THE O DOR

This was one of my birthday teas from youngest. She loves Earl Grey so I thought this would be a big hit with her, but she strongly preferred the sample of Earl Grey Royal they sent. The bergamot was milder in that one.

She didn’t mind the strength of the bergamot in this – she likes bergamot a lot so that wasn’t it. Maybe the base is milder in the other or maybe I overleafed and didn’t realize.

The aroma was nice. It is bergamot and lavender, but the lavender doesn’t smell like granny’s soap, it smells more herbal, more savory. You really pick up the scent that tells lavender and rosemary are close cousins. I enjoyed the complex aroma.

The lavender also does not come across as soapy in the flavor. And I am definitely going to try this one Iced, just for us, as we are hitting temps in the 80’s this week and I would love to see if I can make something mimic Earl Grey Iced from Southren Boy Teas.

When I tried the sample of this tea, I longed to try it iced to see if it could replace Frank’s Southern Boy Iced Tea that had Captain Picard on the label – Earl Grey Iced. Well, my eldest daughter gave me a whole tin so now I get to experiment!

I made about a quart and used 1/4 cup sugar to sweeten. Is it exactly like Frank’s? No. Is it good? Yes. And I think I can tweak it a tiny bit and make it even better. I believe that a touch of sweet orange juice will carry this toward Lady Grey flavor and make it more like I remember Frank’s tea. It just needs something to take off the slight sour edge of the bergamot to really make it match. Comment if you have any other suggestions to help with that! A touch of jasmine? Just the orange juice? Or orange syrup?

Personal note: If you have been on here long, you know youngest daughter was a regular tea buddy for me. Our children were homeschooled and we went through a lot of tea every day in the last nine years of it.. Last year she left for university, and now…she is going to study in Poland! She leaves in late July and will return in late December.

Martin She is flying first to Prague and will do some sightseeing there. Are there any tea shops or tea rooms there you recommend? What brands do you like that can be found in grocery stores there?

Anyone with knowledge of that part of Europe, please chime in with advice or recommendations!

This is a sample that came with my birthday order from youngest. She loves Earl Grey so I specifically saved it for us to drink together. This is pretty easy with the The O Dor sachets because we are getting a minimum of two steeps from each.

And this went on her “must have again” list. The bergamot in this reminds me of Southern Boy Teas Earl Grey Iced. That was a favorite of mine that will be sorely missed, but maybe this will make a delicious iced tea as well. Not all Earl Grey’s are created equal, even within a single company. We had Mademoiselle from this company today and while it is bergamot and lavender, youngest strongly prefers this tea. It is smoother, the bergamot is less sour, and it resteeped well. Now I know what to get her for her next big occasion!

I still love this tea. There are a few teas that WOW me and then I either get tired of them or they just don’t make magic anymore.

This one is still giving out the magic.

I was really hugging the cup today and picked up on two things. I had said the flavor reminded me of candy, maybe like the Choward’s guava, violet, etc. type. Today I thought of Pez. In addition, there is a flower in this that has an unusual taste and aroma. I really like it but I can not pin it down. It lends a darker note that I hadn’t picked up on before.

Hubby tried it and didn’t like it. More for me. Don’t worry, I gave him a pot of Palm Court and he was happy.

Oh my word. I got a late birthday gift today from my youngest daughter, said box arriving after she left for school and sorely tempting me.

When she let me open the gift, there were not only two teas but a plethora of samples, most of which were simply labeled “mystery sachet”. EXCITING! I knew they must be labeled in the inside so you know how to steep it, and I assumed the wrapper color was a clue as to what kind of tea was inside.

This immediately smelled like candy, delicious, delectable grown up candy. I thought of those candies that come in flavors like violet, guava, or lavender. I am guessing it must be the plum sitting right up front in the aromas, and the bergamot is there but not whack-you-over-the-head sour. It says there are carrot pieces but I don’t taste anything that I perceive as carrot. Anyone know what carrot would contribute in a blend like this?

We made two steeps with this little sachet and made nummy noises the whole time we drank it. The base is pretty smooth. I followed their advice and kept the water cool for a black tea, steeping it at about 190F. I did give it four minutes for the first steep and nearly five for the second.

Absolutely delicious, and I can hardly wait to try some more of their teas.

From my samples basket. I can’t recall who was kind enough to share this with me. Perhaps it was Sil way back when?

This black tea has what I’ve come to think of as a French undertone—whatever that might mean to you . To me, it means a particular type of base and an intricate overlay of flavour. And then there’s a delicate nutty chocolate. Light and delicious.

Thank you to the person who shared it with me. It has been an enjoyable cup.

And it’s a sipdown!

Sipdown 65

The plan is to get a bit more in gear with my samples that tea friends have so generously shared with me. It’s been a while.
I started my day with this one.

Honestly, this one is a dead ringer for Marco Polo Blend by Capital Teas Ltd. Vanilla, nut, nice base.

Thank you, Sil.

When decanting this tea, I noticed an overwhelming melon-type aroma. Very nice melon flavour on the sip- reminiscent of the great flavour that I would find in Butiki Teas blends. Slight creaminess to it. Green tea flavour seems to stand out a bit in this blend. This is a rather old sample so it may just be that I need to give this one a try with a fresh batch.

Ok lol. Think I got the steep right this time

I’m pretty sure the website has steeping instructions way off. This is the second white tea from them steeped per instruction that was undrinkable. Will try again

This was another suprise for me… like really. I got it as a sample and read the ingredient list and I was sure I wouldn’t like it too much. Leaves smelled of chocolate but had an odd thing..perhaps the chili. Dunno.
Steeped it up…..wow. I really havent found too many chocolate teas that I enjoy. They’re usually trying too hard or have a saccharine like quality to them.. like they’re trying to make milk chocolate tea and it’s always meh. This is like the unsweetened dark chocolate. It’s very very good. I don’t get a lot of chili in the fore front. I do get a bit of it in the finish. Just right there in the back. If you’re looking for a chocolate tea with more kick you wont be enamored here but if you’re looking for a good chocolate tea without the usual artificial thing…this is a good one. I will be buying more of this. the black base is so well balanced with this. You get all the flavors of a good chinese black with notes of chocolate and a hint of spice. Sipdown. I love it.

Well maybe I’m getting old and can’t read the steeping instructions…that or I just did something wrong….perhaps too much tea…I don’t know. But it has to be something I did because I can’t imagine a tea that looks and smells so beautifully balanced could taste so awful lol!! So I am not giving this tea a rating atm. I am going to have to give it another go….maybe when I’m more awake and have my reading glasses on…

Je T’aime this tea. It’s really very lovely. Especially in the morning. It will become a staple tea in my home. Always on hand. Will write a more detailed review next time…too busy enjoying this early morning sip…

This is a surprisingly delicious tea! Dry leaves smell like a lemon spiced Christmas cookie..which sounds confusing but oh…. so so right….
Brewed up it is DELIGHTFUL! It’s honestly like drinking a cookie. The black base comes though but is not overpowering or astringent. I want more of this! Since this is a sample I will have to sipdown and savor this one cup….but it’s going on the wishlist!
A little bit of sugar would make this even better. I’ll have to try it out when I get more of it.

Got this as a sample. I’m not one for Rooibos in the first place but every once in a while I have a blend that’s surprising. This was not one of those cases. Unfortunately I did not get the wide array of spices suggested in this blend. Honestly all I could taste was Rooibos and Peppercorn. No natural sweetness from flower petals or any of this Creamy flavoring. And no it did not take me to India. Not even close to India. Sip Down.

Got this as a mystery sample in my latest order. It is a nice green tea. Nothing too really call home about. I can taste the floral of the violet and geranium but I don’t get any melon. In fact there is very little fruity or sweet notes to this blend at all. It’s ok but not something I think I would buy.
It does make a much nicer iced tea. However there are more green teas on the market that would make a more refreshing glass iced and a more aromatic cup hot.

Leaves smell of ginger and mandarin. Very citrus. It with an almost floral component. Almost overwhelming. I got this as a sample with my order. I love the mystery tea bags btw. And Theodor doesn’t skimp on the goodies when they ship.
Anyway. When steeped the mandarin is tamed..the ginger quite so. I used 8 oz water for this steep and feel I should have used 6 perhaps. While the aromatics are heavenly it’s a little weak in taste. I would have brewed it stronger. Preference I suppose. Those aromatics tho. So delicately blended. It’s elegant yet playful. Girly but not saccharine. Floral but in no way overwhelming. And the flavor (tho I may have gone stronger) are so balanced and beautifully done. Like sipping mandarin without the zing. Like a sweet orange flower. The ginger loses a lot of its kick and it mellows out to support the other flavors that meld so well here. No astringency. Quite lovely. Would probably be very refreshing over ice as well. No need to add anything to this tea. I would consider purchasing it in New York or someplace in states if I came across it but probably wouldn’t be too tempted to order from Paris

This is a sample that I took from the EU TTB almost three whole years ago and then stored very poorly, so I really didn’t expect much from it. The scent when I poured the water over was bursting with mouthwatering tropical fruit goodness, which kind of took me aback and kindled some hope, and then when I took my first sip I was blown away with how much flavour this still has, and just how tasty it is. I agree with some reviews that the flavours aren’t really all that distinct, and more a mesh of ‘tropical’, but I can definitely pick out the passionfruit, and something which might be pineapple or might be the guanabana, which if I remember correctly from my Ten blend has a sort of pineapple/strawberry/banana flavour. The rooibos is very much a background note, and the flavours are the real stars of this tea. I added a little under half a sugar, and they pop even more, with a lovely contrast between sweetness and mouthwatering tang. This is one which is definitely better off hot, because my cup is starting to cool now and the flavours are becoming less bold and the rooibos slightly more noticeable. That being said, it’s still a really tasty cup of tea, and if I had tried it while I still had the box, it would most likely have been one I kept!

Sipdown 76/393

I have not been buying much new tea, and sticking to finishing a lot of my stash. But Thé o Dor is a favorite brand I can´t order easily (they sell online but the shipping prices are very of-fputting!) but found a store which had some tins and could not resist indulging in this Christmas tea.

It´s a very unusual christmas tea, rosemary, oak moss and cranberry on a very nice chinese black tea base. It´s wonderfully refreshing, fresh, clear, pure compared to how sweet and spicy most christmas teas are. Luckily , I love it and will enjoy it the rest of the year as well!

I attempted to make a tea smoothie with this tea today and I got all excited, measured everything out, steeped the tea, threw it all in the blender and…nothing. The blender at my sister’s place is apparently broken. Something I had not known when I started this endeavor. Alas, with it all just sitting there and being sad, I had to toss it. I did try a sip of the milk, tea, pudding, frozen fruit mix but without actually blending it together, it made for a very weird and lumpy drink.

I brewed this and another tea simultaneously but got messed up and ended up steeping this a couple minutes too long and the other tea a minute shy of how long it should have been steeped for. What does that mean for this tea? That means the base is taking over. It’s a burnt nut sort of flavor which I could see being less burnt and also less heavy if it wasn’t steeped for quite so long. All in all, this cup was not such a good one but I will rate for subsequent steeps to rate it. Nonetheless, thank you Sil for the opportunity to try something new :).

Cata con MGW.

Something about this screamed chocolate to me but then I remembered this is meant to be a lemon meringue tea. Yeah, not getting that at all. If I concentrate really hard I maybe get a touch of lemon but that’s it. It’s not a bad cup by any means as the base itself seems flavorful but the flavors premises just aren’t there. Nonetheless, I am grateful to Sil for the share because this is one I would have grabbed and been disappointed by and then stuck with probably 50-100g. Gotta love tea friends who enable you to try before you buy.