Fauchon

I almost moved on a wrote a note for a different tea before I wrote one for this (#20)! I had it yesterday, but forgot to note it. This is another one that lives at home, but I brought into work to drink. For whatever reason when this is really hot it has an unappetizing note in the aroma to me; I think it’s the base tea. Too keemun-y? I dunno. But once it cools down it is appley and delicious. I should probably cold brew this one; I love apple teas cold brewed.

This is one of the two Fauchon teas that I picked up at HomeGoods on my trip. Now I’m home, and it’s a pleasant temperature at which I do not feel weird having hot tea, so I made myself a cup of this one. I was interested in this primarily because it is apple + rose petals, which I’m hoping translates into apple + rose. Also I haven’t found too many apple teas where I actually like the base (usually they are too bitter and astringent for me), but I like the Fauchon black base so I’m looking forward to this.

I am not disappointed, although perhaps I would prefer more rose. But then again I almost always prefer more rose. It’s a nice, very appley tea with a very light floral note. The black base has some bakey type flavors, so this comes out as almost like an apple pastry. I bet it would be super tasty cold brewed (I do love a cold brewed apple tea). Happy that I picked this one up, although I will say that there isn’t anything necessarily about this tea where I would have to get it from Fauchon again. I’m sure there are many other more easily accessible apple black teas that I would enjoy if I really tried to find them. But now I’m set with this one for a while.

I purchased this tea from Hapatite in her stash sale! Any time I see anything Fauchon, I have to jump on it. This was definitely the one I was most excited about, as I love almond. However, I did not realize that it’s an oolong base… For some reason I guess I assumed it was black like the others. I don’t know enough about oolongs to tell you what kind this is… It’s loosely rolled and still somewhat green, but seems partially oxidized, so I guess maybe tieguanyin? I don’t know! There are also flower petals, orange peel, and almonds, along with some stems. The dry scent is very sweet almond, which got me excited! There’s definitely some orange there too. I didn’t really know how to steep it, so I just went with my general French flavored/scented tea method – 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

I didn’t write any notes while I was having this tea, so I don’t really remember much about the aroma besides that it was citrusy and I could smell the greenness of the oolong underneath. I was pleasantly surprised by this tea! . The orange in it is quite nice. I’m not sure that I would call it completely authentic, but I find it does taste similar to real orange with a little extra tartness and a touch of candy flavor. The best of all worlds! :) Unfortunately for me, I didn’t find much of the almond in here, which is a shame. But I find that it doesn’t necessarily need it (although it would be nice). The base is very mild, I don’t really get any vegetal or overly floral taste like I do with green oolongs. It just kind of adds a nice mild autumn leafy, slightly toasty sort of flavor. There is a bit of floral here, but it’s very light and serves only to accent the orange.

This is a very lovely tea, and another win from Fauchon. I did drink it with a bit of sugar added, as I almost always do with flavored teas. I will definitely be keeping this tea in mind as an afternoon or early evening option (I’m unsure how much caffeine this type of oolong contains…). Thanks again, Hapatite, for giving me the opportunity to try this delightful tea! :)

I still really like this tea – it’s desserty, and nutty with just a hint of that “floraL” essence that all French teas seem to have. Yep this is a good one.

Pondering my cupboard situation tonight. I back to feeling over whelmed. I understand that my current cupboard situation is because of bad buying habits in the past. I think those habits are better now, but it’s hard to get it back under control. Balance is still something I’m having issues with. I’m in a much better place than I was 6 months ago – it is trending in the right direction, and I really hope that trend continues – but I desperately need more fruit tisane.

Sweet almonds in black tea – yes please. There is a hint of floral to this one, but for some reason that doesn’t really offend me. This is probably my favorite of the Fauchon teas that I have – it’s just really nice and desserty.
I’m drinking this tonight out of the maple leaf mug that TheTeaFairy so generously sent me. It just seemed like the obvious mug to drink this out of tonight. I’m sure she will understand why. :))

I recently purchased this from Shadowfall in her stash sale. My very first Fauchon, hooray! And I have a couple more on the way from Hapatite’s sale. Mango is one of my favorite fruits, I just love its unique sweet and juicy but almost piney taste. So I’m always excited when I get to try a mango-flavored tea, although none have impressed me too much so far. The dry leaf smells nice but quite subtle, which is what I honestly expect from French teas. I didn’t bother to look up any parameters, I just used the same method I use for my Kusmi flavored blacks.

I actually find myself really liking this tea! The flavor is definitely more subtle than most, but it is in no way difficult to find. I would describe it as a blend of peach and mango rather than pure mango, but I do love peaches too! The black tea base is smooth and unobtrusive, and not bitter at all. I couldn’t tell you what kind of tea it is, but I would guess there’s some Ceylon in there somewhere. The base and the flavor go very nicely together. I added a bit of sugar, which really helped to bring out that mango-peach yumminess. Overall, I like this a lot and it definitely makes me excited to try more of Fauchon’s teas. I hope they’re on Vente-Privee soon! ;)

This one is not my favorite. Opening the can you’re hit with a strong whiff of pear that smells strikingly like green Jolly Ranchers. I actually love green Jolly Ranchers, but not mixed with my teas. In the cup the scent and flavor are much mellower, but for some reason the flavors don’t meld well for me. It’s like the black tea base and pear flavoring are completely separate layers that you taste at different times. It’s not awful, but I don’t think I’ll be having a second cup.

This is the first loose tea I’ve ever brewed, and it’s been a wonderful introduction. I’ve been an occasional tea drinker since childhood, learning from my mother and grandmother. Both favor Constant Comment teabags, which I drank exclusively throughout my 4 years of college whenever I felt homesick.
I spotted this tea in the checkout line at Home Goods. My tin looks different than this image, it’s all gold with a pink rose image front and center. It’s really lovely, although I’m afraid this may indicate that my tea is particularly old. My tin reads “Parfume / La Rose / Rose Tea / Fauchon Paris.” Does anyone know what’s behind this golden packaging?
I’m no tea expert of course, but I am a fine fragrance collector. This black rose tea appealed to me because I love rose scented perfumes. I was very satisfied with the subtle rose flavor in this tea. The scent of roses is sweet and very pleasant. It is light and not at all powdery or overpowering. The tea tastes as sweet as it smells, with a comforting hint of rose that doesn’t compete with the black tea. I found it very harmonious and relaxing.
I plan to hold on to this tin even after my tea is gone, because the golden color is very pretty. I will most likely choose another rose tea, recommendations are welcome!

Received this sample from OMGsrsly and I have to say! I was a little put off by the idea, so I didn’t rush to try it or anything.

I love thyme, but I love it in my homemade soups and meat dishes. I didn’t think I’d love to drink it.

So I trepidatiously brewed it up earlier. Figured I loved La Naissance and surprisingly enjoyed Un Soir de France so who am I to have any kind of tea prejudice?

I admit, it was odd, and I felt odd that I kind of enjoyed it. It’s peachy and thymey, I find both pretty equal, though maybe less thyme would make that more of an accent than half the cup, which is how it is now, to me anyway.

It was smooth and fullbodied as these French teas always seem to be, and fresh tasting.

It would certainly never occur to me to put those two flavours together, but then again I’m no fancy French master tea blender – for more reasons than one. Including that I’m neither fancy nor French.

But, they work together, in a weird sort of way.

It’s almost like it was created on a dare – “I challenge you to put two absurdly mismatched flavours together to concoct a tasty tea!”

- “I accept that challenge… SHABAM! Drink your heart out.” Or however the French say “SHABAM!”

So, thank you to OMGsrsly for sending me something that it would otherwise never have occurred to me to try. Still not something I would need to own, but cool to taste!

I <3 Steepsterites!

Another tea from Miss B ‘s stash sale! (Best deal ever!) I’m not a huge fan of orange in teas…or really anything for that matter. I’m pretty much a purist when it comes to orange in that I like actual oranges but not much else, not even orange juice. Despite all that, I really enjoyed this cup of tea! It was an extremely well done tea. The harshness of the orange was tempered by the apricot and the whole thing was subtle in the best way. This tea had an understated elegance about it. I think that any orange lover would probably cherish this tea like Gollem with the precious.

Also, I had a fabulous Monday and I hope all you Steepster-ites did too :-). My colonies of cells that I carefully tended over the weekend looked good, my prodigal plasmids returned (I found them stuffed in the back of the freezer behind a ton of boxes; not cool, careless freezer-rearranging labmate!), and my best lab friend, whose cells I also tended over the weekend so she could go on a trip, brought me a tea gift! She brought me Coco-lada by Owl’s brew which is “a tea crafted for cocktails.” Yes please! She also brought in some vafler, which we ate with raspberry jam and gjetost during break while I drank this Fauchon creation.

A lovely Fauchon sample from OMGsrsly!

This is one juicy black tea!

I was actually pretty impressed with myself because I was able to pick out peach notes and rose notes immediately….I often don’t trust my tastebuds to tell me the truth.

It was very fresh tasting and enjoyable, but I wouldn’t need to buy it, I prefer their La Naissance tea! (Also has roses)….not much for super fruity black teas!, though I suppose it could make a good cold brew!

So happy to have tried it!

Thanks, OMGsrsly!

Bubble bath tea from boychik.
Wow! Bread, chocolate, & cream = delicious!
Now I’m thinking I want to combine cacao nibs, vanilla, & something smokey…
It will either be awesome or terrible…

This tea never leaves me unsatisfied. When you open the tin is like you open a box of a eau de parfum. Typical parisian I would say from the way they designed it. Not a lot of smell- i thought I was going to be dissappointed. Infused for 4 min and to my surprise it had such a wonderful taste. It was like eating apples sprinkled with orange juice on top. I drank it 30 min ago and I still have te wonderful taste in my mouth. Very smooth, very enjoyable and zero bitterness.
Unlike so many other teas that have more smell then taste, this one is e opposite, not a particular smell but an amazing taste.

Craving Pear tea tonight.
French Tea makes me happy.
Pear tea makes me happy.
This tea is making me happy.

This is really subtle, just a whiff of awesome pear essence swirling amongst a nice black base. This is a French tea – not in your face flavors. It’s more of an impression that actual flavor. MMMMMmmmmmmmmm

I love taking this tea while reading a book before going to bed. It’s just so good. I wish I had bought more before I left Europe. I have the tin and the kettle next to my night stand and it is just the best relaxing tea ever…. and it does bring me memories of Fall in Paris…

T&C TTB Tea #2 Backlog May 23

Oh man. I loved loved loved this tea. It was my very first Fauchon tea, and it may have created a monster.

I didn’t know what to expect, but when I smelled the dry leaves it was like freshly baked bread, hot out of the oven! Weird.

3-4 minutes at 96 degrees.

It brewed up to a medium dark amber color, and smelled faintly of roses, and vaguely fruity. The bready note wasn’t as apparent.

The taste – awesome. No…. AWESOME. Almonds! Softly of roses, in a non-overwhelmingly floral way. I’ve never had marzipan before but I bet I’d love it!

This tea, is a must buy.
Gah.

This smells much more vanilla than it tastes, which doesn’t much surprise me about a white tea. But yes, I can taste a light vanilla and a little lemon. It smells sweeter than it tastes. I don’t think I’d reach for this white over some others, but it was nice to try. Thanks, Sil!

Thank you Dexter3657! I’m happy I got to experiment more with Fauchon, but I found that this didn’t have enough fruit for me. It was barely apricot? I still enjoyed trying it; I just wouldn’t buy any.

I bet Lupicia would have an amazing apricot tea! :D
(200)

This is another tea from MissB’s mystery pack. Thank you!

I drank this hot yesterday. It was a good balance between the black tea base and the mango. I could definitely identify the mango in this and it was pretty tasty. Nothing about the base tasted cardboard-ish. It was just a yummy fruity tea. I plan to make the rest of this as an ice tea as I think this will shine a bit more cold.

Apricots are my favorite food group.

But it is so hard to find an apricot tea that is not artificial or weird tasting or bitter. I am sure most fruit flavoured teas have this problem but I love apricots so much that I want a genuine flavoured tea.

I picked this one up hoping that the French would be able to stay true to my beloved apricot. The smell of the dry tea reminds me of thick and pulpy freshly made apricot juice.

The taste is ok. A bit lacklustre. But I did make it at work and although I think I have a pretty good set up at work, it is still a work set up. I am definitely getting real notes of apricot. But it feels and tastes artificially sweetened. The apricot flavour it working really well with the black tea base that is am finding very subtle.

I think next time I need to use a bit more leaf. But otherwise, this is the closest- to -apricot tea I have ever had. I bet a bit of bergamot would make this tea divine. Mmmmmm. Apricots and bergamot…

I had tried this once before when Stephanie gave me a sample. I liked it ok. Luckily, I liked this even more this time! I admit, I picked out the peppercorns (why are they there anyway?) so I didn’t have that in the tea. But the resulting tea was just light and a little fruity. It was really nice. Oh, and the tin is so pretty!

Another sample from Stephanie! Luckily she also made sure to tell me to brew it at a low temp, so my cup turned out really well. I don’t get a strong raspberry flavor, or a strong floral note. It’s just a pleasant cup with a bit of raspberry at the end. A little astringent too.