well, wonder no more: http://butikiteas.blogspot.com/2012/08/behind-name-watermelon-xylophone-edition.html
thanks Stacy ! nothing better like 2 hours car brainstorming finally :)
2 hour car ride brainstorming sessions are the best! I really love road trips.
I was wondering that myself recently!! good to know :) (also on my Butiki future purchases list!)
Except now I have the Mario 2 theme in my head…… wahhh
As soon as I finish my Butiki sipdown, I get to order more of this wonderful tea. I’m only sorry that the sample I sent you never arrived, :(
It never was returned either, so somewhere, someone is enjoying some really tasty tea samples. Lucky them.
whatshesaid-Hahaha but that is kind of awesome. How can you possibly have a bad day with that in your head?
Sounds delicious!
Hazelnuts and caramel. Sounds yummy!
Yup!
Oh, it is so nice of you to think of me! I actually got a sample of it the other day in a swap with Toitoi though for some reason I was just not able to add tasting notes (I even posted on the forums about it, but the suggestion was to send an email to site owners and I forgot all about it).
I was trying to add a note to this entry http://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/9535-phenix and it is still not working! But I still have some tea, will try to add a tasting note to this entry instead when I have it!
I sent them a note yesterday because I wasn’t able neither to put a note on Phenix, so created a Phénix MF to manage to ;)
oh forgot …Teresa…did you like it ?
I liked it, but I should have it again before saying anything. I did not think it similar to Thé du Loup but I did not notice a hazelnut note. To be totally frank (at the risk of being unfair), there is this Lipton caramel vanilla tea which this reminded me of. Though this is not damning with faint praise, that is a not too awful Lipton tea anyway and the MF was much more subtle. But the Lipton tea was a box I had at work under unusual circunstances once and drunk it all (So not too bad a tea) and I think that combination is a bit too much for me right now. So maybe it is too “greedy” a tea for me – what i liked about Thé du Loup was that it was not cloying, it was more sort of a “dry” chocolate thing and Phenix (and the Lipton) are a bit cloying a bit too much, too rich. If I Remember Correctly. I must have the rest of it for a fair trial!
yes because I didn’t get any cloying taste but a lot of hazelnut that’s funny
I will try again, keeping the hazelnut in mind – I think I still have enough for a couple cups.
Cloying might be more of an association thing than a real thing – not sure I am ready for a caramel vanilla tea no matter how subtle. But got to try the rest of it (and still got a sample from Toitoi unopened,which i was saving for another time).