Dammann Frères

Advent calendar – day 10

This is a lovely green tea but I’m not in love. I get some fruitiness/cherry and spices with a hint on orange and vanilla, but I found it a little light in flavor and I much prefer the black version of this tea. It’s another tea I would enjoy if it was offered to me, but would not stock for myself.

Day 16 Dammann Freres Tea Advent Calendar

This one was a ok. A black tea, a teensy bit astringent, sort of apple-y, a little bit cinnamon-y. Not a bad tea, but not one I’ve ever order.

Days 14 & 15 were Carcadet Pomme d/Amour, which was a gorgeous reddish purple in the cup and horribly, horribly sour, and a Christmas Herbal Tea which I did not enjoy either. We’ll see what I get to enjoy tonight.

Delicious! When I bought my advent calendar this year, I took the opportunity to buy a few extra teas. My husband wanted the Christmas Tea since he loves cherry teas, I wanted Mon Petit Chocolat and this was my chance to add to the order (15 euros for shipping was too good to pass up – Thank you Dammann!!!). This was one of the teas I tried out of curiosity and I’m so glad I did because it has given me a chance to try different brewing times and see what I like best.

The dry leaf is all prunes and while I actually like prunes ( I can’t figure out why so many people in America have a grudge against prunes. They’re delicious once in a while, so sweet and thick), I can imagine it’s not a flavor too many people love. Brewed for 4 minutes at 195F, the prunes still dominated the flavor with caramel second, a sort of booziness, and a hint of chocolate last. It was very good but you would have to like prunes.

This morning, I forgot to turn on my timer and I let it steep for probably 6 minutes and suddenly I went from liking it to loving it! Just like that! The flavors are much more balanced and I get much more caramel along with the prunes. So good! The vodka (I could not have picked it out but I can recognize it) is light and so is the chocolate, but it’s there. The combination works really well. Definitely a winter, rainy day tea. So cozy and thick. And it gets even better as it cools.

Day 13 of the Dammann Freres Advent Calendar

Ah, at last a tea I thoroughly enjoyed. No bitterness or astringency. No bergamot or green tea or hibiscus. The cherry flavor is a teeny bit reminiscent of kids cough syrup. The almond must have been too subtle for me to pick up. The tea base was smooth. I liked it quite a bit. If I do place an order (which I had planned to do in late January, but the offerings so far has caused me to re-think that plan) then this will be one of the teas I get.

Day 12 of the Dammann Freres Advent Calendar

Another type of tea I’ve never had. A white tea this time. It brews up a slightly darker color than other white teas I’ve had. White teas tend to be hit or miss for me. Sometimes they are nearly as grassy as green teas. This one had a very faint grassy note at the end of the sip as it cooled. Also a bit of astringency. But I rather like this one. It is just a little sweet on its own, with a refreshing, clear flavor. The berry flavor comes across pretty well. It adds a little tang to the sip. Not sour, just refreshing. I think this one might be very good iced on a hot day.

Day 10 of the Dammann Freres Advent Calendar 2018

This was green tea. Very green. Very grassy. A hint of citrus. I didn’t taste any cinnamon. I’m sorry I didn’t like it. I drank about a quarter of the cup and then poured it down the sink. I hate doing that. But I just couldnt’ make myself drink it. But hey, at least I’m keeping my promise to myself to try every tea in the advent calendar!

Day 11 of the Dammann Freres Tea Advent Calendar

Dang it, more green tea and bergamot.

Oh well. I don’t hate it. I finished the cup. The little packet said black tea, not black and jasmine green tea, so I brewed this with boiling water. I thought it was fine that way. I do get a bit of something fruity. Maybe citrus. Hard to know with my stupid nose (I’m feeling a bit grumpy about not being able to smell. I shouldn’t. It’s nothing new. But for some reason I am crabby about it) As the tea cooled I got a little something at the end of the sip that might have been pineapple.

So I wouldn’t order this one but I liked it enough to drink the whole cup.

Dammann Frères Advent 2021 – Day 3
This is a tea for cherry tea lovers. Dry it’s full-on cherry. It smells like cherry candy rather than cough syrup, but it’s a lot of cherry. Brewed, it’s a lovely combination of cherry and bitter almond. I don’t really get ginger or gingerbread. It’s a lovely cup and if I loved cherry teas, it probably would register higher for me.

And sure enough, my husband continues to love this one. He loves Mariage Freres’s Sakura The Blanc which is another white cherry tea, so I’d love for him to compare the two. Mariage Freres’s version is insanely expensive, and this could be a good option.

Day 1 of the 2020 Dammann Freres Advent Calendar. It has been such a crazy unusual year that I needed something that felt familiar to make me feel grounded this holiday season, and make my husband, daughter and I smile every morning as we all start our day online. And this white cherry tea was a lovely way to start. Sweet cherry candy with a hint of spices. A little bit like an echo of a Thanksgiving cherry pie. I love Dammann’s Christmas Tea, which tastes to me like a Scandinavian Christmas bread, but this white one is straight on cherries whereas rather the black version brings in candied pineapple, orange and caramel in addition to the candied cherries. This one was light and straight forward but I enjoyed it. Plus I liked the fact that it has hardly any caffeine since my cupboards are filled with black and green teas I can’t drink in the late afternoon. Both my husband and daughter who are confirmed cherry enthusiasts have happily added it to our “purchase list”.

Advent calendar – day 9

This is a very delicate cherry tea. Light and fruity and bright. Lovely! In fact, I gulped it down as I was working, and I’m already wishing I had taken my time instead. Thank goodness for my second advent calendar waiting for me in January, but I might have to fight my husband for this one! He loves cherry tea, while for me it’s more of a “once in a great while” thing. In any case, I liked it! Since white and green teas are not my usual teas, I am thrilled to have tried it! I can’t say that I taste much of the almond, but it might be why I liked it. The ginger and spices are there but in a very gentle way, it blends beautifully. I don’t find it vegetal at all which is a wonderful surprise. All and all, a lovely and delicate cup of tea. (disclaimer, I added a tiny bit of stevia as usual to bring out more of the fruit flavor)

2020 Advent calendar – Day 20. Another one where I am in the minority. Lime and bergamot. Light, fresh, and not heavy in the bergamot department even, and yet it’s still not for me.Intellectually, I know this tea is good. Husband and daughter both love it and we even have a full can of it, but it’s just not my taste.

Advent calendar – day 8

I’m not sure I should review this tea since Earl Grey’s are not my thing. I don’t think they taste bad per say, but it’s not my cup of tea :p. Still, I had promised myself I would try them all, so I gave this one a try. Ironically, I loved the smell of it. Bergamot and lime. Very bright and happy.

In the cup, I liked it much more than I thought I would! It’s a very mild earl grey. Very approachable for someone like me who doesn’t love bergamot (but ironically loves BB Detox from Kuzmi tea which is all grapefruit and very bold). I liked the hint of lime and its delicate approach. I enjoyed my cup and if a friend offered one to me, I would enjoy it. I just wouldn’t buy it for myself. My daughter who loves earl greys on the other hand, thought it tasted delicious. The lime adds something bright and happy in there. I’m definitely glad I tried it!

Advent calendar – day 7

I don’t love hibiscus but I don’t dislike it either so for me this fruit tea was very nice. But my husband who really dislike hibiscus was happy to pass his cup to me. It has that zing and that was a deal breaker for him. The tea itself is definitely all cherry with a tiny bit of almond. I liked it and I think that it’s the type of tea a child would love. All cherry candy.

Day 9 of the Dammann Freres Advent Calendar

When I saw ‘Russe’ I imagined a Russian Caravan type smoky tea. Boy, was I wrong. This is bergamot. Or, as I think of it, Blechamot. However, the Earl Gray factor is pretty mild. I do get a hint of bright lime, although it is quite muted for me, which is a shame, as I think I would like that.

So this tea is not one I would order, but I’m glad to have tried it. I think someone who enjoyed a mild Earl Gray would quite like this one. There is no astringency to it or bitterness. Even with the bergamot I finished the cup. If a friend served this I would be able to drink it with some enjoyment.

I got this one a few weeks ago, at the start of the post-Halloween season, because I think that caramel rooibos is a great tea to drink during the cold months of the year.

This one is very interesting in terms of smell. Just after steeping, it starts with a very vanilla-like smell that becomes richer and deeper as the tea cools down; it gradually becomes more caramelly, and more interesting. That didn’t surprise me – it is my humble opinion that tea is usually most interesting to the palate when it’s just a bit warmer than lukewarm.
I have had a soft spot for rooibos since I moved out from my parents’ home. I used to drink a vanilla-flavoured rooibos from Meßmer for a while a few winters ago, it would comfort me after hard days. This Dammann Frères is way less brutal to the taste than the Meßmer one; the aroma isn’t thrown into your face as if the drink were trying to punch you in the nose. It’s way more subtle and feels nicer to drink.
Your mouth still gets that nice rooibos feeling when you drink it, but it doesn’t feel burnt out after drinking just one cup like I’ve had it happen with other rooibos(es?).
The aroma is clear and good caramel, but it has a pleasant gingerbread vibe as well, and just like the smell it becomes richer the more it cools down. It’s sweet, but not too sweet – I didn’t sweeten it because I never sweeten any of my drinks, but I don’t think you’d need to sweeten it even if you did. The balance between rooibos, caramel and sweetness is pretty harmonious.
If I had to describe the taste of this rooibos in an image, I’d say there’s that hint of spices you’d smell in the streets of Strasbourg on a cold December evening, when the Christmas market is just closing and people are making dinner in their warm homes.
It’s a fine rooibos to drink around 5 or 6pm, after a long and cold walk in the forest, or after a cosy day spent practicing some meaningful, hearth-centered witchcraft. It reminds me of an alternate childhood I might have had if I’d lived in a fantasized version of another century.

This rooibos takes you on a journey – whatever mindset you were in before you took that first sip.

Day 7 of the Dammann Freres Tea Advent Calendar

This is a fruit infusion of mainly (I believe) Cherry and almond. There is mention of gingerbread also on the DF website. And—oh, dear, oh, dear—hibiscus. I can’t stand hibiscus. I can taste only 4 things, one of which is sour. And if something is supposed to be pleasantly tangy, I get UNpleasant sourness. Even back when I was able to smell I never liked sour candies. Now that I don’t get other flavors to round the sourness out I find my mouth puckering at even the thought of hibiscus. But I am going to try every last one of these teas. No skipping! So. Big girl panties time.

It brews up a beautiful rich red liquor.

It tastes like watery sour cough syrup.

I made myself drink half the cup. It did become slightly better as it cooled. Someone who enjoys the zing of hibiscus might very well enjoy this one. It is not fair of me to rate this tea since I so much dislike hibiscus. I would love to hear what others think of it.

Day 6 of Dammann Freres Advent Calendar.

This was a pretty good dessert-y Tea. It had a buttery, creamy taste. As it cooled it developed a slightly astringent edge. Not enough to ruin it for me, but that combined with the vegetal aftertaste moves this one off my prospective spring order. I guess I’m one of those non adventurous sorts who prefers black tea. But I’m really enjoying the chance to try teas I normally would avoid.

Dammann Frères Advent 2021 – Day 6
I make this amaretto chocolate torte and this tea always makes me think of it. But while I make my torte with rich dark chocolate, this tea is all about smooth milk chocolate. But I still get the delicious almond mixed in there which I love and the feeling that I’m drinking a delicious dessert.

My torte is heaven for chocolate lovers, but much too rich and concentrated for anyone else. This tea is in a different lane. It’s light, silky, and soft-spoken. It’s delicate. Less “in-your-face chocolate” and more almond chocolate ganache. It took me a few times to fall in love with it but now I love it!

Oh my goodness, how I love this tea! Such a delicious dessert tea; it’s beautiful to look at with its flowers and it smells so good. Brewed at 195, it’s almondy pastry or cookie mixed with poppy candy. It’s fruity/raspberry-ish, and floral, and has that almond/marzipan taste I love so much in dessert teas.

I think if I had to give a Dammann Freres tea as a gift to someone who is not that into tea, this one would be one of my top 5 if they had a sweet tooth. I can’t imagine them not loving the taste of a raspberry tartelette on an almond butter crust in a cup!

Dammann Frères Advent 2021 – Day 7
Where have I been these past 3 years??? Why have I been so slow to come to my senses? This tea has been my husband and daughter’s absolute favorite tea for several years now and I left it to them. They raved about it and converted my sister-in-law and one of our “bonus kids” (we have two extra children we picked up over the years and love as our own). And still, I ignored it. I completely forgot that I loved it last year. I kept thinking of it as “their tea” and my husband even stashed it in his tea drawer. I kept thinking it was mostly a ginger tea.

What was I thinking? This morning Miss Dammann was perfection. The combination of passion fruit, lemon, and ginger was beautiful and delicious. Dammann hit it out of the park on this one and clearly, I had missed the memo on this one until now.

The passion fruit is what won me over and the ginger only made it better. Even in the winter, it was a happy, “sunny” tea. The acidity of the lemon was a perfect complement to the fruitiness of the passion fruit and made it feel fresh.

I’m late to the party on this tea but I’m glad I gave it another chance. Now I get what the fuss is all about :) In fact, I’m trying to brew it a second time because one cup was not enough!

2020 Advent Calendar – Day 5. After Ginger Magic, it was lovely to go back to a ginger tea that’s refreshing and delightful! I need to remember to drink this one in the summer. It’s my husband’s favorite so he hides it in his tea drawer so I forget about it during the year :p I might never be a ginger tea person but I really like the combination of lemon ginger and passion fruit. It’s probably the passion fruit that changes the game for me. This tea is fresh and delicate, ad lightly fruity. It’s a delicious cup of tea. I added a squeeze of lemon juice because it’s supposed to helps preserve catechins in green tea, it works beautifully in this tea. Miss Dammann was very much a win.

Advent calendar – day 5

I drank this one late this afternoon, and I probably should have made it in the morning when I wanted something fresh and light. I like this tea. It’s pretty soft and not at all in your face. The lime and ginger blend nicely. No grassy taste for me —I brewed it at a lower temperature than they recommended so that might have helped. I had a difficult time tasting the rhubarb, grapefruit or passion fruit. I could only taste a light fruitiness. It’s another green tea that I really liked but I don’t think I would necessarily purchase it. But I have a second sample of this one so I might try it again and see if I change my mind :p

Day 5 from the Dammann Freres Advent Calendar

When I saw it was a green tea I almost skipped it. I don’t like the grassy/vegatal flavor of green teas. But I had decided on Day One that I was going to try every tea in the calendar. No skipping. If I don ‘t like it, I don’t have to finish the cup. That’s fair, right?

Well, knock me over with a feather. I like it. Not enough to put it on an order, but it was very drinkable. Even pleasant. The lime is most prominent for me, followed by the ginger. The lime/ginger combo was great together. As the cup cooled the grassy flavor came out. I popped my mug in the microwave, but it was too late. The grassy flavor remained. The next time I have a green tea I will be sure to drink it right away instead of dawdling over the cup.

Day 4 of the Dammann Freres Advent Calendar

Of the four teas I’ve had so far, this is my favorite. I like a slightly sweet, spicy tea. This one was very good. Like a far superior version of Constant Comment. I shared this with a visiting friend. With only one tea bag for two cups I let it brew longer than usual. The end of the sip had a lightly bitter after taste. Perhaps if I’d brewed only one cup, it would have avoided the bitterness. At any rate. I’m very much enjoying trying some teas I’ve never had before. This is a possible re-order in the future.