Dammann Frères

#adventageddon Day Seventeen – 3/6

This was a nice tea as well, but I can’t help but point out that it’s essentially the third orange and ginger combination tea in this advent – just on a rooibos base. I like the combination a lot, and I think that DF has a winning orange flavour but I don’t really want to experience it three times in the span of a week just with different tea bases. The rooibos is pleasant, honey and wood notes, but not enough to set it apart IMO.

Advent Calendar Day Sixteen

Hooray! My (first) White2Tea order showed up today which meant I finally had all the pieces to send off my Secret Santa package for the Tea Chat/Slack exchange! I was beginning to get really worried it wouldn’t arrive by Christmas – and at this point it may not make it there FOR Christmas, but should at least get there for New Years…

I drank this one on the commute in the work today; and like yesterday’s advent tea it was one I drank blindly/without ingredients. It was also one I was sort of disappointed to see because I had a late night yesterday at DAVIDsTEA and only had like four hours of sleep going into the day today – so I was really hoping for something caffeinated from the calendar this morning.

Nonetheless, it was REALLY tasty. I almost immediately was able to identify this as a spiced orange blend, or at the very least spiced citrus. My money was on orange though; especially to tie into the festivity of it all. I for sure picked up on the peppercorn in the finish of the sip; that light tickle is very familiar to me at this point in my tea drinking journey. Maybe a bit of ginger? And I got the sweetness of the clove, but couldn’t completely nail down that flavour on my own without the ingredients list.

The orange was very bright though, and it had an extra supporting sweetness to it that I just couldn’t quite place my finger on. Turns out I had in completely wrong; I think I was picking up on the cherry in the blend although I 100% interpreted it as more of a honey or even caramel note. So, definitely WAY off. But honestly the additional fruit note just merged with the orange so well that all I was getting was extra sweetness. Very nice overall though. Spiced Orange is sort of a played out flavour combo, but with how it’s done here it didn’t feel nearly so overdone. Which is a testament to the quality of the tea.

Though it would be interesting to revisit this one given I now know what the ingredients actually are supposed to be…

additional notes: I usually crave this flavor profile once a year, it’s usually this month, and then trying to think of what tea it is, I realize it’s a NOEL tea, meaning appropriate for the month! This isn’t my favorite DF Noel tea but a nice flavor profile to have a little bit in stock… it’s like boozy cherry. (That pairs well with Lupicia’s Marron Chocolat that I’m having also.) I’m very grateful for that Steepster group order years ago! I was able to try so many DF teas and honestly haven’t written tasting notes for a few of them yet. These 25gram amounts are now reaching the bottom, so I definitely want to order from DF, probably next year… or the year after that….

Additional notes: I had this one again a couple days ago with the new parameters I’m trying with these DF teas. I would say I didn’t notice any new flavors peeking out, other than the cherry and marzipan but somehow there certainly seemed more of those flavors. This one isn’t my favorite but it definitely is what it says it is. Also, with 3/3 Christmas teas from DF being steeped really well, I think this is the ideal way to steep these DF flavoreds. Also possibly black flavored tea in general.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons // 14 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min

Another Noel tea from DF! Giving it a sniff I already knew it would taste like cherry. At least this one is SUPPOSED to be cherry, unlike the Noel St Petersbourg I had the other day that was supposed to be everything but cherry and was only cherry and almond. I also taste some almond/marzipan that should be here but no ginger or gingerbread that should also be here. So this one gets a higher rating from me for actually being what it should be, even if I’m not in love with the cherry flavor. BUT the Noel St Petersbourg and Noel a Paris is almost like having the same tea twice, they are so similar (these harvests are anyway.) I love being able to try them though!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // couple minutes after boiling // 5 minute steep

After the disappointment that was The des Marquises, I’m happy to say this is a return to form for DF. It’s quite fruity, in a jammy sort of way, not unlike DF’s 4 Fruits Rouge. I don’t know that I would’ve pegged it as strawberry, necessarily; I’m getting more of a mixed red fruits vibe. I can’t say I’m tasting biscuit, exactly, but there’s a sweetness—and richness—that I suppose might be vaguely reminiscent of a delicate little tea cookie.

I still haven’t tried a ton of DF blends yet, but so far I’m getting the sense they do better with more Old World-y kinds of flavor profiles and less well with… I don’t know, modern ones? Tropical? I realize Charlotte aux Fruits does contain papaya, as did Noël à Venise—why does DF add papaya to everything, anyway?—but since I can’t detect it in the taste I’m still counting this one as an old school French sort of flavor.

Advent Calendar Day Fifteen

Didn’t check the ingredients prior to brewing this; I was relatively rushed on my way out of the house this morning. However, at least I managed to find time to brew this for my commute rather than leaving it for the evening ‘cause I ended up working an unplanned shift at DAVIDsTEA so I wouldn’t have had time to drink it in the evening…

Anyway; it was obvious as soon as I started sipping at this one (and really even as the water first hit the tea leaf) that it was a lychee tea! Damn, that lychee comes through REALLY clearly! However, I also tasted a lot of citrus – I would have said either a semi bitter lemon OR grapefruit, but I suppose the correct note is grapefruit. As for the jasmine? Well, I thought the lychee was definitely a bit more floral than it usually tends to come off in blends, but I’m guessing part of what I was tasting was the jasmine just blending well with the natural floral notes of the fruit.

Didn’t taste any peach…

This was nice! I enjoyed that it was tropical, sweet, fruity and floral and had very strong flavour notes that were still able to retain an air of delicacy to them.

Advent Calendar Day Fourteen

I’ve yet to miss a day/post a tea on a day other than when I’ve drank it for this advent calendar so I figured I best post the review for today’s tea before I drift off to sleep. I’ve been so tired all day…

Basically I think this is pretty much just the same as Noel a Paris but with a white tea base, right? The ingredients look identical with that one exception, and drinking it this morning that’s exactly what it tasted like. I will say, the cherry comes through stronger with the white base, but I don’t either it nor the ginger compliment a white base as well as they do the black one. So, I liked the black better overall – which is probably for the best given I’ve got like 90g left of Noel a Paris.

Definitely worth checking out though if you like the flavours in Noel a Paris but aren’t big on black teas, though.

This is a strange one—even by DF standards, there’s a lot going on in the description. And that’s really what drew me to it in the group order. And while quite a few of the crazy complex DF blends I’ve tried so far have underdelivered, in that only maybe half of the flavor notes promised are detectable, this one really packs it all in. Unfortunately, the result is more faintly chemical muddle than delicious melange. I’m definitely getting the kola, which is a strange but not unwelcome note to encounter in a tea, and blackberry, and clementine, and a sort of candy blueberry, plus a powerful bouquet of florals.

I can’t really say whether these flavors play nicely together or not, though, since the blend is dominated by a strong bitter and chemical-tasting note. I steeped this for 3:30 at 195F, but I’m wondering if a shorter steep and/or a lower temperature may be in order. I’ll play around with this one a bit before giving up on it, but I’m thinking it may end up in my swap pile.

#adventageddon Day Seven – 3/5

Another interesting case where I don’t remember having tried this tea previously but not only have I reviewed it here on Steepster but I’ve also ranked it really highly…

Today I’m enjoying the cup but I don’t find anything particularly special about it and I think it’s somewhat average in terms of flavour and quality. It’s very forward in it’s jasmine notes, but there’s a sweetness to the jasmine that stops it from dipping into an area that could be considered perfumey and unpleasant. It’s interesting to me that there’s bergamot oil in this blend; I don’t taste it at all. What I do taste is the tropical undertone beneath the stronger jasmine note – it’s loosely passion fruit tasting to me, but not particularly distinct. I think it partners well with the jasmine; and I can appreciate a tropical element that is more sweet and mellow than tangy and acidic.

Advent Calendar Day Thirteen

Drank this one on the commute to work and honestly, based on the ingredients list, I was skeptical that I like it but I was REALLY enjoyable.

Very fruity overall; definitely has a major tropical vibe going on from the mango/pineapple duo that dominate the cup and then the supporting passionfruit undertones. The jasmine is also pretty potent; it took me a long time to figure out it was in the blend though despite it being really obvious because for whatever stupid reason my brain likes to both process jasmine as grape flavoured and then also associate jasmine with grapes. I’m one of the only tea drinkers I know who’s brain/tastebuds do though; but yeah, for most of the cup I thought I was just getting strange grape notes but then I had the epiphany I was tasting the jasmine and my head was just doing that thing it does.

Overall it makes for a very smooth, upbeat cup with a great balance of floral and fruity notes and really lively, bright and rich flavours. Plus, as always with DF, all those flavours are just super well defined. Sure, it felt rather out of place ’cause it was so tropical and the weather today was such shit – but it tasted wonderful.

Another new tea from the DF group order. This one is really good! It reminds me a lot of Della Terra’s lemon chiffon rooibos (one of the nicest rooibos blends I’ve had by far), but nicer because everything is better with a base of actual tea. Both the lemon and the toffee come through nicely. There’s a creamy meringue note in there as well. I’m not sure I can detect the papaya, or what it’s even meant to be doing here—maybe for sweetness? It is a decidedly sweet blend, rather than a tart one. This isn’t quite as unique or complex as some of the other DF blends, but the fact that they don’t overpromise to meld ten impossible flavors here means there’s none of the letdown you get with some of those crazy blends that can’t possibly live up to their descriptions either. I feel like the base is a little thin—I had the same complaint about Noël à Prague—but that’s my only real complaint. I would definitely be interested in acquiring more of this one at some point.

#adventageddon Day Five – 2/5

- A mix of floral, tropical passionfruit, and a hint of ginger in the finish
- Reminds me heavily of DT’s Green Passionfruit but lighter and a little spiced
- I like it around as much as I like that blend
- AKA not much…

(Though I’ve apparently had it before, and liked it more in the past?)

Advent Calendar Day Twelve

Wow, half way through already!? That seems kind of crazy.

I like this one a lot though; it very light and refreshing with soft flavour notes although it doesn’t lack in flavour. Primarily, I’d say this mostly takes like lime/passionfruit and has a borderline tropical like quality. However, it’s also got a really soft ginger finish which greatly compliments the lime. Other flavours which crop up throughout sips are freshly cut grass, from the base, and linden leaf.

One thing I’ve noticed throughout this calendar is that DF seems to really enjoy incorporating ginger into their blends. However, I don’t seem to mind that overall. They generally do it well.

Advent Calendar Day Eleven

I feel like DF including this blend in their advent is a lot like DT including Forever Nuts; when I think of the big/popular blends from DF this is one of the ones I automatically think of. I’ve seen it reviewed here on Steepster – though actually this is my first time trying it.

It’s strawberry and rhubarb, so that was really exciting for me! I love rhubarb teas so much, and while I’d prefer it without the strawberry pairing it’ll do so long as the rhubarb is still distinct. Drinking this one on the bus ride before starting work, I was really impressed with how smooth the flavours were and I very strongly enjoyed that it stayed away from the trap that strawberry/rhubarb teas often fall into where they’re quite tart/sour. This with soft and sweet, with sort of a borderline baking/pasty like undertone? It wasn’t buttery enough to make me think of a danish or strudel or anything like that but it did have a powdered sugar/icing sugar sort of vibe? And the black tea itself had bread-y notes, which combined with the powdered sugar I guess enhanced the idea of a strawberry/rhubarb flavoured baking type thing.

And yes, the rhubarb is distinct and separate from the strawberry although the two notes do come together in a wonderful way.

Another one I greatly enjoyed from the calendar.

Had a bunch of holiday teas lately, and not much time to log them! All delicious.

Holiday tea 2023 #5 Noel a Venise
Holiday tea 2023 #6 Harney – White Christmas
Holiday tea 2023 #7 Angry Tea Room – Bourbon Eggnog

Additional notes: Just doing an update on my ‘different parameters’ test with my four DF Noel black teas. The other three seemed to improve in flavor with the new parameters, but this one doesn’t seem better. It just seems like there is less flavor steeped this way, unless the tea is just aging faster. Still a bit lemon but not as glorious as it once was, unless I should just go back to the old parameters.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons // 14 minutes after boiling // 2 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 min

This one resulted in exactly what I was hoping, at least! Full of sweet creamy lemon flavor! Just like lemon meringue. All on a light black tea base. Both steeps the same deliciousness. The flowers are a nice touch. I’m not sure how the papaya influenced the flavor, but including them is unique anyway. I think it’s a Ceylon base again, but sometimes a great flavor will make the Ceylon disappear or at least tolerable. I would definitely buy this again when my 25grams is out. DF sometimes over promises what a tea will be like, but this one is spot on.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

Advent Calendar Day Ten

Hmm; don’t know that I like this one a whole lot. I’m drinking it currently, after having now gotten home from my DAVIDsTEA shift; I didn’t bring anything from home in with me today because I knew it would be really busy this weekend and it would just be easier to drink my own teas at home…

A lot of aspects of this blend aren’t working for me though, to be honest. The biggest is just that it’s quite bitter though – even with 80 degree water and a short three minute infusion. I mean, that’s pretty safe parameters for greens typically and just, no. However, aside from that I just don’t enjoy the sencha base and for whatever reason the orange tastes rather artificial/perfumey which is especially odd given that I’ve never had an issue with any of DF’s other orange teas.

The aspect that does work is the gingerbread though; it’s sweet while still having a bit of that spicy kick in the finish, and there are these nice well rounded molasses and brown sugar notes wrapped up in the overall gingerbread flavour. So that part does come out nicely. It’s just a shame I don’t love it as a whole.

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.

Advent Calendar Day Eight

I don’t think I’d ever heard of this one prior to seeing it in the calendar today, and I’m sort of bummed about that because it sounds really interesting/like a great flavour pairing. The dry leaf smelled great too; very fresh and fruity! Lots of red currant aroma.

The flavour is so lovely; I was definitely expecting to taste more red currant just based on the aroma but I think it’s more strongly raspberry than anything else with some lighter red fruit supporting notes, such as red currant, strawberry, and just a trickle of cherry. The caramel in the blend is kind of interesting and weird; it just makes the cup a little sweeter overall and sort of exaggerates this borderline jammy like quality to the raspberry. However, that said, in the finish of the sip the caramel becomes more than just a sweetener and is more recognizable as its own distinct taste.

I like this one, and it’s one that I’d absolutely be intrigued enough by to get more of the play around with/experiment with. I can see it working so many different ways: iced, latte, syrup, in sugar cookies…

Yum!

This one is a bit of a disappointment, even though it was one I wanted to try more than most others from DF. Apricot, fig, plum, strawberry and vanilla!!! That sounds like my perfect tea! Some of my favorite flavors should be here! I love the idea of all of these flavors here, but the result of the brew isn’t much flavor at all. I can definitely taste SOME sort of fruit flavor, but it’s tough to pick out what they specifically are. I’d guess cherry if I had to. No vanilla. Simply fruit flavor on a black tea base that seems like Ceylon. I hope all DF black teas aren’t Ceylon bases.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoon for a full mug// 12 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep

Finally getting around to this one from the Advent calendar. This must be one of their newer tisanes because I don’t remember seeing it on the site. I don’t visit the tisane page super frequently, but I sometimes do, and I’ve enjoyed the tisanes I’ve had from there in the past. But I would have been interested in this one, because all of the flavors (rhubarb, rose, raspberry, date, orange blossom) are things I am a fan of.

This one is very tasty. The rhubarb is the most prominent note, as they say. Mmm rhubarb. I definitely get hints of raspberry, floral rose and orange blossom, and a hint of dark, sugary date. It took me a bit to place the date (until I looked at the description again) because it is almost candy-like. As it cools, it is getting stronger and sweeter. I’m also getting more berry on the aftertaste, lingering my tongue in a juicy way. Yum yum! I may need to order this one in the future in one of my biennial DF orders.

#adventageddon Day Twenty Four – 5/7

Evidently I’ve liked this tea before, but today I thought it was just alright. It was another spiced orange blend and frankly I’m just sick of those right now. So sick of them! It did have the addition of almond which deviated it a little bit, but not enough to be really exciting or noteworthy.