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This is from the big box o’ tea sent by Youngest – many thanks!

I am happy to report that I DID sleep last night even though I couldn’t resist a cup of Violette from Dammann Freres shortly before bedtime. Perhaps keeping it to just five ounces or so is the key.

This morning I was in the mood to have a fruity tea again and this one had intrigued me since I first saw it. Opening the pouch, the aroma is first strong fig, a hint of molasses (from the base probably), and then there was a minty aroma which I realized was the lavender. Lavender and rosemary both can smell minty to me.

Steeped, this is a lighter black tea base than Violette. The aroma is strongly fig, and I feel like I am biting into a piece of toast spread with Bonne Maman fig jam. It even conveys the sweetness of the jam to me, and that’s without adding sugar! It is just that evocative of the scent, I suppose.

I find the lavender to be pretty light and the fig to be the dominant flavor. It is delicious, and I bet it would make a wonderful fruity sweet iced tea as well.

Thank you, again, Youngest!

August Sipdown Prompt – a calming tea

A gift from Superanna after her recent trip to Marseilles

One would expect a chamomile for this prompt, wouldn’t one? And of all things, what was I thinking drinking caffeine so close to bedtime? I was thinking that I doubt anything will keep me up tonight and maybe a small cup won’t bother me and I really, really have wanted to try this ever since I read about it. I hadn’t tried it yet because Ashman is home drinking tea with me and he doesn’t like florals other than jasmine usually, so I make tea that he will enjoy, too.

So…was it calming? You’re dang skippy, it was. As soon as I opened the pouch and smelled that familiar violet scent I was enamored. I made one cup of tea and poured it in my Lady Carlyle tea cup (gmathis: cue Hyacinth Bucket) and took it to the carport rockers to sit and watch a rain storm.

The base is STRONG. AS I rocked and sniffed the tea in my cup, I was not struck by the smell of violets so much as by the aroma of good, hefty black tea. This puppy could take milk and sugar if you want, for sure.

The aftertaste lingers and is pretty much indistinguishable from the aftertaste of violet candies. This is only my second violet tea, the first one being a Bird and Blend one that Martin sent me. This is my sign that I need to always have a violet tea on shelf.

I am tea-satisfied and ready to go to bed, quite peaceful in spite of the caffeine.

This is a sample sipdown from a box of tea sent by Youngest – many thanks!

I have never been a rooibos fan but I was curious about this one and decided I needed a quiet and solitary cup of decaf before bed last night.

It really wasn’t bad! The bergamot wasn’t harsh and really tasted altered by the base, while the rooibos came off very woody which slightly offset the Robitussin taste. I had made the whole sample and decided to chill the rest, unsweetened, to have with lunch.

Cold and with food, I found that it left an aftertaste far longer than I liked. After the first sip, I decided to just save it to chug after the meal rather than altering the flavor of all of my food.

I greatly preferred the way it tasted hot. I can even see developing a real taste for this if one drink it often enough. It reminds me much more of the Fortnum and Mason plain rooibos tea than of Harney and Sons organic rooibos, the only two plain rooibos teas I have tried.

This is another tea that Superanna brought me from the trip to Marseille, and is the first one we tried because Superanna prefers green and white teas over black teas and all the rest were black.

The aroma of the dry leaves was vanilla and caramel. I keep it light when I steep and this was sencha so 175F and three minutes tops.

I liked it a lot more than other reviewers here. I thought the green tea was present but nit harsh, and the primary taste was creamy vanilla and caramel for me.

I sent a sample to my best friend because it seemed like a tea she would really love. I did advise steeping it at 165 instead of 175 in case the green might be a bit much for her, but she texted me that afternoon and said that I was right that she would like – she really loved it. I think I really had her in mind when I put it on my wish list, because I thought it would be a wonderful tea for the two of us to share on those precious occasions when we can get together for tea time.

August Sipdown Prompt – your poshest tea

I am not even going to pretend I know what defines posh tea or which of mine is the most fulfilling of that definition. I will, however, say that I feel super spoiled by this tea. Superanna bought it for me in Marseilles recently. The staff at the Dammann Freres shop there went above and beyond, even printing and attaching the labels in such a way that I could use them to label my tins at home instead of just sticking the label to the bags. She says the French may have been even nicer than the Canadians, and the Canadians “seemed about to burst into song” when she visited there.

This was so exactly what I hoped. Good black tea with a nice berry flavor, not red fruits or red berries masquerading as blackberry. Yes, it has some blackcuurant vibe and I love blackcurrant tea so that’s fine and I really rarely eat blackberries anyway so I wouldn’t be sure what they taste like in tea.

This resteeped more brilliantly than I would have imagined, so Ashman is getting it for breakfast tomorrow as well.

Another sample from Nicole’s big gift boxes – many thanks!

I made this to go with lunch, two steeps combined.

This is really heavy on the hazelnut and light on the chocolate. Ashman doesn’t like Harney’s chocolate flavoring, so of the two he would prefer this one. I didn’t hate it and I didn’t mind it, but it wasn’t special enough to me to purchase it.

Aroma of the dry leaf was hazelnut, same for the steeped tea. Amp up the chocolate, especially with a heavy hand dealing out cacao nibs, and you might have me on board for this one over Florence.

A nice enough tea, but no fireworks for me.

Another tea from Nicole – many thanks!

I made this to drink with lunch, and with the meal I thought it was very tasty. There is a lot of lemon aroma and taste and it went nicely with my turkey and dressing and spiced apples. (Stouffer’s, having frozen dinner today) As I drank it, it seems so mild that I thought I would probably never be tempted to make it with milk and sugar in a traditional chai style but just drink it plain like this. It was very nice.

After the meal, reading and chilling out, the ginger is much more noticeable. I am not a fan of much ginger. As a tea with food, this was quite good. As a stand alone, I would prefer something with less ginger but most people would probably like this just as it is.

This is another Adagio sample from the giant stash sent to me by Nicole – many thanks!

I had this was lunch, and honestly my mind was elsewhere so I wish I had another sample to try again. I DO know that I was worried about the fact that green tea is mentioned first and then black tea, because sometimes those two don’t play nicely in the steeping temps.

It was surprisingly smooth and flavorful, with no bitterness from the green tea and the black tea was not washed out from having been steeped cooler than usual. The chocolate flavor was somewhat mild, the rose was not cloying or overpowering, and the fruit flavors were nicely balanced.

It was a much better cuppa than I anticipated and I wouldn’t mind trying it again when I can really pay attention to it. It is a low caffeine option, which I sometimes need.

August Sipdown Prompt – Infinity Day: drink a tea you will love forever

How can I choose? There are so many teas that I want to always always always have on shelf. I am choosing this one because it is a type I will always love – strawberry (and fruit) black tea.

I think I first had this about eleven years ago. I believe ti was a gift from my son-in-law, who was not yet my son-in-law if I remember correctly. Superanna got me some more for Christmas last year.

Strawberry teas, whether black or green, are one of Ashman’s favorites. We have them for breakfast and snack times together but I enjoy them when I am alone as well. They always feel special.

This was in my big box from Nicole a while back – many thanks, Nicole!

My daughter brought me a Milka chocolate bar (Kuhflecken) tonight and I wanted something caffeine free to go with it. I have really enjoyed the cacao nibs in the Adagio blends I have tried recently so I thought I might enjoy the hazelnut and cinnamon here.

It is decent, but not something I will seek again and that is mostly because of my personal tastes. Hazelnut doesn’t always thrill me. There is some cinnamon in the aroma and honestly I am glad it isn’t a huge blast of cinnamon like in Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice, which is a bit much for me.

The hazelnut is the strongest flavor. I am not getting the orange or cocoa nibs listed on their packet, and that disappoints me because those are two of their flavorings I have enjoyed and have also enjoyed them together, for instance in Chorange. So hazelnut, hint of cinnamon, wisp of cream, and that is about it. Not terrible, but not one I would purchase. Glad to get to try it, though, and it went well enough with my chocolate bar.