Thé des Cigales

The tree murderers are here and my nerves are shot from the incessant chainsaw sounds coupled with the wood chipper! I also saw some fallen branches on my rose bushes! They may look puny to a tree murderer but I fuss over those roses sometimes twice a day! I hope they are not damaged.

I thought a nice French flavored tea with some half and half and sugar would be calming so I made a pot of this. I am tasting a chewy slightly burnt caramel/smoky Yunnan and figs. At one point I actually felt around my mouth with my tongue for the little seeds you find in fig preserves! I definitely taste cooked figs not fresh ones. I think milk and sugar are the way to go with this one – I’m getting a really nice pastry like flavor as well. The clementines come as an addition in the fig preserves (of my imagination ;) and not a distinct, separate taste. I don’t taste any of the other flavors listed.

This is another one that brings me back to my childhood. Around the holidays we always had dried figs and cookies with fig preserves inside. Barely sweet and very delicious. Not like Fig Newtons at all. This tea reminds me once again of holidays as a child.

This tea experience was provided by the gracious Ashmanra
All these teas that she sent me, make me hungry for some European pastry that I have never had.
Which I know makes no sense, but seriously they make me think of some delightful decadent morsel.
I read about this tea before I brewed up a cup, so I knew what it was supposed to smell/taste like, but was still surprised when I stuck my nose close and inhaled…Figgy goodness galore!
It brought an immediate memory to mind.
A few years ago, before I got married, I cared for a 90 year old blind woman named Mary.
She was originally a teacher from California, but after she went blind she moved to Idaho to be closer to her daughter.
Her son still lived in California, and he had a Fig Tree in his yard, and would send her fresh figs.
Opening that box for her was always a delight, the smell that hit your face was like sugar and sunshine.
This tea has that same delightful odor.
There is a definite floral note to this as well, but nothing overpowers the other.
It really feels like I am sitting in a Californian garden…although I can’t say for sure, since that is something I have never done.
This tea is fairly dark in color.
I just brewed it for 3 minutes, but it is a dark burgundy.
First taste is actually lavender, which was weird, because my nose kept smelling fig, but it was unmistakably lavender in taste.
After that first sip, I could taste the Yunnan tea and then floral notes, as well, as citrus mixed in with the sweet figgy-ness of it all.
What a beautiful tea, and for some reason I keep associating it with California.
Maybe they should have a State Tea?
Thank you again, Ashmanra for sharing with me!

I’ve gone my whole life without fig flavored tea, and now I’m having two back to back. This was yet another of the teas I’m sharing with the Dammann Freres buying co-op thanks to the efforts of Doulton, hereinafter referred to as “Fig 2.”

The dry leaves of this one have a deeper and somewhat musky smell, and there is more going on than mere fig, though the fig contribution to the fragrance is every bit as fresh and juicy smelling as it was in Figue Fraiche. I can smell a citrus note (must be the clementine) and I can smell something bake-spicy which must be the nutmeg.

The tea’s aroma is muskier as well. The citrus moderates the fig some, and makes it seem more earthy. Fig 2 is more fig pastry-like than fresh or baked fig, which was Fig 1’s domain, but still quite nice.

I can definitely taste the Yunnan’s contribution here; it brings a full-bodied depth to the tea and gives it a malty, carmelized sweetness with a bit of astringency. The flavors blend well with it, and don’t hide behind it, but it is an interactive base rather than a passive one. The flavors swirl around in it so that sometimes they are the stronger flavor, and sometimes the tea base itself is, which makes it an interesting, mercurial drink.

I’m enjoying it quite a bit.

I steeped this tea for 3 1/2 minutes, and I think that was too long for my taste. There is a bit more bitterness to this tea than I like. I also think this tea is much better iced than hot.

As an iced tea I can taste the peppery notes from the Yunnan, which I wasn’t getting when it was hot. Very pleasant. A hint of citrus and definitely a sharp floral note. Not getting as much lavender as I would like, nor am I getting much of the fig.

Overall, I like this tea quite a bit, although I think Noël en Provence is still my favorite (thus far!) from Dammann Freres.

Steep Information:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 22 oz filtered, boiling
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer in cup
Steep Time: a little over 4 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: orange, fig
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea
Flavor: smooth black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: none
Liquor: translucent brown

I really didn’t get any of the flavors listed strongly in the scent or the flavor. I think perhaps a longer steep or more leaves are in order.

As it is I find it a smooth black tea, nothing special.

Post-Steep Additives: none

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/dammann-freres-loose-leaf-black-tea-des.html

Thank you, JacquelineM! This was delightful! After having quite a day, I needed a good cuppa! There are so many flavors in here to experience, I can’t wait to drink it again. It is like meeting a really interesting person and knowing when you leave them that you haven’t heard even the half of it and you can’t wait to see them again. This one will tease me until I drink it a time or two more and really figure all those flavors. It doesn’t get muddy or dark, just so so smooth and flavorful. No additions – this was great plain.