Earl Grey Yin Zhen

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 11

I have a sore throat and sniffles (again, sigh). The citrus and honey-malt flavours of this tea are exactly what I crave atm. It’s so soothing, like a particularly fancy version of the “lemon slice and honey in black tea” treatment.

The choice to blend black tea with a few Silver Needle leaves is… interesting. But I think it actually works out alright. Not sure why. Makes me crave a dian hong though.

Another one I’ve owned for quite some time and haven’t had in a while. I remember the first time I had a cup of it though, I liked it a lot. Wasn’t big into tea at that time though. It was pleasing to drink but I had nothing to compare it with.
The loose leaves smell a bit like an old confiserie, because of the bergamote. The brewed tea has a beautiful bright orange colour, and a smooth and subtle taste, while still tasting somewhat like your classic Earl Grey. This might not satisfy everyone, as it leads to the tea having less complexity and depth than other, more full-bodied teas.
It also has a very floral side, a bit like the smell you first get when you enter a flower shop. The bergamot is perfectly balanced and brings out the tea very well. You taste the black tea, but you don’t feel it in the texture. Again, I love it, but it might not please everyone.
This tea also opens up as it gets cooler, and that’s something I love in my tea.
Definitely a favorite!

Advent Calendar Day Nine

Drinking this one in the evening at my mother’s house – I’m crashing here tonight so I can spend some extra time with my siblings. ‘Cause family, and all that; also it’s the first evening I’ve had to myself (between the two jobs) in over a week so I wanted to do something with it.

I was a little bummed to see today’s tea was another EG variant; though I do like the idea of today’s form better than the one earlier in the month that was Bergamot & Orange. Brewed up, I think that I like the flavour roughly the same amount though even if this one sounded better to me. However, that said, that doesn’t mean I’m tasting the same thing either. I mean, obviously the bergamot is something that’s in common – but I think this is something nice, smooth and maybe a little bit softer too because of the Yin Zhen? Like an “Earl Grey Light”? Though, it doesn’t lose nuance because there’s still gentle layers of floral flavour, hay, and citrus. It’s just not “slap you in the face” bold, either.

So, another one which was a nice surprise and pretty solid overall.

Day 9
I managed to make it 6 days before I forgot to bring my daily advent tea with me to work again. So this is for yesterday.

I love Earl grey. And to be specific, I love bergamot. So I was quite excited for this tea.

This was smells strongly of bergamot from the dry sachet. Once brewed it has a sweet citrus bergamot scent.

The tea tastes lightly of bergamot. The citrus essence is nice. The black tea base is moderately bold, is lightly dry but not stringent. I think the silver tips bridge the gap between the bergamot and the black tea. It adds a hay like taste and thickness to the tea. The flower petals smooth it out and add a faint hint of sweetness and pastry.

This is quite a good and interesting Earl grey. I would prefer a kick in your face black te and bergamot type Earl grey but this one is still tasty.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – December 9th

Ooh, an earl grey today! I’ve actually been craving bergamot teas a bit lately, especially since I bought one on a whim at Target. So this is perfect timing! Apparently this is supposed to be a mixed black & white base, but I don’t see a single silver needle in my sachet, or any light-colored tea matter at all. There are a couple of flower petals, but otherwise it just looks like black tea. Dry scent is strongly bergamot. I lowered the steeping temperature just a tad, just in case there is secretly white tea in there.

The steeped tea has a much milder bergamot aroma, along with a touch of sweetness. Hm, I don’t think I taste any white tea here. It did come out on the milder side, but I think that’s just because of the lower temperature. And I’m not necessarily complaining, as some earl greys are way too strong on the bergamot for me! This tea strikes a nice balance between an unobtrusive and smooth base tea and the citrusy bergamot oil. I’m enjoying my mellow cup. I think perhaps there’s a hint of white tea hay/honey flavor at the end of the sip and in the aftertaste?

Dammann Advent Calendar, Day 9

Hey, it’s a DF tea that I haven’t had! Seems like a rarity these days. They seemed to have switched out the standard EG for the Yin Zhen this year.

I never quite know what to make of black teas with silver tips thrown in. Do they make a difference? Should I compensate for the fact that most white teas don’t really like boiling temps (at least western style)? For this one, I dropped it to just below boiling to make sure I wouldn’t shock them.

I find this to be a very tasty Earl Grey. Bright and citrusy, with a smooth, nicely blended base. It’s been so long since I had DF’s regular EG (or avec fleurs) that it is impossible for me to compare the two, but I remember liking them but wishing the bergamot was a bit stronger. I don’t really have that complain here, but I also don’t know if it’s really that different. I’m not sure I can pick out anything that says white tea to me; perhaps a slight added creaminess? I just got a sip that maybe had a hint of hay, which is definitely white tea. Overall a tasty Earl, though I’m not sure the silver tips provide any added value.

I’ve been falling so behind on the advent calendar days, so I will be drinking some in reverse until I’m all caught up! This is today’s tea, though, so at least I can begin with this one.

I’m not a huge fan of Earl Grey. Sometimes I’ll be in the mood and it will be delicious, but most of the time, I’d prefer something else. This cup smells rich and the black tea is strong. I can’t pick up on the white tea yet.

Sipping… the first thing I taste is a bit of bright, bitter orange peel quickly followed by the black tea. It tastes a bit like your standard Earl Grey only it is perhaps a bit smoother. For someone who isn’t wild about Earl Grey, it isn’t bad, but perhaps a little boring.

December 9 – Advent 2014