Fauchon

I probably shouldn’t be drinking tea right now—stuck in bed with some kind of funk bug fatigue I don’t know what, really just need to sleep and let my stomach heal—but I couldn’t resist trying something from the box Dexter3657 sent me (Thank you!! It is the best possible first un-secret swap I could have hoped for, truly…made my whole day turn from blah to yay). She was super thoughtful and sent me some Fauchon (!!!!) as she knew I loved the company, and it was all the sweeter because I spent the cold dark weekend hunting TJ Maxx and Marshall’s stores for some to no avail. Dexter3657 noted in her letter that this one “smells amazing” and whoa, that’s no joke. It is heady, the most true-marzipan aroma I’ve ever gotten from a tea and probably even a candy or baked good. Wow. And it does that thing the other Fauchon teas I’ve tried so far do, where the aroma doesn’t translate into over-the-top flavor so much as it drifts and haunts the taste of smooth light but not watery (this is where I think Kusmi and Fauchon differ) black tea in a way that isn’t disappointing (at least not to me!) at all, rather elegant and exquisite. The aroma turns into a lingering aftertaste at the tail end of a sip full of nice ladylike black tea. Love it! My infatuation with artfully perfumed French teas shows no sign of letting up. Thanks again Dexter3657!

Feeling simple and reached for this yesterday morning. Ye olde reliable. I like this EG. It’s simple but has complex undertones to it. Had it with some cream and stevia :)

I wanted a nice simple tea this morning, so I reached for Earl Grey. I really like this rendition of Earl Grey, it’s woody and not so floral. The Bergamont really shines through and is accented with the oak notes. Enjoyed it with some cream and stevia this morning. Good morning Saturday, now I just need to get through my work day and I’ll be set!

I re-steeped the leaves again for 8 minutes. I left what little liquid was left in my Breville and filled it back up to the 500ML mark and rebrewed. It was definitely a watered down version of Earl Grey, but not terrible at all. The notes of Bergamont came through still and it almost felt like there was a sweet quality left. The black base was weaker for sure, but I would do it again to be frugal with my French tea.

I’ve been in a French tea frenzy (for some reason I feel the French know what they’re doing when it comes to tea and it doesn’t help that most of my loose leaf tea experience comes from high-end French brands, so I couldn’t resist.) I have been to 3 Winners locations and 3 Homesense and have only had a hit at one of them and this was one of them ones that was left. I always like a good Earl Grey so I bought it. And all in all it’s a steal for 100g and a very cute tin.

At first sniff: I smell the Bergamont very strongly, but then more complex notes come through. Almost oak smelling or woody. I notice the leaves almost have some white tea in it, or at least that’s what it looks like to me. It’s not the strongest Earl Grey I’ve smelled, but not the weakest.

At first steep: Again, the Bergamont comes through. I added cream and a little stevia and it was a very very nice cup of Earl Grey. You can taste the quality of the tea (or at least I think I can) as it definitely has a more unique taste to it. I really like this tea, it would be a good breakfast contender for those days when you want to curl up with a familiar old friend.

On a side note: Anyone in the lower mainland Vancouver near a Homesense or Winners and knows they have some selection. I’ve only been able to find 3 that are of interest to me, but would like to taste or at least see more. I’ve been the locations east of the Port Mann and haven’t stopped by the North shore yet.

Sil drank this earlier and that reminded me that I still had enough left for a cup. Why not sit and enjoy it now? (Sipdown; 85)

It’s hard for me to rate this because it’s a white tea and I don’t often drink them, and I wouldn’t often be in the mood for this creamy cup of lemon, but it is nice.

We woke up with a little bit of snow outside yesterday, so it seems like the right time to whip out the Winter Tea. I haven’t tried this but when QueenofTarts put it up for sale, I thought I would give it a try, especially when the forums are abuzz with talk of Fauchon and Mariage Freres.

This is such a light and mild tea. It’s creamy, with a nice mixture of lemon and vanilla. I think I detect the white tea in the background, but only when I actively think about it – white tea is so subtle!

I was wondering why this would be called L’Hiver, but I think I get it. It’s just so milk and lightly refreshing that it just hints at Spring and provides a bit warmth through the gloomiest winter.

LOL Ahhhhhhh this would be the mint. Thought my sniffer was off the other night, but as soon as the water hit the leaves, I just got a huge whiff of mint. I’ve commented on other tasting notes, and I really believe that it’s true – if you aren’t crazy about (or sensitive to) a flavor that’s the one that seems to stand out for you.
For me this is herbally, minty, fruity (berry – yeah ok, wouldn’t have said that it screams raspberry though). I’m not getting any black base at all, this could be a tisane to my tastes, and I don’t think I’m getting any bakery or cakey.
This is obviously a quality tea, just not to my tastes.
Thank you MissB for sending me a sample of it, really appreciate it.

This tea smells of sweet cooked apple and a fruity base tea with pastry like hints.

I find it benefits from a 5 minute steep. The base does not overpower the flavouring and the fruit is stronger than when I steeped it with shorter steeps. The rose blends with apple flavour in such away that the tea reminds me of spring with a reference to apple blossoms ( which makes sense as they are in the same family), and at other times it reminds me of fall as I get an aftertaste of cooked apples. The base has enough tannins and astringency to give the tea a certain thickness and a reference to baked goods, but taste wise it is quite fruity, and freshening. The bite of Rose becomes more apparent as it cools. It’s quite nice.

La Naissance, we had a good run you delicious, delicious tea.

Omnomnommynom.

Yum.

Still delicious.

Due to mentions on Facebook about this tea, I had to have a BIG MUG last night.

Om nom nom. SO so good, especially with milk. Almondy rosey biscuits.

This might be my favourite Fauchon tea. Maybe.

Not as amazing as usual this morning. What did I do wrong? Is it because I’m craving a coffee? A huge mug of coffee? Mmm… Coffee.

Mmm, floral almondy cake tea of tastiness.

This one I’ve put into my cupboard so I remember it’s there. I think I can fit one other Fauchon tin, but I’m not sure… :)

I also had the great idea this morning (with no chance to try it) of making tea syrup with Peche et Thym. Ooohhh, that sounds so good. I need lemons as well for lemonade syrup. Then I could have Peche et Thym lemonade.

I’ve been stomping around my apartment in a TERRIBLE mood, eating almond cookies and cleaning. Almond cookies, almond tea… ok! Sadly I forgot this steeping for about 20 minutes. :( So it’s not as good as usual, but surprise! It’s still totally drinkable. Not too bitter or astringent, although it is stronger than usual.

Yay La Naissance!

1.5 tsp in 12 oz.

Since JustJames posted about this tea last night, I knew I had to have a cup today. It’s really fabulous, but it’s not in my regular tea cupboard (and it’s hard to get) so it’s not a tea I drink that often.

Today I topped it with some lightly frothed maple cream. :)

The almond cake flavour is quite prominent, and I am tasting the rose today. It’s so delicious. A light tea, but with lots of flavour. I tend to prefer this one with a little sweetener (usually sugar or honey, but today I wanted cream, and you all know how much I like my maple cream!) and a little milk or cream, but I think it’s also nice plain. Just not as decadent.

Almond cake in a mug. Get in my mouth.

Mmm. Yeah, it’s almost 4am and I’ve been up since 3. I’ve made pasta, played with the cats, and almost finished a giant mug of tea.

This is what happens when you crash at 5pm and are sleeping by 6. I even slept in yesterday.

Anyways, the tea is delicious. I got a rose bud and a jasmine flower in my cup today. I understand why Sil has problems with these teas. They all have so many freakin flowers in them! Still, it tastes like almond cake, almost. I like this tea more every time I have it. So glad I was able to find it. :)

Maybe I’ll try to nap or zone out till it’s actually time to get up. It’s tempting to sew, but I don’t want to bother the nice neighbour too much.

I had to go pick my friend up again this evening, and then she waited to be picked up by another friend at my place. I made this tea for us. 4 minutes for the first steep – really good. 10+ minutes for the second steep – really good.

This tea is just really good, people. I wasn’t so sure about it last time, but wow it really worked tonight. Next time I might even try a 5 or 6 minute steep to start with.

We all took it plain, and we all really enjoyed it. And I think I need a bigger tea pot. :)

Oops. I found this at Winners last night when I was shopping for shoes. Yep. that’s my story.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the tin was the whole rose buds that had found their way to the surface of the tea. The smell is definitely almonds, and much less in-your-face than I expected. Steeping it up this morning, it is a marzipan/almond flavour. I’m getting a fair bit of floral as well, but I don’t know if that’s from the roses (I didn’t get any buds in my scoop this morning!) or from the almond flavour they used. Good marzipan is fairly boozy/floral if I am remembering correctly (it’s a Christmas thing for me, so I haven’t had it in almost a year!), so it doesn’t seem out of place.

I think this tea is pretty good, but I like the Peche et Thym and the Evening in France teas better.

Sipdown, 114. I actually had this one last night but didn’t get around to writing a note. Thanks to MissB for sending some along!

So the other day when I had the Lupicia rooibos blend I remembered another reason I don’t typically drink rooibos: like some people, it tickles the back of my throat and makes me feel a little allergic. I had heard that putting the rooibos in a paper tea pouch (instead of a metal infuser) helps to cut down on this because there’s not as much leak-through of tiny rooibos bits, so I tried that with a bit of this tea because I did want to taste it.

I will say, the taste is nice. The rooibos isn’t medicinal or weird, and it meshes well with the flavors. It was fruity and sweet. Honestly I didn’t pay too much attention to it because about halfway through the cup I got that tickley, swelly feeling in my throat. Don’t know if its real allergies or just some other reaction to the particulates, but I do know that I am crossing rooibos off my list of possible teas officially. But this seems like a nice blend if you like rooibos! I passed the rest of this onto my local tea friend who does like rooibos.

Sipdown, 116. Thanks to MissB for this sample! I am saving the rest of it to give to my friend who almost bought a tin of the apricot at TJ Maxx the other day but didn’t. Now she can see if she wants to go back, haha.

This smells very apricot-y, which obviously makes sense. Like apricot jam, in that it is very concentrated apricot, not the light flavor I get from fresh fruit. The flavor is nice: sweet and tart at the same time, not unlike apricot jam. The black tea base is not hiding here, either; it is smooth but robust. I think there is perhaps a bit of keemun in here (they only say black tea from China and Sri Lanka). Overall a tasty tea. I am sure it would make a lovely iced tea as well!

Had this yesterday, let’s see if I can remember…

I wasn’t as into this one as Raspberry Macaron and Evening in France. It still had a beautifully layered aroma—parceling out swap samples I got to smell all of them and that appears to be par for the course with all Fauchon blends, at least the ones I’ve got—and like the others it feels more apt to describe it as scented tea than flavored as the tea itself is relatively delicate tasting given the headiness of the aroma. You get more the haunting or impression, the tail end wisp of the scent lingering in the tea upon tasting. There was an element in here that read as vaguely plasticky to me if I recall. It definitely wasn’t bad/undrinkable, I just loved the other two way more.