Nina's Paris

after the major influx of teas today i find myself jumping from 211 to 241, not including a couple of samples from nina’s that i’m going to drink right away so they don’t bump up my total. That number will go up on monday, so goal is to try and get through as many of the 1-2 cup samples that nicole sent me as possible this weekend. That way when i place my butiki order i won’t feel so guilty. lol

Soooo welcome to 241. More math to be done on sunday lol

I am enjoying this one from nina’s paris. This sample came in teabag form, which was pretty great to try out. I have a feeling that their tea bags are something i may add a few of to my cupboard for work, once i get around to placing an order. I think this could be a fairly good cold brew at the end of the day.

Thank you again to Nina’s Paris! I picked this one because I had contemplated getting the same tea by betjeman and Barton but hadn’t. Since quatre fruits rouges seems to be one of those teas that a lot of Parisienne shops have, now was as good a time as any to try it.

I’m sad to say that I’m pretty sure I lost track of time and steeped this for too long. As a result its a bit of a bitter cup BUT if I focus on the taste beyond the bitterness I can tell that this would be a tasty cup of tea, well suited for my tastes. It really is red fruit tea instead of being that weird artificial “berry” taste that is present in a lot of teas. The base is quite nice as well, though, as I said I steeped it too long. Even the red liquor of the cup is pretty.

Thank you again Nina’s tea!

Thank you Nina’s Paris USA via Kittenna for this sample.

The dry tea smells strongly of rooibos, there is a nutty or woody scent.

The flavour of the brewed tea is very strongly rooibos. There is still a nutty flavour. The tea is very creamy. There is a very slight fruit flavour. I am not sure if I would say it was peach or apricot without reading the description of this tea first.

Overall the tea is good. I am just not a huge rooibos fan.

Another tea from Laurent. This was my second go at this tea and it’s just not the tea for me. this is a little better the second time but it’s not my favourite tea. i taste a lot more peach in this blend than other fruits, which is maybe why it’s not quite the tea for me. it’s a decent enough tea but as far as peach teas go, there are others i prefer. I just wish i could figure out how to get the other flavours to pop a bit more.

Thank you Nina’s Paris for these samples!

I’m not sure this one is the tea for me. I really like the way the black base is blending with the flavours, but I’m getting more of an orange cherry than being able to pick up the strawberry as well. The result is a strangely weird citrusy bolder black tea. The strawberry is lingering in the after taste the more I drink this one. Not one I’d purchase, but I’d never turn down a cup. :)

Also…sip down! Lol

Love it’s taste !!!

Thank you to Nina’s Paris USA via Kittenna for this free sample.

When I was growing up, we had red currants growing in our yard. My dad used to make wine from them. I can remember going out and picking the currants off of the bush when they were ripe.

The dry and brewed tea smell like red currant. There is also a hint of raspberry. The brewed tea has a smell of strong caramel.

The tea tastes like red currants and caramel. It is not sweet but also not bitter or tart. I like it this way.

J’adore Grand Amour!

Eghhh…this isn’t my cup of tea.

I’m mostly tasting the rice puffs and maybe a little caramel. It reminds of watered down coffee. I used the entire sample (about 2.5tsp) and made about 14-16oz worth. I may have used too hot of water or for two long…but even if I had used different temp water I don’t think I’d like it…something about the rice puffs in it. I much prefer all the other samples I recieved:)

Smells lovely!

Tastes pretty good too…there is a nice balance with the fruity flavors and black tea. I wish it was just a tad bit stronger but then again I won’t have to ration out a little 1-2 tsp sample, lol.

This is pretty good!

I love the smell of both the dry and steeped leaves. I was hoping more of the apple flavor would come through but…after leaving it sit awhile it came through more. There is a nice balance of black tea and apple. It’s a smooth tea that makes me think of luxury and fine things. I didn’t notice any astringency. I used 1tsp worth (so I could stretch my little sample out) for 3 minutes…so maybe that’s why it may not have been as strong as I would have liked. This is a yummy tea though…very delicate. It would seem fitting as an afternoon tea:)

This tea smells exactly like this type of pipe tobacco I used to smoke. I like it.

I don’t generally go for flavored teas, unless they are sophisticated and classy like this one. This tea is vanilla and caramel for grown ups. It’s not over powering or artificial-tasting.

I would keep this on hand for blends.

Thanks to Laurent at Nina’s Paris for sending a sample of this tea!

I read ashmanra’s tasting note about it earlier, which spurred me to try my sample of it sooner rather than later. While the tea was brewing, I noticed a bit of a metallic aroma that screamed “oversteeped! astringent! blech!” to me… and the infuser had only been in the cup for about 15 seconds. Not good. I figured I’d keep at it and just hope for the best.

Good thing, because although that aroma didn’t really dissipate, it was joined by a delicious aroma of candied pineapple, and just a hint of coconut. Mmm.

I didn’t manage to drink any of this before it cooled completely (familiar story), but am drinking it now, and enjoying it more than I thought I would. The predominant flavour is a sweet sort of pineapple, which is really quite pleasant. It’s joined by a touch of creamy coconut, and some green tea notes… and unfortunately, a dose of astringency. It’s not all that bad, but given my careful infusion, I definitely hoped for less.

Now, I haven’t had a cup of DavidsTea’s Toasted Walnut in ages (bad bad bad, I probably have about 90g of it left!), but that’s what this cup reminds me of. I don’t think the pineapple is quite as prevalent in DT’s version, and the base, though finicky, isn’t quite as bad… but they’re pretty similar IMO. Perhaps I’ll have a cup of TW tomorrow or something to check.

thanks so much Nina’s Paris for these samples! I really wanted to try a sample of the Nina’s Japon as soon as I saw someone else’s tasting note for it, then later that day I saw an offer for samples! I thought I’d try the straight assam first, so I can try the base of the others by itself. There was maybe a teaspoon and a half in my sample, so I just used every last leaf for this steep. Four minutes later, I get a reddish brown color and quite the kick! I might have used too much tea or steeped too long, but this is brisk and a bit astringent, yet still a bit above medium bodied. I’m reminded of a dark rye bread.. so this would have been perfect for a couple days ago on St. Patrick’s Day! It’s a bit malty, but less than I would expect from an assam. It’s very delicious! The second steep at just boiled for four minutes tames the briskness down a bit. Now there is more of that assam sweet, and a bit of a unique fragrance. Now it kind of seems like it would be a chocolate rye bread. I really love this one… can’t wait to try the others from Nina’s!

I was worried. I purchased this after enjoying a sample of it years ago, but I wasn’t getting the flavors I remembered from it. I stuck it in my cupboard and ignored it for many months. The other day I tried it again and remembering my previous disappointment I added a minute onto the steeping time. That was the right decision. 4 minutes at 205F is perfect! I get a really nice rich mix of chocolate and orange. Adding creamer makes it, well… creamy. And delicious. I’m really enjoying this tea now!

I recently got a bag of this and am having a hard time getting an awesome cup out of it. I tried 212 for 3 minutes, which was eh. This cup is 200 for 4 minutes, which is better, but I was much more enthusiastic about it in my previous review. I get the orange and a hint of chocolate, but the flavors aren’t as popping as I am wanting. It is reminding me of Mariage Freres Wedding Imperial that took a lot of refining to get a kick ass cup out of. Tea struggles!

This was one of my picks for Nina’s samples. I tried the other two quickly, but saved this one until now. I don’t remember what the description of it was, so it will be interesting to see what I detect. I think I’m smelling a little chocolate in the tea when dry. Not getting much while it’s brewing, but my nose is a bit stuffy. First thing I taste is orange. Strong orange, but not puckering, overpowering or bitter. Adding a little sugar makes each sip juicy and taste like the chocolate oranges that you smack to break up. This tea is balanced well. The black base is almost undetectable leaving the chocolate orange to take the lead. On it’s own, it’s really good, but when compared to the other two Nina’s teas I tried, it is my least favorite.

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml

Smooth black tea flavour. The apple, apricot, peach and vanilla are very well blended although I feel that they aren’t as bold as I would like. I feel that these flavours work very well together.

Mmm…I adore this tea! The dry leaf smells fruity and sweet. The tea leaves are a lovely dark green and I appreciate how much TEA is actually in this blend. This blend is mostly tea with a sprinkling of fruit pieces.

Once it’s steeped, the tea smells much like the dry leaf, only more subtle. It brews a pale yellow-green (almost clear). The pineapple flavor takes center stage with delicate notes of coconut and grass in the background. The fruit flavors taste very natural and work well together.

I drank this tea hot with no additions. It’s wonderful that way, although I look forward to experimenting more with it as an iced tea and with sweetener.

This sample was amazing!

I wish I took pictures of this blend! More if I could capture the smell to show everyone! Very amazing apple scent!

Taste? Great black tea base, loads of natural and fresh apple flavor. I sat there awhile trying to figure out what kind of apple I was tasting. The apple was crisp, like a golden delicious, but the skin tasted sweet like a red delicious or gala. The floral is really low here but melded with the apple.

Love it! I need more of this tea sometime.

Full Review on my blog, the oolong owl. I did a review of the 3 samples I received! http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/ninas-paris-sample-tea-review/

Mmm, Nina’s Japon smelled amazing before steeping!

I do like the combination of the black tea and genmaicha, plus it was creamy! Those flavors really worked well with the creamy, caramel and coconut aftertaste. I’d personally like a little less black in this blend, but I did like the extra depth it added.

This one seemed picky to steep and needs a shorter steeping time.

Full Review on my blog, the oolong owl. I did a review of the 3 samples I received! http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/ninas-paris-sample-tea-review/

1.05 tablespoons 248 ml.

The mild smokiness of the sencha is able to come through. I’m detecting a definite chocolately note near the end of the sip into the aftertaste. Roasted rice flavour closer to the middle of the sip. Vanilla overtones from the middle of sip to the end. Vanilla and caramel sweetness.

Went out for a wonderful dinner tonight. I ate far too much and still came home with enough food for my lunch tomorrow. Oy!

Since I had over indulged I decided to skip dessert and coffee at the restaurant and have this at home instead. It’s a nice Moroccan Mint. I like that the mint doesn’t overwhelm the tea. I do wish there was more smokiness from the gunpowder green, but the tea was still nice without it. For people who want to try Moroccan Mint but don’t like smokey teas this could be a great option.

This isn’t my favorite Moroccan Mint, but it is a good one.

Thank you to Laurent and Sophie from Nina’s Paris USA for this sample.

Dry tea smells like buttery, vegetal green tea with cherry flavor. There are flower petals mixed in with the green tea.

As the tea brews, the green tea and flower petals unfurl. Nina’s Paris tea is so beautiful to watch while brewing.

The smell of the tea is like sweet candied cherries.

The tea tastes like a mild green tea vegetal base. There is a sweet , candy, cherry taste. There is not much flowery taste, but I think the flower blunts the taste of the cherry. This tea is much less tart then similar teas of different brands. I actually quite like this as it is less artificial tasting with the cherry flavor. There is a slight peppery finish to the tea.

Thank you to Laurent and Sophie from Nina’s Paris USA for this free sample. It only took 23 days to get to me. The anticipation was killing me.

The dry tea smells very flowery and perfumey. There are small yellow flower petals mixed throughout the black tea.

The brewed tea smells very flowery but no so much of a perfume smell, more like a natural rose scent. There is a slight sweet vegetal smell. The yellow petals have unfurled and float in the liquor. Looks beautiful.
The tea tastes slightly sweet, some rose flavor but not overpowering. The sweetness comes from an apple flavor, its very light. Reminds me of smelling the ripe red apples at a fruit stand. Smooth and creamy. This tea feels very luxurious and I can totally understand why it is named after Marie Antoinette. I would not necessarily drink this tea in the morning, it feels like more of an afternoon tea.

Definitely going on the shopping list.