78 Tasting Notes

77

Advent Calendar – Day 23

I wanted to love this one. A Pear tea sounded so fabulous. But I’m afraid I only liked it. Maybe it was too delicate for me to appreciate. I think maybe I expected more fruitiness but even with a little sweetener it was very light. Still it was a very good cup of tea. I just wish it had blown me away. Looking forward to trying it again since DD gave me her sample :)

Cameron B.

I love pear teas, too. I find it does pair well with white tea. I haven’t tried this blend in particular, but I do really like Heirloom Bartlett Pear from Harney & Sons!

EmmaM

Thank you for that! I will have to try that one!

Cameron B.

Let me know if you’d like me to send a sample! :)

EmmaM

I would love that! Thank you!

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77
drank Dune d'Épices by Dammann Frères
78 tasting notes

Advent Calendar Day 22

I enjoyed this nice cup of green tea. I thought it was pretty straight forward: orange and gingerbread. Maybe candied orange? I didn’t get much else, but I liked the lack of grassiness and it was quite light. Another fun try.

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34

There is no gentle way to put it: I really disliked this one. Nothing about it except the dry smell worked for me. The dry smell reminded me of a French brioche… delicious! The brewed version was just too bread-ish and I just could not drink it. Not even with sweetener. Definitely not my tea.

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83

Catching up on my advent calendar teas. Unless it’s green rooibos in Lupicia’s melon tea I dislike rooibos I I was expecting to hate this and delayed my opening the pouch. But I’m glad I gave it a chance tonight. It turned out very good! Who would have thought?!?

The dry smell was delicious; all spiced orange. And brewed with a little sweetener, the rooibos taste was minimal for me and the fruitiness remained. I got mostly orange, red fruit sweetness and a little bit of spices. Nicely done! Since my husband passed on that one, I’ll try another cup and see if this was a fluke but as of right now, I totally liked it!

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83
drank Rouge d'Automne by Mariage Frères
78 tasting notes

After all the Dammann Freres teas I have been tasting lately, I wanted to have a familiar cup this afternoon and I had not had a cup of this delightful candied chestnut tea in forever, so it was fun to taste it with new eyes sort of speak.

I think maybe the adage of absence makes the heart grow fonder applies here. I liked it when I first bought it but as I bought more teas, it got pushed back to the back of the drawer and was almost forgotten. This time around I thought it tasted delicious. I was very generous with my scoops which helped I think and I let it cool a bit more than I usually do which also gave me a chance to enjoy the flavors more.

The mix of the smooth vanilla and the candied chestnuts is really a great combination. It’s sweet and nutty, but it’s also unusual and so very fall-ish. I just wish I could buy it in 50 g increments so I could have a few cups in the fall and cherish it as a special tea that it is.

Flavors: Chestnut, Malt, Nutty, Roasted Nuts, Sweet, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec
lizwykys

This one wasn’t really on my radar, but it sounds so interesting! I’ll have to remember this the next time I make a MF order.

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82

Advent Calendar – Day 18

I was so scared of this one when I opened it this morning. It was very perfumey and although I loved the scent, I was a bit nervous about drinking it. Between the Vert Chai and this one, it was all about being adventurous this morning!!

But again, I was worried for nothing. I liked this one even more than the Vert Chai.

I can definitely taste the light ginger, but the orange blossom took the center stage for me and the rose, while definitely there, did not make me feel queazy as I expected. To the contrary, it was a beautiful addition to the mix! Who knew I didn’t hate rose? Mind you, I’m not sure I would like it if it was the main attraction, but I’m thrilled to have expanded my horizons!

I think the orange blossom is what worked so well for me. It’s a flavor I love in my crepes, truffles or even claffouti, and combined with ginger, rose and a tiny bit of stevia, it felt both as familiar and as exotic as a Moroccan dessert I might taste in Paris. It made me want a couscous for dinner in fact!

A fun “once in a while” treat!

Flavors: Floral, Ginger, Orange Blossom, Perfume, Rose

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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82
drank Vert Chai by Dammann Frères
78 tasting notes

Advent Calendar – Day 17

A chai green tea is a novel experience for me. I’m not sure what I expected but I was a little worried so just in case I also made a cup of Rouge D’Automne by MF :p. There was no need, I enjoyed my cup of Vert Chai. It was a fun try.

It was all about the spices (I got mostly cinnamon and cardamon with a little ginger, but I have a hard time with the “name that spice” thing), but I didn’t feel they were in your face. It was nicely blended. Admittedly, it was very vegetal but not grassy to me.

Not what I normally go for, but a nice departure from my normal choices. I think someone who likes spices and wants something light and fresh would enjoy it more than me.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Spices, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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78
drank Pomme d'Amour by Dammann Frères
78 tasting notes

I have been on the hunt for a delicious apple tea for a while now and I was excited to add this tea to my advent calendar order last month. It just sounded so delicious. And I’m glad I did because now I got it out of my system, but I’m a bit disappointed because this is not the end of my search for a delicious apple tea.

I think maybe my mistake is that this is a baked apple type of tea and I’m craving an apple pie, or even a fresh apple type of tea.

I get oven-baked apple and some caramel and vanilla, so it delivers on its promise. I’m the one who is fickle on this one and evidently changed my mind as to what I was hoping for: more apple. I do like it a lot more than the carcadet version though and it is a lovely tea.

Flavors: Candied Apple, Caramel

Cameron B.

I found the base tea to be a bit discordant for this one – super earthy or something. I really wanted to like it, I too want a delicious apple tea!

lizwykys

I’m also in the market for a delicious apple tea! :) Actually, I had this one on my last DF order and ended up striking it off because my shipping was too high.

EmmaM

I agree Cameron B. It might be that earthiness I’m not connecting with. On paper it sounds so perfect, but it just doesn’t work for me. The search continues lol.

EmmaM

Liz, I wish I could send you some of mine. 100 gr is just a lot for a tea I’m not in love with, but I imagine shipping to Greece would be prohibitive. Maybe when I go to France this Spring, it would be easier to ship from there. Will investigate :)

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76

Advent Calendar – Day 16

Sweetness and Cinnamon are the main story here for me. I do taste a little fruitiness and a hint of almond maybe but I’m afraid that’s really all I get from Noel a Londre. It’s a lovely tea but not one I see myself reaching for. I’m so glad I tried it and I enjoyed my cup but it was like a date with someone you know is nice but you have no chemistry. It was a “nice guy” kind of tea for me. I won’t miss it but I enjoyed my time drinking it. I think it might be the perfect tea for someone else who loves cinnamon though since it’s light and nicely done so I hate to give it a mediocre review.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Fruity

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45

Advent Calendar Day 14

Oh boy!!! That’s a lot of hibiscus and rosehip peel in one cup of tea! That’s a definite no thank you from me. Even with sweetener I couldn’t finish the cup. As it cooled it got better, but it just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get any caramel or toffee. I have the black version of it so I’m hoping I like it better than this version.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

I started drinking tea in 2018 when a friend introduced me to flavored black teas. Since then, I have developed a bit of a tea addiction. I never want to be without the teas I love, but I’m perpetually compelled to try new ones…

I started with French tea companies like Mariage Freres, Dammann Freres, Kusmi, Nina’s, and TheOdor, because I’m French and it makes me feel closer to home, but I would love to find tea companies I love as much on this side of the Atlantic.

I’m partial to dessert teas and in terms of flavors, I adore almond, pistachio, biscuit, nutty types, as well as caramel, cream, cake, vanilla, toffee, chocolate, and cookies. For me, it’s all about drinking my dessert!!! I also like fruity teas like peach, melon, mango, raspberry, strawberry, figs, and even grapefruit flavored teas. I am discovering more floral teas and testing the waters there, but I don’t care for earl greys or chai. I have not expanded into unflavored teas yet, but maybe one day.

For full disclosure I like my tea with a little sugar/sweetener.

Tea ratings: (I’m not a tough customer and I don’t have a very sophisticated palate.)

96-100: Pure deliciousness and all-time favourite teas.

90-95: Love love love. Delicious teas I reach for all the time.

80-89: Good to great teas I’d drink any day of the week.

75-79: Good teas that I would be happy to drink from time to time.

70-74: Teas that are just ok for me. They’re not bad teas, but not my preference.

60-69: Maybe good for someone else but definitely not my thing.

50-59: Drinkable

1-49: Just no.

Location

North Carolina, USA

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