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Day 10 on the advent calendar.

I think this will be the first green tea of theirs I tried. Still haven’t gotten around to the Christmas tea vert from day 5-ish. I also wasn’t as careful with the water temperature as I should have been. These teas don’t seem to be too fussy about that though (maybe because they are higher quality leaf?).

Dammann loves them some orange flavoring. Fortunately I think they do it really well. This one is no exception, and may even be that much better with the vegetal green base. The spices (mostly cinnamon) are confined to the smell for me but I kind of like the duality there. It’s fun to drink something and smell something totally different (albeit complimentary).

So yes, a variation on a theme, well done, and I’m glad to have tried it.

Advent calendar 2013, day 9.

I love Earl Grey. LOVE it. Mostly the EGC varietals, but I have to admit this is probably the most excited I’ve been about a tea so far, since I kind of know what level of flavoring I like and have had enough other versions that I could really do a good comparison.

The results were disappointingly ‘eh’.

There is surprisingly little flavor from either the tea or the bergamot in this, despite following the recommended steep parameters. I’ve enjoyed all of Dammann’s other teas without additives but maybe that’s what is missing here? I guess I’ll give it a try….

Okay, with a bit of milk and sugar the bergamot peeks out but this is still a really lackluster tea base. It’s smooth, it’s just…barely there. I think Earls need a strong base to stand up to the bergamot.

So this one wasn’t too my taste. Still a good tea, just…I’ve had better Earl Greys for sure.

Huh- was there hibiscus in this? I wasn’t expecting it to be pink but it starting turning as soon as the bag hit the water.

I’m having this during my lunch break with a chicken salad and it actually works really well. The lemon is what I get first and foremost and the tartness from the hibiscus is next. No real spices or actual guayusa/green tea that I can see.

I’m excited to read other tasting notes and see if I’ve even got the right blend, to be honest. I do like it and wish I had enough to try iced…

This was day 4 of the Advent calendar, but I’m just getting around to it now.

This is mostly to do with the fact that I really, REALLY don’t do smoke and the Keemun base was scaring me a bit. I can’t smell it in the leaves, necessarily (I get a kind of chocolate/caramel smell more than anything) but knowing it’s there, and knowing the accuracy of the tasting notes/blends has me a bit uneasy.

Unfortunately this tea is exactly what it says it is. The smoky taste and smell are at the forefront and end of the sip, with a little bit of chocolate in between. This is what I envisioned the 52 teas smores tea to taste like, absent the graham cracker and marshmallow notes.

This is definitely a case of a tea not being to my taste. I hate to rate it so low but it just isn’t one I’ll even be able to finish. I’m glad it was in the calendar to try, though. And I’m glad I just had the one teabag – instant decupboarding!

Day 6 of the advent calendar.

I am not following along very well, it seems. Also, I am kind of picking and choosing my way through it for whatever reason.

What a gorgeous tea. I have had a few of their citrus ones and its enough for me to see that they do this flavor well. The scent of the dry leaf in particular with this one smacks of bergamot – I was assuming it was an Earl Grey, in fact, until I tasted it and got mostly orange. I am also assuming there is some Ceylon in the base as that has particularly bright citrus characteristics to me and the base is working VERY well with the flavoring.

I’m having trouble remembering why I ever needed to drink any tea with milk and sugar. It seems like all teas should stand on their own as well as DF teas do. All teas should be this smooth and unfussy to make, as well.

I’m so glad someone posted this advent calendar in our forums…it’s made my holiday season so far!

Day 5 Advent calendar, but I’m a little late getting around to it.

It almost seems a shame to have this hot. All the fruity flavors just seem like icing it would be the way to go. Alas, it is December and I really only have the one teabag so maybe some other time.

This smells amazing dry – I mostly get the red fruits. Once steeped the smell remains unchanged (yay!) but the taste is strangely all the fruits that aren’t in the smell – namely orange with a tiny bit of peach.

I’m having this with no additives but I do think that sugar when iced would knock this out of the park. So far my experience of Dammann has been that the teas are all very smooth, true to flavor, but delicate at the same time. Perhaps sophisticated would be the word? All I can of is that my boyfriends mother, who loves all things French, and who loves tea, would probably enjoy a few of these for Christmas this year…

No floral. Anywhere. This is okay by me but I double checked the packaging just to be sure. It’s all caramel in the dry leaf. Reminds me alot of the DAVIDs salted caramel really, and I’m kind of meh on that one. Once steeped it does smell a touch more nutty. Chocolate/caramel and nutty.

No additives (this is amazing!) and the first taste gives me a cherry/fig note along with the dry/astringence of a nutty flavor. I’ve never had chestnuts that I know of but I guess that’s the flavor I’m getting? Makes me want to try them as a food. :) The nutty flavor it is most reminiscent of, to me, is almond.

This doesn’t actually seem like a tea to me, though. The black tea is very meek and hiding under the other flavors, so it’s almost like I’m drinking the essence of cherry&almond. It is smooth and stands very nicely on its own with no additives, but it doesn’t seem like something I’d want to try again. A fun novelty tea, though!

Yay, I’m catching up!

Advent calendar, day 2.

It’s funny how for the most part this has the exact same ingredients as Hot cinnamon spice by Harney & sons, but is completely different in taste.

For one, this actually tastes of citrus in equal parts with the spices. The Ceylon was a good choice as a backdrop because that always has a naturally bright orangey note to it. It’s such a sweet orange, too…a slightly spiced orange juice. It is very smooth without additives (I am thinking this is going to be a theme, and I like it!) and it really does evoke the sense of the holidays quite well.

Another winner for me!

YAY! A tea advent calendar! I’m a few days late starting because I just got it last night but I imagine I’ll catch up soon. I’ve never tried any Dammann Freres teas before so I figured this would be a good way to get a sampling and have a bit of surprise to it as well.

This is day 1, and it is December 6th today. I need to catch up as quick as I can so I don’t get any surprises spoiled for me. That, or stay off Steepster, which, let’s be real. This is practically my internet home.

Dry leaf smell is very sweet, cloyingly so. Mostly I get the mallow and the vanilla. It’s the kind of strong that I think the hot water will dilute, though. I couldn’t imagine drinking it if it smelled this strong when steeped.

Steeped: sure enough, much more toned down marshmallow notes. Still it’s the dominant smell, though. I’m trying to search for a bit of the fruity components, but maybe that will happen more once it cools off.

More than anything there is a creamy thick texture. Herbals are usually always too thin for my liking, so this is fabulous! There is still an indistinct sweetness in the flavor. It is a sweet, creamy tisane that has a slightly woody undertone as it cools…maybe licorice if I look hard enough. I think that speaks to the skillfulness in blending more than anything else, though – this was a smooth and unique mixture of ingredients that just worked.

Well, first impressions of Dammann Freres are favorable so far. Now it’s on to tea #2!

BOO for being sick. But YAY for having this tea when I am.

I still mix this with Upton’s spearmint whenever I have it, but the ratio today was 4 tsp. lemongrass to 2 tsp. spearmint with some honey to help quiet this ridiculous dry cough. I worked Thanksgiving night and I still want to make a Thanksgiving dinner but unfortunately this cold is not making that possible. Maybe the tea will help turn things around and get me my energy back.