Palais des Thes

Thanks again to Dinosara for this tea! It came in the most adorable little tube…I’m a sucker for cute tins and such.
So I had Mariage Freres Tibet and this back to back so that I could compare them. I really loved Tibet. This one seems lacking. It smells wonderful before and after steeping. When I sip though I just don’t get much flavor. I can’t really explain it but it seems Dinosara and I had the same reaction.
I wouldn’t purchase this one but will try making the rest iced. I think I have enough left for a 16oz cup.

One of my all-time favourite teas – it has made Le Palais an essential stop on every trip to Paris. Blissfully fragrant and wonderfully relaxing. This is one tea that I always infuse at least twice, to extract every bit of flavour out of the leaves.

This is another one from Auggy and I have to admit that when I unwrapped this tin, my immediate thought was ‘Russian gout?’ O.o So that’s what it’s called in my head now. Russian gout. It probably has rather a lot to do with the fact that I don’t speak French.

Anyway, it’s a black base flavoured with seven types of citrus fruits, first and foremost among which appears to be bergamot, when going by the aroma. Both the leaves and the steeped cup is heavy on the aroma and then with the other fruits slightly more in the background and just strong enough to make it not a variation on the Earl Grey theme.

When it comes to the flavour it’s evened out a bit more, but I can’t say I can pick out the different fruits individually. It’s all just a mixture of generic citrusness on a black base.

It’s quite pleasant actually, and it reminds me of the Kusmi Russian blend sampler I had once; a combination of Anastasia and Troika I think would produce something quite similar to this. That makes it a rather heavy sort of flavour, where those two Kusmis I remember as being fairly light on the feet. I think I preferred those two respectively over this more lumbering beast. I would have liked to have seen a little more ‘lift’ in this, if you understand what I mean by that. It feels a little to me like there might have been just one ingredient too many in this combination.

Still, though, if what you’re looking for is just something citrus-y without requiring anything more specific than that, then this is a good choice.

I love citrus, particularly those in the sweet orange category, though I have a fondness for all citrus types. Thus I simply had to try this tea out. Seven types of citrus! Whee!

The smell of bergamot is the strongest scent in the dry leaf, but there is a note of lighter sweetness too – the sweet orange, I believe. Post-steeping, it’s a heady mix of citrus. Nothing distinctly stands out; instead it is a sweet, fragrant, dark, silky, exotic scent that smells slightly different on each sniff. Sweetness here, tangy there, a dash of spice. It all kind of swirls together and I’m finding it rather sensual and dizzying. Or maybe the dizziness is coming from the constant sniffing.

The taste doesn’t seem as sparkly as the smell, but it’s nice. I get bergamot on the front end, a flash of bitter orange on the back, a nice clean aftertaste with a bit of… lime peel? and a general citrus flavor (slightly sweet) throughout. It becomes a little sweeter and more floral (from the bergamot, I suspect, though perhaps the grapefruit) as it cools, but it still doesn’t sparkle as much as the scent.

I think the strength of the bergamot in this makes me think Earl Grey-thoughts and I was personally hoping for a bit more sweet orange out of it. But looking at it from an EG perspective, I quite like it.

Not strong enough for a breakfast tea by my standards, it’s still a more than decent tea for lunch or even an early afternoon tea.

First thanks to Palais des thés for this rare oriental tea.

Why rare would you ask…because for one time we have a very oriental tea without any mint ! And this is an exploit!

Green date is really tasty and present as well as red fruits and orange blossom – a perfect balance.

A small regret because I don’t feel the rose very well…

Anyway Thé du Hammam is my evening tea. I drink it almost every night. It’s so sweet, like a dessert, like a promise for a 1001 nights tale trip (I think in English you call that book Arabian nights)

Thé du Hamman was the first green tea I really appreciated…à la folie…

Exquisite!

Harmony of rose, orange flower, strawberry aroma over green tea. Each and every flavor is present yet very well balanced.

The long jing is much better than their pu. A little bit nutty, but not very deep in flavor. It’s better than mediocre

I went to the tea shop and asked for a few of their Darjeeling, among the three different teas I smelled this one was so fruity and fresh that I bought it.
This is my first tasting of the tea, it is not what I expected, I was very surprised by how fruity it tastes. It is my very first summer Darjeeling. Past this original surprise I liked it as I reached for the familiar Darjeeling glorious flavor I love. Therefore my rating is not very high but will surely improve as it grows on me.
Overall it was not love at first sip, but I think I want to try again. The next time I will put aside my expectations and try to experience this tea as it comes.
This is a tea I have to adjust myself to, and I look forward to this exercise.

This is a bit too weak but it is likely my fault for using too much water. It’s a nice fruity and floral green with a sencha tasting base. grassy and green with a slightly drying mouthfeel. It’s enjoyable but not too interesting. I think I may not be in the mood for greens lately.

Husband liked it quite well. :)

Very light, crisp, and refreshing. I really enjoy this tea iced. The green tea is great for people who aren’t necessarily big fans of the tea’s more verdant varieties. Love the flowers!

This is one of my Le Palais des Thés set that I have yet to try. They keep very mum as to the ingredients in this one, and the tea in the tube had a weird, medicinal scent that wasn’t very appealing, but it seemed to be a black tea and it was untried, so I went for it. As it was brewing I came here and saw that duh, this “Monk’s Tea” blend is the same as all the other French/European Monk’s Blend teas I’ve tried. Bergamot, jasmine, vanilla. Brewed up it even smells identical to both Thé au Tibet by Mariage Freres and my random Polish Mnichów tea (also translates to Monk’s Blend). I love the idea of bergamot, jasmine and vanilla, but it almost never works out for me for some reason. I think it’s mainly because I thought I would like vanilla and jasmine together but it just doesn’t work on my palate. I mean, I like these teas ok, but I thought that this blend would be a favorite to me and it just isn’t.

Like those other teas, this is a black-green blend, which I found out after brewing by looking at the spent leaves. I did brew this one at the recommended time and temp on the tube. As I mentioned before, when I smell the brewed tea on this one it smelled like a Monk’s blend tea, kind of like a red fruits tea smells like that blend. The balance of flavors in this one is pretty good, although it too suffers from some kind of weird bitterness on my tongue that is probably not dependant on steeping temp (I got the same thing at lower temps in the other teas) and I think is a result of my dislike of the vanilla/jasmine combo. It’s mitigated by the bergamot here, and so is more drinkable to me, but it’s definitely not my favorite. Right now this seems so similar to the other two teas, and I haven’t had those teas in so long, that I can’t figure out how it is distinct. A quick steep of the other two to taste the difference is in order this morning, I think.

My conclusions are that they are all very similar but this is probably my least favorite of the three. Not in a huge way, but I think the jasmine and vanilla combo is stronger in this one than the other two, that is the flavor combo I like least.

mostly broken leaves. light grassy fragrance. dominated by roasted flavors. mellow overall.

Surprise sipdown (188)! Although it was almost not a real sipdown because I almost dropped the cup of steeping tea on the ground. I don’t remember using this one a lot, and I don’t remember swapping it away, so I am not quite sure where all the tea went here (hence the surprise). Perhaps I cold brewed it and didn’t log it?

Anyway, this is quite tasty today. I am going to bump my previous rating a bit because I am very much enjoying the sweet dates, red fruit, and light floral rose. I would like to try this one on the black base, but it’s a pretty nice green as well.

I am actually far more awake this morning than I probably will be this afternoon, so I am leading my day with a green tea even though I don’t usually.

This is one of the blends I was most intrigued by in the Le Palais des Thes set. Rose, dates, and red fruits… yum. In the tube the dry leaf smells sugary-fruity, but I don’t really get any distinct rose. Steeped, the aroma and flavor reminds me of some other tea I’ve had before, but I can’t quite place it. Must be the red fruits blend… yup, definitely the red fruits. I’m just not used to having those flavors with a green tea base! There is definitely some floral notes to this that must be the rose, but again I don’t pick it up as much as a distinct flavor. It’s sweet, and berry-fruity, and a bit floral, all over a light green tea base that doesn’t lend a ton to the overall flavor. All in all definitely a very tasty tea, but honestly the richness of the red fruits is kind of an odd pairing with a green tea… I just think it goes so well with a black. They do actually have a black-based version of this blend, so if I ever get the chance to try that I will jump on it. I am definitely interested to try this one iced, as well.

Finishing off the rest of this sample today — it’s pleasant enough but not something I will need to repurchase. See previous notes for more details.

I believe this is the last of my samples to try from Le Palais de Thes. I do feel a slight sense of accomplishment but I haven’t been wildly crazy about most of these teas.

When I was trying this I accidentally dumped too much leaf in my cup. To me it looks like a bancha (japanese green tea) from the way the leaf appeared, although they state the base for this is a Chinese green. Smells very nice and flowery in the tube.

I do think this is a nice green tea blend. I am getting the date flavor very nicely as it lends a bit of sweetness. I am not getting a ton of rose in this cup, the date and fruity flavors predominate for me although I could have done a better job of brewing this.

This might be my second favorite of the flavored greens I tried behind The Des Fakirs. It is a subtle blend which seems nice for unwinding and relaxing. The flavor is not astringent at all and is very refreshing and moisturizing on the palate. I think there might be a bit of vanilla in this blend as well. If you’re looking for a lovely fruity/flowery blend you might want to check this out. I did like this but I don’t think I feel compelled to buy any. It seems like I am pretty fussy when it comes to flavored green teas because I do actually LIKE the way green tea tastes without drowning it in a bunch of other stuff. ;-)

SIPDOWN from earlier today – I’m getting backed up on my backlogs and sipdowns, sorry!

I had a cup (or two) earlier today and forgot to log. I’m sorry for flooding the dashboard with my backlogs! LOL :)

This was good and it’s almost gone…

First and 2nd cuppa the morning…need…tea…what a week! See previous notes!

GIMMEE…TEA…MUST.HAVE.TEA. I’m running on 35 minutes of sleep…NOT FUN. Oye

Had 3 cups this morning…see previous notes…I have some backlogging to do but then I will be trying and noting all new-to-me teas today! Woot!

This is unlike other Yunnan’s I have tried. This is strong, bold, and semi-floral yet a tad bitter/sour but in a good way. It’s also on the verge of Pu-erh Characteristics. Very different but very hearty! A nice, unique offering :)