Palais des Thés

A friend recently ordered the Palais de Thes advent and she kindly offered to let me tack on some items to her order – including this blend!

I think the concept is really interesting – like a sweeter and more citrusy genmaicha. The combo of lemon and genmaicha sounds a little funny on paper, but citrus flavours actually compliment roasted profiles really well so I was excited to see how it would play out. Upon first taste, it’s pretty solid! Definitely a lighter toastiness from the brown rice than I was expecting, but the added body of the black tea was a welcome addition. The lemon wasn’t light, but it was milder than expected with a gentle sweetness and a pleasant brightness. There’s also almond flavouring in the blend, though I didn’t find it particularly distinct. My initial impression is that it’s mostly adding another nuanced type of sweetness and some flavour depth while otherwise sort of co-mingling with the nuttiness of the rice.

I also got the impression from this blend that it’s the sort of one that only grows on you even more with time as you become more acquianted to the profile. I’m excited to see if that happens – I’ve historically not been a huge fan of Palais de The’s blending style but this was right up my alley.

Maybe i don’t like Sheng, maybe i’m just not used to it, maybe it needs more time to be better ? I have no clue, but i couldn’t drink this at all, it was so bad for my taste i couldn’t get any notes of anything.
A friend of mine tasted from the same cup, and was getting all the aromas (apricot for example)

Apparently this one is a bit of a hit or miss, depending on which shop you buy it, it could be a good or bad batch.
Fortunately i think i got a good one.
This was my 1st puer tea ever, and i really enjoyed it ! Very earthy, could very much tast the mushroom !
Gongfu, 1 rince after 15 seconds, then 30 seconds steps (6+ times)

Good ok oolong i think, this was the 1st one i ever tried.
Good notes of vanilla, butter for me.

Very good daily rooibos i enjoy ;)
You can smell cherry and taste it ! It’s very enjoyable.

not a fan of the taste unfortunately

On phone, so it won’t let me drag. Going with 70. Was a sample with my recent expensive order. Used the bag in a large cup. A brisk, slightly plain Earl Grey. Nothing to write home about

Sipdown!

This is a tea that a friend brought to our tea time one day and it was purchased locally at The Fresh Market. It is light and smooth and works well to steep twice and combine the two steeps for a nice big pot of tea that is a little more economical, still showing its berry and floral flavors.When steeping once, those flavors are still at a nice level and are not cloying.

This is one I would repurchase if I needed something in this profile for the cupboard in future as Sipdown progress.

September Sipdown Prompt – tea from a friend

This is a lovely green tea and I am glad I made a whole pot because I paired it badly this morning.

I bought the dark, hearty flavor maple syrup for my waffles last time, but I think even the delicate would have been a poor choice with this tea. I could hardly taste it at breakfast and I knew it just wasn’t a good pairing – my fault.

Fortunately, there was a lot left to sip on after breakfast, and I am really enjoying it. The company doesn’t mention vanilla, but in addition to the red fruits and floral notes that they say are in here, I get a hint of vanilla. Maybe more than a hint.

It is a tad drying, which means it will pair beautifully with some foods, just not with what I had for breakfast. This would be much better with angel food cake topped with strawberries and whipped cream, or even some little vanilla cake nibbles or fresh fruit. But it is also wonderful on its own.

I am trying to get through some samples that are not even listed in my cupboard. Even though my cupboard number doesn’t go down, I feel a little triumphant with each one.

This was a really nice surprise. All too often I am put off by the base of flavored green teas. I was surprised to see this one calling for only 170F instead of 175F since it is Chinese green base and not Japanese, which would go even lower. I followed their suggestion.

I was blessed with a really delightful cup of tea with my breakfast. The base is sweet and smooth and I am guessing that is where the graham cracker aroma comes from? I saw that notes in a review and sniffed the tea and went, “Ah yes! They nailed it because there it is.” But I don’t know if I would have pegged it on my own. I might have struggled and come up with biscuit which we so often find in Dammann’s teas.

The red fruits are strawberry et al, and I think they list orange blossom which I love as well. I am not familiar with green date so I can’t comment on that. But the flavorings are light enough to not seem artificial to me. The aroma is fruity/floral and I would gladly scent a room with this lively and light aroma.

What a nice surprise! Would definitely buy a tin if I saw it in Homegoods.

Another vacation cuppa.

This one hit the spot more than I expected it to. Medium bodied with a brightness to the cup, but also a mix of wonderfully sweet and rich flavours. Candied almonds, nougat, and a hint of cinnamon. definitely had a slight wintery feel to it from those flavours, but not so much that I felt out of place enjoying my mug of it in the middle of the sweltering hot Saskatchewan heat wave.

Finishing off this mug currently, it’s what I’ve been sipping tonight as I work on tasting notes. I steeped it for a long ass fucking time because i got distracted, but it actually seems to have taken the time exceptionally well. Too tired to check what the flavour of the blend is actually supposed to be, but I’m definitely getting sweet nutty pastry type vibes. Like a flaky almond or pistachio financier or croissant. Maybe not a croissant, it’s not especially buttery. It’s good, though!

I was concerned with this one due to the Turmeric. Nothing against Turmeric personally as I do eat it and sprinkle in oatmeal, unable to taste it there, but with tea it’s been pretty miss when it’s added into the blends. My experience with Palais de Thes has also been mixed – some teas are great, some meh, some awful.

Surprisingly this one was very good actually, and is something I’d reorder for more supply. Not sure how detoxing really is, but the taste is good.

Another back-log

I drank tea in December - I just didn’t really log it apparently.

I am not sure from the bag sampler if this was supposed to be a black blend or an herbal blend. It got confusing

It’s not bad, though. Light colored, citrusy. Grapefruit with a small smudge of lemon. Bright but nothing memorable for me.

More back-logging, oh dear, Christmas cheer has come and gone but I was slow to get these copied over.

For once I get strong apple and spices in the background of a tea that proudly declares itself as containing “apples”. Or the company does, whatever, you know what I mean.

It’s not bad. Also not memorable really. Heavy on the spice. Sugar and spice do not always make everything nice, but this is drinkable for the holidays.

Sadly, it doesn’t make me think of romantic anything.

I had a coworker who was in France not too long ago, and she brought back some different blends from PDT as a gift – this being one of them.

It’s hard to describe the flavour of this blend as anything other than citrus. I mean, there is a whole seven different types of citrus flavouring and oils used within the blend so it makes sense this it just evokes this strong and aromatic generally citrus kind of vibe. I will say that the bergamot comes through the most though; it’s just so potent and has a distinct floral undertone that the rest of the medley don’t. The black base is really brisk and full bodied, and it works as a solid canvas for the different flavourings.

I’m not totally sure how I feel about the blend overall; it’s such a highly European blending style and the different flavourings are quite potent in aroma that they come close to veering more on the perfume-y chemical side than being as “fresh” as I’d expect/like to be tasting. Like, this isn’t a light blend of zesty bright citrus. It feels heavy. Not in a bad way, but just in a way that is less typical for citrus teas in general.