4843 Tasting Notes
I ordered this last week (along with the Neapolitan Honeybush) after reading so many positive reviews about it here. Since I love Genmaicha, and I loved the Malted ChocoMate blend, I figured I’d give it a try.
And the order came so quickly! Fast – Free – Shipping! Awesome!
WOW! This is amazing. I think I may even like this better than Genmaicha with Matcha. The malted flavor works so well with the toasted rice. It’s a little toastier, a little sweeter, a little richer, a little nuttier. And a whole lot delicious.
Excellent!
Preparation
This is another sampling sent to me by the generous Doulton! (thank you!!!)
The aroma of the dry leaf is like tropical fruit, and that fragrance softens considerably upon brewing – although the brewed liquor does smell quite good.
It has a pleasantly sweet flavor, and the fruit flavor reminds me quite a bit of a fruit smoothie. The black tea is very smooth and quite mellow and unassuming. A nice amount of astringency and no bitterness.
I like this tea best served iced! It is very refreshing.
Preparation
Another very appreciative THANK YOU to Doulton for making this tasting possible!
One thing about these teas from Dammann Freres – at least the ones I’ve had so far – they all smell amazing! This one is no exception. The dry leaf possesses a very fruity aroma, yum! I can smell the strawberry and the fig! I can also smell subtle hints of the lavender.
But… the brewed liquor smells even better! It doesn’t happen as often as I’d like it to, where the brewed tea smells as good or even better than the dry leaf. It’s so nice when I happen onto an exception!
The taste – lavender is much more pronounced in the flavor than it is in the aroma. The black tea base is very pleasant – smooth, brisk, and pleasantly astringent. The strawberry and lavender together creates a very unusual – but enjoyable – flavor. The fig is also very nice. Not particularly strong but it is delicious.
So far, this is my favorite tea that I’ve tasted from Dammann Freres!
Preparation
Wow, it’s really early for me, I am still in kind of a sleepy daze.
But I am enjoying my Masterpiece Chai. I decided to forgo the latte this time, because I’m battling my allergies still and I figured the dairy protein won’t help matters right now. It is delicious with just a drizzle of raw honey though… nice and spicy… just what I need on this sleepy day.
Preparation
Thank you Doulton!
The aroma of this tea is very inviting. The strong citrus fruit fragrance mingles with a soft yet fresh grassy scent of green tea, with hints of spice and flower lingering in the background. It’s positively lovely!
The flavor is quite nice, as well.
The citrus flavors are strongest. The grassy notes of the Yunnan green tea are slight but very fresh tasting. I wish that the spices in this blend were a bit more pronounced. The peppery notes do come out to play in the finish, though, but this tea is not nearly as spicy as the description might lead one to believe.
Overall, though, it’s a very pleasant tasting tea.
Preparation
Taking a little Matcha break in between infusions of the Amethyst Oolong.
For fun, I added a sprinking of “True Lime” which was sent to me in a swap package from a friend. It definitely adds a pleasant tartness and seems to cut through some of the Matcha sweetness (not that Matcha sweetness is a bad thing, I quite adore the sweetness of matcha). Nice!
it’s still smooth, creamy, and sweet though… just with a new dimension of flavor and I’m liking it a lot!
Preparation
Wow… as I continue to sip this with the True Lime, I’m thinking I REALLY like it a lot with the lime flavor! Awesome! I think I may like this better with the lime than without!
I really need to get into Matcha…I have some I have been ‘thinking about’…sigh…maybe today is that day!? LOL
TeaEqualsBliss… DO IT! hehe=P
I KNEW Cofftea would comment!!!! I was actually WAITING for your comment! LOL
Time for some Oolong!
I am enchanted by this Oolong. I think it is the darkest Oolongs I’ve yet to encounter. The leaves do look like a deep, dark purple and even the liquor has an interesting, purple-ish color.
The first infusion possesses a slight smoky quality – not heavy, just a hint of smoky presence – woodsy, slightly earthy, and buttery… with some nutty notes too. LOVE this tea.
Off to write a review of it for Tea Review Blog!
Preparation
OK… now that I’m finished with my Matcha with lime break… it’s back to my Oolong! Wow… as I reflect on this Oolong tea, I’m really taken with it’s color… it’s so deep and rich. And after having a sweet/tart bowl of Matcha, the roasted flavor of this tea really comes out. If I didn’t brew this myself, I’d think I was drinking coffee! It has a really rich, bright, brisk flavor. VERY GOOD!
This Earl Grey is delightful. The more I drink it the more I am liking it. I still maintain that I prefer Lupicia’s Earl Grey… but, it certainly is NOT the worst I’ve ever had either. I find the bergamot in this tea to be quite remarkable as it possesses a fruitier flavor to it. Yes, I know that bergamot IS indeed a fruit… but my experience has been that bergamot possesses a very “fragrant” flavor that I can liken to a flowery quality (since flowers are fragrant). This bergamot is less flowery and more fruity. That is to say that while it is quite fragrant to the nose, it is less fragrant to the palate.
Eh… suffice is to say that I like it.
Preparation
I am on the fence about this particular Earl. Something about it tastes “different”, but not in a good way—in a weird way! I’ll have to ruminate over a cup and write a proper review soon!
Stephanie: it is weird… but I think that is one of the reasons I like it. It’s different and in this case (at least from my palate’s perspective) different is good.
I feel like I need to research bergamot or something- some teas claimed to be flavoured with just bergamot taste like a garden and the handful of earl greys I really love definitely taste more citrusy, but bergamot is still the only flavour. Hmm.
Most of the Earl Grey teas that I’ve tasted have been flavored with oil of bergamot. The only one that I can recall that flavored their tea with the actual fruit rather than the oil is Numi’s Aged Earl Grey, which is OK, but, the bergamot is definitely a softer presence than in those that have been flavored with the oil.
It’s very dependent upon the oil of bergamot that is used. Some are better quality than others. In addition to the quality of oil is the conditions in which it has been flavored… including the quality and freshness of the tea that is flavored. Earl Grey teas is one of the most difficult flavorings to perfect, because it’s not as forgiving as other flavorings can be.
Bergamot is a citrus – an orange – here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergamot_orange
I know. :)
Oh, LiberTEAS – I know you know! Sorry – I was replying to what Miss Sweet was saying in her comment “…and the handful of earl greys I really love definitely taste more citrusy, but bergamot is still the only flavor.” I wouldn’t dream of trying to tell you something (I mean you’ve been in/are in the tea business!) – I’m only just starting on my tea-appreciation!
Lauren: I know that there are a lot of people who do not know what bergamot is. In fact, when I started out, I most certainly did not. I mean, it’s not like we can walk into the produce area of the supermarket and find bergamot oranges along with the lemons, limes and grapefruits. (Although, that would be ever so cool!!! Imagine being able to add a thin slice of bergamot orange to your tea rather than a slice of lemon!)
Anyways, I didn’t think you were talking to me when you posted that, so no worries. Have a splendid tea day!!!
But no need to apologize.
You are ever so gracious, thanks, LiberTEAS! Just so you know, I HIGHLY value everything you post/comment because I learn so much from your words! & thanks, I’m drinking this amazing green oolong today, so it’s a good tea day!
Oh, I know what bergamot is too, I was more curious about the difference in flavouring across the tons of earl greys I’ve tried. Its almost like some are flavoured with “earl grey flavour” rather than bergamot itself, which might account for the overly floral taste I’ve had in some plain earl greys (i.e. no flowers in the blend itself)?
And I was wondering about flavouring with bergamot too, some say “scented with”, some say “flavouring” but does that just mean scented?
Its so interesting that there are so many factors involved to get a decently flavoured tea! Sorry for the longwinded comment, earl grey is my favourite and this kind of stuff just fascinates me :D
Miss Sweet: It fascinates me as well! And it is interesting!
I blended this blend a while ago. I wanted to improve upon this flavor idea… so I used Jasmine Pearls and Japanese Green Sencha and flavored them with Passionfruit and Orange.
Pleasant, fresh and fruity taste with a whisper of jasmine. LOVE it!
Preparation
If you ever reblended this one, I’d buy it. I like the Lipton’s version for a bagged green tea. I bet yours is waaay better.
Chrine: that was actually my inspiration for this blend. I went to a restaurant and all they had was Liptons (yuck) but this blend sounded intriguing enough so I tried it and was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying it. However, as I sat there sipping it, I kept thinking of ways that I’d improve upon it. Like using jasmine pearls and Sencha instead of whatever green base they were using.
Noooo I’m going to have to add a bag of this to my ever increasing shopping cart!
Yet another 52 Teas Temptation…Frank’s trying to kill me…lol…