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Really? I’ve not logged a tasting note for this?

I am doing a slight cleanout of teas (since I am now WAY too far above my 75 teas or less rule) and found that this one has zero notes. I drink it exclusively iced, using my typical iced tea brewing parameters and sugar ratio (1/4 cup sugar to 1/2 gallon of tea).

The citrus is a nice addition to a black tea, but these flavorings do fall a little artificial to me. Especially now that I’m drinking all the orange Dammann flavorings, which manage to seem so natural. It’s not as bad iced but I could see it maybe being a tad too fake if I tried it hot.

So, iced it is, for the duration of the pouch. Back to cleaning out the tea drawers and figuring out what I can send along, and what I need to throw out…

This is another super generous sample I received from Sil! Thank you so much!

I’m even more excited about this blend because of how much I fell in love with Noël à Venise from Dammann…that has had me craving a vanilla lemon tea. This one doesn’t have a black base, but it’s French and smells heavenly, so I am happy to use it as a substitute in the meantime. (BTW, Sil, I totally sent that shopping link to my boyfriends’ parents so I’m thinking that I will be getting some Christmas tea thanks to you! You really are my Steepster Santa!)

I don’t actually get much scent from the dry leaf, though I think it’s because it’s so delicate that a lot of the fruitier teas it was shipped with have overtaken it. None of that has carried over to the steeped tea, though, which I am drinking sans additives and after steeping at the below parameters.

Whereas Noël à Venise was more lemony, this tea stresses the vanilla first and foremost. That’s a good thing here, as the white tea is very light and needs some heaviness if it’s going to boast of being a winter tea. The vanilla manifests as a heavy sweet cream note with a slight lemon tang on the swallow. This is not a cold dark blizzard kind of tea. It is the liquid equivalent of waking up to a sunny cold morning and seeing the ground blanketed with snow.

I am not a white tea drinker normally but it does work here. This is my first Fauchon tea and I am impressed. Too bad my bank account isn’t going to be with all those foreign transaction fees in my future, haha.

Advent calendar, day 14.

Per usual, no additives, because the tea doesn’t need it. Served with German Pancakes for a really awesome Sunday breakfast

The dry leaf definitely smells like cough syrup. It’s the cherry flavoring, I’m sure. Anyway, I have learned not to put too much stock in their dry leaf scent because it always turns out okay once the water hits. I will say this, though – the pink flowers in this blend and the white tea leaves looked absolutely beautiful while steeping. I’m not a particularly visual person (auditory learner, don’t know how to accessorize a room to save my life) but I had to stop and watch for a while just because of how pretty it was.

Yup, the steeped tea has a beautiful clear, pale yellow liquor and a slightly more natural cherry scent. Taste wise the cherry is at the forefront ant it surprisingly a fruity, bright pie cherry flavor. I excepted the spices and more of an almond cherry, but I prefer this so I’m not complaining. I guess there’s a hint of cinnamon trailing behind the cherry notes, but again, it’s more like pie filling than anything else.

As it cools the white tea becomes a little harsh/astringent but that may be the effect of the nuts becoming more prominent in taste as well. Either way, I prefer this more when its warm but there isn’t much left to drink up now.

Eh, it was good for a one tea bag attempt, but I’m not really clamoring for more.

Well, at first today started off awesome because my Butiki order was out for delivery early. But then I was sad because the mailman delivered it to the front office, which closed before I got home. That sadness didn’t last for too long though, because next to the delivery notice was a package from Sil! A really generous package, too- it’s like a European tea invasion in my apartment. :)

It couldn’t have come on a better day – it was rainy and cold out and we’d been out in the weather for a few hours so a warm cup of tea sounded perfect. The boyfriend wanted tea too, which kind of limited me to this one as he doesn’t do any “crazy” flavors.

He also doesn’t do milk or sugar, which in this case made the tea a no go for him. I went a little conservative on the steep time (the recommended parameters are 3-5 minutes, and 4 minutes is what I usually go for with black teas) but WOW. Astringence city! It has that beautiful earthy black tea smell and it certainly stood up to milk and sugar but I like my black teas to be drinkable either way, and this is definitely not something you can drink plain. Not the way I brewed it, anyway.

I should have enough for one or two more cups (see: Sil and her generosity) and I’ll try to bump down the time even further but as it is, I can’t see this competing with Frissy, my most favorite breakfast tea. I loved being able to try it though – it’s officially the first Fortnum & Mason tea I’ve ever had!

Sample sent with my Dammann order. The name of this is so much fun. I think ‘coquelicot’ is now my favorite word ever.

I have to admit I’m very intrigued from the description of this tea. Poppy? Biscuit (I’m assuming cookie-biscuit more than, say, dinner-style biscuit)? Marzipan? These things just don’t compute.

The smell of the dry leaf is very strong. Like, pull yourself back immediately because it’s overwhelming strong. On second (further back) sniff, I get syrupy cherry and cookie. This is really highly reviewed on here but I’m not quite sure how I feel about it so far.

Steeped at below parameters, no additives.

Brewed tea smells much the same, if less strong. A lightly floral cherry/raspberry sugar cookie. I don’t get strictly marzipan but I imagine this is because the nuttiness blends in with the cookie notes. This is just how it tastes, too… unfortunately, I don’t enjoy raspberry and that is probably why I am not overly in love with this.

The quality of the blend, like all Dammann teas, is outstanding. The tea has a great texture, the base is perfectly complimented with the flavoring. Apparently poppy tastes like raspberries in my mouth, though, so I won’t be buying more.

I will, however, try to work the word ‘coquelicot’ into conversations as much as possible…

It is mostly Dammann December up in my tasting notes, but I did actually have something different yesterday for breakfast.

I’m still trying to hold steady to my no more than 75 teas rule, which presents a problem as I have a huge Butiki order coming in, and a need for all the Dammann teas. So, cleanout time has been commenced. This is not a sipdown but I only have a cup or so left and wanted something holiday-y and rich so it fit the bill.

Served with milk, no sugar. 2 tsp. to a 10 oz. cup.

The milk always helps this get more of a pudding-y texture. It is quite fruity with some good bread notes, a hint of spice. The sips aren’t consistent, some more flavorful than others, but it did give me a cozy holiday cup to celebrate that I will be off work for 5! whole! days!

Advent calendar, day 13.

I am loving my little routine of getting up and trying new teas every morning. Such a fun little present to myself. I’m also loving all the different “Noel” blends. It brings me to their website every day, making lists for future orders. Honestly it seems as though they have enough teas to where I could make my own advent calendar for a year. I’ve never once felt inclined to visit France (despite loving the language, and wanting to see the rest of Europe), but now I know I’ll have to stop in just for the tea alone.

Steep notes: No additives, below parameters.

Black and green blends always make me nervous about steep temperature, but I’m less nervous since the Dammann teas seem incapable of bitterness no matter what you do to them. I don’t think I’m getting jasmine in the dry leaf, but I’m not good with florals. I am definitely getting pineapple, maybe mango. The tea, as usual, is not immediately discernible in the scent.

Steeped, the pineapple is 100% at the front of the taste. Surprisingly it’s the green tea that follows right behind, but I think it’s a perfect counterbalance to the sweetness. As it cools it takes on a more tropical flavoring, which I guess is the mango peeking out more. The very, very last sip was all passion fruit/guava. No floral (no biggie, not my thing anyway), and the black tea base is its typical mild, unassuming self.

I liked this – can’t say I would buy more, because green/black blends aren’t really my thing, but it was awesome for an unexpected, one teabag treat.

Advent calendar day 12. Well for me it was, anyway. The 12th day was empty and it must have slipped down into the row below (I could feel two bags) so it is either the 12th or the 24th day. I’m waiting to post this until I know for sure because I don’t want to be the girl who spoils the surprise. :)

I could tell from the description I was going to love it. I mean, lemon is one of my favorite things. Creamy lemon with a black base? Yes, please.

The smell of the dry leaf was PERFECT. Lemon and vanilla were what I got, mostly. Like an EGC but with lemon instead of bergamot. Given how much I love those two flavors I should really have thought of buying a blend like this before now. I will have to check and see if such a thing exists from other companies.

The steeped tea smells just as heavenly as the dry – the tang of lemon and creamy notes are just still strong. And the taste- well. I have been overall very impressed with most of the Dammann Freres teas so far but this is my hands down favorite. Buttery vanilla (I guess this is what they describe as toffee) and a sweet, Meyer-esque lemon and actual detectable soft black tea base? SOLD.

I take it back, I don’t actually care if any other company makes something like this. This is the blend I want and I want a lot of it, right now. On my shopping list it goes…

Advent calendar day 11.

No additives, brewed at below parameters.

Holy wow chocolate. There was definitely orange in the dry leaf (and a nutty chocolate note there too) and that orange made it really seem vastly different from Harney’s Florence, even though they both are primarily chocolate and hazelnut.

The first sip of this was ALL chocolate. The scent was nutty and slightly citrus, but chocolate was pretty much it on taste. As with most of these teas, it’s pretty much all flavoring with no tea notes. Although, as it cools….maybe I get a hint of the tea more? OH, and orange does come out in the aftertaste.

Hmm, now there’s hazelnut first, then orange, then chocolate. WOW! This one is so fun because it literally changes with every sip! If I had gone on initial impressions I think Florence would have won hands down but this? This is a chameleon tea and I’m loving the surprise factor.

Oh, and since it is the 12th already – everyone else with the advent calendar, was your 12th day empty? It must have slipped into the column below (I could feel two bags so I pulled out the one on top) but now I’m not sure if it’s the right tea or not and I don’t want to post any spoilers if it isn’t. Sigh. Guess I’ll have to be patient and wait and see!

Dammann Freres advent calendar. Day… 4ish? Though I’m actually having it on the 11th of December, so whoops.

On the plus side though I have gone through the backlog and am (mostly) keeping up. This advent calendar stuff is hard when you work nights and the days change up on you mid shift.

Dry this really smelled a lot like cherry candy flavoring. Once steeped I get what resembles apple cinnamon. It’s so fun how these things change with nothing but the addition of hot water. Though there is orange in the ingredient list, I don’t get any here. Just mostly that cinnamon with apple and then a vague creaminesss that I will assume is from the vanilla.

What a cozy Christmas tea! I was worried about liking it since greens usually aren’t the first tea I reach for, but it is surprisingly full bodied and comforting – I don’t normally think of greens as a winter tea but it works here.

A refreshing break from the citrus, really. And quite good plain – I will have to keep this in mind if I do place a Dammann freres order in the future.