Dammann Frères Advent 2021 – Day 6

Decent almond chocolate tea. The aroma is in silky praline/mousse territory. “Chickpea Nutella” dessert comes to mind (so good, like all chickpea things). However, like all liquid almond things, I find this a bit thin. Almond may be my least favourite nut. I look at Mon Petit Praliné sitting over there, and its glorious hazelnut profile, and wish I had that instead, so..

Steep Count: 2

Flavors: Almond, Chocolate, Cocoa, Malt, Nutty, Smooth

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec
Evol Ving Ness

I think Mon Petit Praline is coming up.

Crowkettle

(Flips over to the back of advent) Yay!

Are our advent teas lining up Evol, or are we still a little out of sync?

Evol Ving Ness

I’ve been kind of ignoring mine, but just checked and Mon Petit Chocolate is coming for Day 10. Not that it matters because rebel child.

Evol Ving Ness

Oops, today was Carrot Cake Rooibos for me.

Crowkettle

Ah, we are totally in parallel dimensions. Neat.

The first time (also, second and third time) I got a tea advent calendar someone gave it to me as a Christmas gift. Drinking them in order and on their days is overrated! :P

Evol Ving Ness

Excellent Christmas gift. Essentially a sampler. I like it. Next year, I hope to be a bit more ambitious with the calendars, not that I will follow them day by day. Probably.

Evol Ving Ness

Are you happy with the MF advent?

Crowkettle

So far, yes! Most of my nitpicking comes from the tea satchet form and being a snob (oolong.in.teabags.).. Otherwise, MF is doing what I hoped they’d do: surprise me with their elusive (dare I say, pretentious) approach to tea ingredients and catalogue selection. Although I jest (and wonder) about the lack of black teas so far – it helps that I generally love floral, fruity profiles as well as white, green, and oolong teas (3/7 days of flavoured green oolong is a “me” advent). :P

Also, this DF one is a really complimentary advent pairing – giving me the holiday-themed blends and dessert profiles that I’m so far not getting (and didn’t really want) from MF.

Crowkettle

I’ve actually been doing these calendars with my mother (waiting to try today’s until I see her later on sigh). She’s loved all of the MF teas she’s tried so far; Apollon, which I gave a 65 on here and others said lacked distinctive flavour, she gave a “10”. Mileage varies :)

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks. Seems like a good balance. I am not all that familiar with MF teas. I also have issues with teabags. For me, it is more a matter of control. I tend to overleaf with the DT’s perfect spoon, steep fast for several steeps. It’s a habit now which works for me.

A tea bag requires a whole different level of tea planning. It gives maybe two good cups (maybe maybe a third weak one).

Evol Ving Ness

Doing it with someone can be fun.

it’s lovely that you can share this with your mom, regardless of her tea preferences.

Crowkettle

Yeah, besides the fact that tea bag leaf is usually broken (sometimes this is great for a good, brisk tea) – there’s not as teas as I’d normally use myself for a pot, especially in the case of the oolong. I think that was part of Apollon tea’s problem. I’ve managed to get some pretty good cups and multiple steeps out of them but it’s a lot of tinkering.

When I first started drinking tea, a European pal gifted me 4 tins of MF teas (2 green, 2 black teas). They were initially super tricky to steep up and rate; their “mysterious” perfumed profile is also different from British and North American flavoured profiles. Steepsterites on here gave me countless tips, so by the time I reached the bottom of all four I was sad to see them go. So, I’ve a bit of patience for MF.

Crowkettle

Yep, love doing them with someone and lucky to have my mom close by! The year I split my calendar with a coworker was also fun but we didn’t stick to the dates (weekend teas, for example, we’d drink whenever).

Evol Ving Ness

What a sweet gift!

I may be up for the MF tinkering next year.

I kind of wish I had been around when Steepster was even more popular. But then, I’d likely be even more far behind in drinking up my teas :)

Crowkettle

The only (big) downside with MF is the costs of shipping. Otherwise, I’d love to do it again, especially if they change up their teas up each time.

Evol Ving Ness

Is the shipping more than that of DF?

Life is getting way more expensive.

Crowkettle

Yes, but they also used DHL and I got the brokerage fees. That made a big difference. D:

I don’t know if brokerage fees are always 100% guaranteed. Another parcel I recently shipped to family from UK via DHL didn’t ding me.

Evol Ving Ness

Hmm. Potentially troublesome.

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Comments

Evol Ving Ness

I think Mon Petit Praline is coming up.

Crowkettle

(Flips over to the back of advent) Yay!

Are our advent teas lining up Evol, or are we still a little out of sync?

Evol Ving Ness

I’ve been kind of ignoring mine, but just checked and Mon Petit Chocolate is coming for Day 10. Not that it matters because rebel child.

Evol Ving Ness

Oops, today was Carrot Cake Rooibos for me.

Crowkettle

Ah, we are totally in parallel dimensions. Neat.

The first time (also, second and third time) I got a tea advent calendar someone gave it to me as a Christmas gift. Drinking them in order and on their days is overrated! :P

Evol Ving Ness

Excellent Christmas gift. Essentially a sampler. I like it. Next year, I hope to be a bit more ambitious with the calendars, not that I will follow them day by day. Probably.

Evol Ving Ness

Are you happy with the MF advent?

Crowkettle

So far, yes! Most of my nitpicking comes from the tea satchet form and being a snob (oolong.in.teabags.).. Otherwise, MF is doing what I hoped they’d do: surprise me with their elusive (dare I say, pretentious) approach to tea ingredients and catalogue selection. Although I jest (and wonder) about the lack of black teas so far – it helps that I generally love floral, fruity profiles as well as white, green, and oolong teas (3/7 days of flavoured green oolong is a “me” advent). :P

Also, this DF one is a really complimentary advent pairing – giving me the holiday-themed blends and dessert profiles that I’m so far not getting (and didn’t really want) from MF.

Crowkettle

I’ve actually been doing these calendars with my mother (waiting to try today’s until I see her later on sigh). She’s loved all of the MF teas she’s tried so far; Apollon, which I gave a 65 on here and others said lacked distinctive flavour, she gave a “10”. Mileage varies :)

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks. Seems like a good balance. I am not all that familiar with MF teas. I also have issues with teabags. For me, it is more a matter of control. I tend to overleaf with the DT’s perfect spoon, steep fast for several steeps. It’s a habit now which works for me.

A tea bag requires a whole different level of tea planning. It gives maybe two good cups (maybe maybe a third weak one).

Evol Ving Ness

Doing it with someone can be fun.

it’s lovely that you can share this with your mom, regardless of her tea preferences.

Crowkettle

Yeah, besides the fact that tea bag leaf is usually broken (sometimes this is great for a good, brisk tea) – there’s not as teas as I’d normally use myself for a pot, especially in the case of the oolong. I think that was part of Apollon tea’s problem. I’ve managed to get some pretty good cups and multiple steeps out of them but it’s a lot of tinkering.

When I first started drinking tea, a European pal gifted me 4 tins of MF teas (2 green, 2 black teas). They were initially super tricky to steep up and rate; their “mysterious” perfumed profile is also different from British and North American flavoured profiles. Steepsterites on here gave me countless tips, so by the time I reached the bottom of all four I was sad to see them go. So, I’ve a bit of patience for MF.

Crowkettle

Yep, love doing them with someone and lucky to have my mom close by! The year I split my calendar with a coworker was also fun but we didn’t stick to the dates (weekend teas, for example, we’d drink whenever).

Evol Ving Ness

What a sweet gift!

I may be up for the MF tinkering next year.

I kind of wish I had been around when Steepster was even more popular. But then, I’d likely be even more far behind in drinking up my teas :)

Crowkettle

The only (big) downside with MF is the costs of shipping. Otherwise, I’d love to do it again, especially if they change up their teas up each time.

Evol Ving Ness

Is the shipping more than that of DF?

Life is getting way more expensive.

Crowkettle

Yes, but they also used DHL and I got the brokerage fees. That made a big difference. D:

I don’t know if brokerage fees are always 100% guaranteed. Another parcel I recently shipped to family from UK via DHL didn’t ding me.

Evol Ving Ness

Hmm. Potentially troublesome.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

My favourites are teas like Milk Oolong, Silver Needle,and Japanese Sencha/Gyokuro, or fruity and floral flavoured ones. However, I generally enjoy ALL the teas, including a good old cup of Earl Grey or Breakfast blend.

FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS/NOTES:

DESSERT FLAVOURS
Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Butterscotch, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan, Butter

FRUIT & BERRIES
Citrus Fruits, Passionfruit, Banana, Pineapple, Melons, Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Elderberry, Persimmon, Rhubarb..

SPICES
Ginger, Turmeric, Clove-forward chai, Cardamom

AROMATIC & HERBACEOUS NOTES
Sandalwood, Frankincense, Juniper, Eucalyptus, Mints

FLORALS
Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Lilac, Violet, etc.

VEGGIE/GRAIN NOTES
Spinach, Grass, Hay, Cucumber, Rice, Sweet Potato

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:
Stevia, Apple, Cocoa Nib, Almond, Licorice, Cinnamon-forward blends, Chinese Sencha

Subjective Rating System:
I don’t give a lot of low ratings out, since a) I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me, and b) I don’t have a lot of strong dislikes.

90-100: Favourites. The Desert Island Teas.
80-89: Loved teas. Possibly staple-worthy.
70-79: Good teas, but I’m less likely to repurchase. Minor quibbles.
60-69: Ok teas. Likely a few preference and/or quality issues.
50-59: Cup of meh. Will do in a pinch.
11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea.
1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, an unholy abomination. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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