Goût Russe Douchka

Well, I’ve been reduced to boiling water in the microwave. With a Dammann sachet, which is crazy. Man can you tell the difference. Years ago, before I was actually “into” tea, I used to boil water in the microwave at work and steep my teabags in them. These days I’ve always wondered how I was able to stand such bitter, yucky tea, but now I realize that microwaved water totally neutralizes any tea you put in it. I brought a bunch of Dammann sachets with me but it’s totally not worth using them in this, because while there are still hints of how good they are, it’s basically a waste. Oh well, if only North American hotels all had electric kettles like Asian hotels!

Maaaaaaaaan I am tired. I had an all-day job interview today and last night I woke up at least once an hour all night. This morning I was exhausted and extremely nervous, so it was all I could do to force down half a piece of toast and some yogurt for breakfast (knowing I wouldn’t be getting lunch until 1pm). I made a cup of this with some hot water from the hotel continental breakfast in a styrofoam cup, and against all the odds it was still delicious.

There is something very comforting about traveling with sachets of your favorite teas. You can be super sleep deprived, worn down, in horrible conditions, and you can always rely on the ease of the sachet and the fact that it will be familiar and delicious. Glad I had this one this morning.

Hallelujah, the staff lounge at the museum I’m visiting has a hot water kettle, and I actually have easy access to it (i.e., it’s not behind a locked door). The only problem was I didn’t have a mug and there aren’t any communal dishes in the staff lounge, but once again I was saved because the collections manager loaned me a mug. A cup of this, brewed properly, made me so happy this afternoon.

Backlog from yesterday. I had a very nice cup of this tea in the morning, and then I resteeped the sachet in the afternoon. Having access to a hot water pot (and the ability to take my tea into the collections) is awesome, but it means I want to drink tea nonstop like I usually do at work. But I do kind of need to conserve my sachets, and I knew that this one would be up to a resteep. I did something I never do: I left the sachet in the cup for the entire time I was drinking it during the resteep. But it was still totally awesome! Definitely getting more sachets from Dammann for traveling; I love the individually wrapped ones because they are so easy to throw in a purse and such.

I’ve been traveling recently, which is why I’ve been so quiet again. This is another short trip, though, so I’ll be back in action relatively soon.

My parents don’t have a tea kettle so I have to boil water in a pan on the stovetop, which isn’t so bad with a small pan. I’ve been tea deprived for several days now, so it’s nice to settle down after violent thunderstorms with a hot cup of Dammann tea (in an air conditioned house, of course… it was over 90°F before the storms!). I love having these tea bags around for traveling.

Man, this tea is tasty. I’m realizing that I should have just bought this box initially when I bought tea… not that the Impra Tea was bad, but it wasn’t great either. I didn’t have room in my luggage for the leftover sachets so I donated them to my hostel. I did, of course, have room in my luggage for this!

Unfortunately I kind of have to rush this cup because my taxi for the airport is coming! Yes I am departing Ulaanbaatar this morning. I have an afternoon/evening layover in Beijing, and then it’s home! I’m very excited!

This time at the airport in Detroit a coffee shop sold me a cup of hot water that I then poured into my travel mug. They actually sold me a cup of hot water, not tea, for 50 cents (the tea was almost $3!). Well it worked out. And this tea is fantastic, of course. Possibly there was too much water for the one sachet in my mug so it was a touch weak, but it was still delicious.

Discovered today that Asha Tea House is on my way from my hotel to the museum, so I will pass it every morning… unfortunately it doesn’t open until noon! None of the tea houses open early here, so I am forced to be without good tea in the morning (hotel room coffee maker hot water is not something I would subject myself to).

This is the first time I’ve ever had this tea loose. Azzrian posted a coupon for Fab.com and they had a few Dammann teas listed; this was one. I have had sachets of this tea for a while now, but never loose. Now I have a whole tin!

The flavor certainly translates. This is a tea that tastes barely flavored, but the base tea is very tasty itself so I really like it anyway. It is citrusy but in a very subtle way. Very nicely blended.

Another day, another Dammann. It’s the last couple of days of my collections visit, which means an all out sprint to finish up all the research I need to before I go home Saturday. I barely had time to gulp down a couple of mugs of this tea today, but I also really needed the pick-me-up! This is such a great anytime tea, and the base is so well done… I can see restocking this one once I use up my sachets.

The best thing about the hotel I’m staying at is free made-to-order hot breakfasts. I like starting my day with fresh fried eggs! Also, this tea. I decided to make good use of the tiny cups here and steep a sachet of this one. These sachets are slightly smaller than really works in my travel mug… They do ok, but I have to steep them a while. But the 6oz cup, sure, it worked fine. Perhaps a bit strong (Dammann sachets are probably best for 8oz cups) but still smooth and flavorful. Wish I could easily find Dammann sachets in the states because its great to have a “fancy” tea to indulge in while traveling.

Backlog, had this one this morning with free hot water from the coffee shop. It was not as flavorful as usual, but I don’t know if it was the water or if there was just too much water for this sachet. I think the Dammann sachets tend to be smaller and only for a smaller cup, so they’re not quite big enough for my travel mug, which I believe is 16oz.

I had an anxiety-filled morning during which I had to write an email to my advisors requesting to delay my dissertation defense, which was emotionally draining. Everything worked out, but at the time I was very stressed. I wanted something in the morning that would be comforting, and I grabbed this one out of the box it is currently residing in.

I am all out of sachets of this tea (that I had bought in Mongolia), which is a shame, because it is a tea I love to take with me while traveling. It is delicious and comforting, with a yummy black tea base and citrusy notes that complement it so well. A delicious tea that is comforting but also that I can just drink without thinking about it too much.

Tea of the morning…..

I am so glad to be home from a short trip to the lake. We had a lovely time with family, but it was so hot! Temps were over 100 deg and that is hot for this north east Ohio gal. Plus, the water is not ideal for making tea, so I was drinking mostly bagged tea. I missed my tea bar. (I am not sure what else to call it, as it has all my tea making stuff and a stash of more loose leaf than I can reasonably drink!)

Since I have been home, I have had some of this, plus Diamond Jubilee from Harney & Sons. I am trying to get a read on their differences since Harney will be offering Diamond Jubilee in loose leaf soon. This one is very light bergamot and orange, and Diamond Jubilee is a light bergamot (as opposed to very light) with sweet grapefruit. For me they are different enough. I do seem to be going through the Gout Russe pretty fast, too, so hopefully the Diamond Jubilee loose will help slow that down a little. I can’t afford to be ordering from Dammann Freres more than a few times a year.

And Happy Anniversary to my Jim. We are celebrating 18 years today!

Usual teapot method.

Tea of the morning…..

I am down 100 grams of this in a month and a half. Right now I am glad I bought a tin and a 100g refill and am calculating how soon I will have to order again! I am not particularly fond of the shipping cost from France, but the exchange rate has been such to make it a fairly good deal if you purchase a bunch. There are a few more teas from Dammann I’d like to try. My first small order arrived without a hitch in about a week and a half, so a bigger order will be in my near future! This tea makes me happy!

Usual teapot method. All sipped up in record time.

Tea of the morning…..

This one is still one of my staples. I was getting so low, I decided it was time to check out my options for purchase. In looking over the “new-and-improved-since-my-last-purchase” website at Dammann Freres, the prices have gone up as well as it being very challenging to navigate for a non-French reading customer. From what I could figure, they are out of it in loose leaf anyway (price went from about $6 US to just over $8 for 100 grams). The price of the tin is just over $14 as of this month, too (Dec. 2012). There were a few other Dammann teas I would have loved to try, but I looked for a US outlet. The one place I could find it loose online in the US was also out of stock. I ended up ordering a few tins from a vendor that seems to deal mostly in coffee, but the price of the tins was not much more than the price on the Dammann Freres site, plus it was not too hard to purchase enough to get free shipping. So glad I have more! Has anyone else ordered from Dammann recently?

This is a lovely orangey bergamot tea with a rich base. It is similar to Harney’s Diamond Jubilee, but I prefer this one ever so slightly more. Yum!

Usual teapot method.

Tea of the afternoon…..

I almost typed “second tea of the morning”, but we are getting a slow start today. Yesterday was full of activity, and it ended with going to the Drive In Movie to see “Brave” and the “Avengers”. If you know anything about that kind of movie watching, it means a late night as the second show did not even start until nearly midnight. We are moving a little slow today. The kids slept in until noon. Ahh, Summer. But man we need to work on readjusting our schedule a little!

It took just a little over a week to receive an order from Dammann in Ohio. They provide great tracking, but unless you know French, you will need to type a few things into Google Translate. There are a few fields on the page returned from tacking that did not translate in my browser. I did have to sign for mine, so that is also something to keep in mind.

Onto the tea…I purchased a tin/caddie as well as a 100g bag of Gout Russe. Originally, I was thinking that Gout Russe (the tin) and Gout Russe Douchka (the loose version) were two different teas, but it seems they are the same since the tin actually reads Gout Russe Douchka, too. I wish I had ordered something different, but I do love this one, so I am sure I will drink it. The bags for loose tea are not actually sealed, but the roll up kind with a long bendable tab. They did send a few sachets for sampling.

Wonderful China black tea base with orangey citrus done so well it almost leans slightly foral. I love this!

Usual teapot method.