Nuit à Versailles

The teas that Doulton so graciously ordered from France have arrived in my mailbox!! I am so excited! The minute I opened the package this one started to call to me. Violets! I ate a nice big breakfast that reminded me of a lunch so I could make pretend I was having this in the afternoon :)

Ooooooh so delicate! I’m drinking green tea Choward’s Violet candies!!! I am swooning. Where is my fainting couch?!?! I am IN LOVE! I am finding subtle supportive other sweet floral flavors, but this one is nothing like an Earl Grey and the other flowers do not stand out. This one is a lovely slightly vegetal green tea with violet, violet, violet. I erred on the side of caution and steeped it for 3 minutes, but the next time I make it I’m going to go for a 3:30 first steep. I think it can take it.

Steep 2: 4 min – Could it be that this steep is even more delicious?!!? Why I think it is!!! It’s a little more rounded but equally as violet and wonderful. I wish you could see me – I’m freaking out. You have no idea how much I love violet and I was so afraid this tea would be the equivalent of a toiletry – and it IS NOT!!!!

I’m completely intoxicated and am seeing violet elephants, but I think this could even go another steep. I’m going to save my leaves and see if I may want some this afternoon!

I am so happy right now! I love Doulton, I love the French, and I love Steepster!!!!!!!

EDIT: I just did a third steep (4 min) and it’s great!!!

Also – this sounds a little strange but I totally want to take a bath with this tea!! Green tea bathing is supposed to be good for health:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1141970/the_health_benefits_of_a_green_tea.html?cat=68

and this fragrance – ahh!! It would be the most amazing soak ever.

This is one of the most popular Dammann Frères blends, it seems – both in terms of ratings and sales. It makes sense – if DF’s overall concept appealed to me, I’d be really excited about this tea, too. Smelling the dry leaf is interesting – at first, it’s a rich, dreamy bouquet with all the different scent strands weaving into each other. After a while, though, it’s possible to identify individual fruits and florals. There’s peach, and violet, some orange… and even what smells like DF’s passion fruit to me.

Steeped, it retains much of the same complexity – the beginning of the sip and the aftertaste leave very different impressions. But it’s just very, very delicate. Too delicate for me, and with a dominant presence of that perfumey note DF are so fond of. It’s a little bit like drinking someone’s grandmother – don’t get me wrong, it’s a grandmother of the Parisian variety, all old Chanel and pearls and dignity, but still. Too perfumey.

[From my epic Instant-Thé order to Rome, October 2013.]

I will always take the opportunity to try Dammann blends I haven’t tried yet. This one has even been on my list, but it wasn’t a high priorty for ordering. But now thanks again to Ellen I have a sample yay!

Ok there is for sure something weird going on with some element here, but I don’t know if it is my brewing setup (recently cleaned, but not too recently), water (maybe?) or the samples. This does not have the same powerful salty flavor as the Nirvana tea earlier today, but it does have kind of an odd savory note. Fortunately for me, there’s plenty of lovely bergamot, orange blossom and violet as well. The savory note is fading as the tea cools as well. This is a very violetty tea blend, though it doesn’t assult you with violets. More just provides you with enough to roll around in. Don’t think I would restock this one (and I’m glad I don’t have 100g of it), although I am very glad that I got a chance to try it.

Oh. My. Lordy.

I want to marry this tea company. I want to marry someone who works at this tea company. I would seriously consider dropping everything and moving to France in order to have easier access to this tea. This is the best floral green tea that I’ve ever had!!!!!

How can a tea be so complex, delicate, and beyond yummy? Dammann Freres? They really must be fairies masquerading as tea blenders creating rare, precious, and joyful nectar.

Violets? I never really gave much thought to this flower. Violets in this tea are a revelation! Bergamot? I didn’t even realize that there was bergamot in this until I looked at this tea’s description (on my 3rd yummy steep). This is the most delicate and lovely unassuming bergamot!

Okay, I’ll stop rambling. But this is an awesome floral green tea! Thank you so very very very very very very very very much JacquelineM for the sample of this tea!!!!!

ETA: Ummm…TG

A big thank you goes to Doulton for my opportunity to try this tea.

This tea smells beautiful. The dry leaf possesses a strong fruit and floral aroma with hints of fresh grass. When brewed, the liquor has a stronger grassy aroma but still has notes of flower and fruit.

The flavor is so wonderful. Delicate notes of fruit and flower united with a soft, smooth, buttery green tea. Lovely.

Thank you to Meghann for this one! I don’t usually drink tea this late at night unless it is decaf, but I couldn’t wait to try one of my new teas that arrived today.

First on my list was Nuit A Versailles. The aroma is heavenly. This is a lovely green tea, lightly buttery-flavored and oh! the goodies they have blended with it! I don’t taste the bergamot as bergamot – this tea is far too delicate for that. And having had lavender tea that tried to hurt me, and Parma Violets candy from Ireland that tasted like I was eating a WHOLE field of flowers, I could have been afraid to try this. But I know the French do flavored teas so well, and they didn’t let us down here.

Want to feel rich and pampered? Get out your favorite pretty cup, make this tea, and sniff sniff sniff. Then slowly sip and enjoy, but don’t stop letting this aroma work its wonders on you. This is a five star flavored green.

Tastes like a typical flavored green tea. It was very pleasant, but not anything totally different from what I’ve had before. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy this from France =P

The dry leaf smells of perfume and orange. Bergamot is the dominant flavor and it’s not exactly subtle. I add just a pinch of this tea to regular green tea which balances the flavor just right. Along with the bergamot there is lots of violet and citrus. I don’t really taste any of the fruit flavorings, namely peach and kiwi.

This is the best of the DF teas I bought, but I’m not sure whether I would go out of my way to purchase it again from France. I like subtly flavored teas and I’m finding theirs to be too perfumey. The blends are unique for sure, they just need to be toned down a little. Lupicia does this well. I may check them out or maybe Mariage Frères for flavored tea in the future.

Advent Calendar Day Twenty-One

Tragedy has struck, tea friends!

I slept in this morning, so in my rush to get out of the house and catch my bus I didn’t have time to brew my advent tea, so I grabbed the sample and tossed it in my bag. I had intended to drink it at work for lunch. However, when I went to do so the bag of tea was missing! I figured that I’d probably left it on the counter and, in my sleep deprived state, had maybe only imagined I’d tossed it in my bag.

Well, I just got home from my second job and… the tea is no where to be found.

So, this is basically a tasting note to say that I didn’t get to taste the tea. I have absolutely no clue where I lost it; but it’s gone and I’m incredibly bummed out/sad because I feel like my advent experience is incomplete now! Something that’s been a key part of my day for twenty days in a row now is just gone.

So on that notes…

If anyone, perhaps from the group order(?), happens to have any of this on hand I will HAPPILY pay you to send me a sample of it. I don’t need much – just a cup or two worth. It’s really bothering me that there’ll be ONE tea from the advent I wont have tried though so if I can get my hands on some that’d be great!!!

Will review later (taking my comprehensive exams at the moment!) but I am LOVING this tea.