Dammann Frères
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DF Advent — Day 10
Conceptually, I enjoyed the idea of the mix of tastes, but Tourbillon was so overwhelmingly perfumey that it produced a slight headache. Too bad, as this was much like orange blossom water, which I love, and had a strong buckwheat syrup-caramel aftertaste. Indeed, a whirlwind.
Flavors: Alcohol, Apple, Baby Powder, Buckwheat, Caramel, Chestnut, Orange Blossom, Overripe Cherries, Perfume, Viscous, Wood, Woody
DF Advent — Day 8
Didn’t write any notes for 4 Fruits Rouges as I was in a rush getting ready for work in the morning.
Anyway, this tasted like quintessential European red fruits mix. Good balance of a lighter black tea and tart red fruits.
Flavors: Balanced, Cherry, Raspberry, Red Currant, Red Fruits, Strawberry, Tart, Tea
Adventageddon Day 8
Cold Brew!
One of the most red fruit tasting teas to have ever red fruited. When I think of Dammann Freres this is one of the first teas to come to mind, and more than this this style of red fruit flavour is also something I heavily associated with French tea blends in general. It’s so hard to describe it as anything other than tasting like red fruit. I guess strawberry and red currant though, if I had to get more specific.
Since it’s a DF blend and flavour I know well I ended up cold brewing it, and it was great. Definitely jammy and a little bit bright with that sort of jello-esque red fruit note. Refreshing and predictable in a way you can’t get be mad at.
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDVVeu3SUWV/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf5yLVL-8tg&ab_channel=ZBerg
Adventageddon Day 7
Well, we’re at the one week mark now for advents. How’s everyone doing? I swear, every year advent season goes by faster and faster…
When I opened this one up today I thought it might be just a simple jasmine scented green tea which would have been fine albeit a little boring. However, it’s actually much more interesting that that: jasmine tea with chocolate and cinnamon. At first I found the pairing conceptually very weird, but then I realized I like chocolate with jasmine tea infused in it so I’m not sure why the reverse was so strange to me.
Steeped up it was pretty enjoyable! Definitely still jasmine forward, which I appreciated, with a smooth and lush floral fragrance and taste. However, light notes of chocolate were weaved into that profile with just the faintest touch of cinnamon. Something about the combination did have a little bit of a musky sort of undertone, but overall this was surprisingly quite well balanced and sophisticated. Not too dainty or rich, and actually kind of cozy.
Would I buy it again? Probably not, but I think it was really interesting and I certainly wouldn’t turn away the chance to revisit again if offered.
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDSws7ry2bL/?img_index=1
I feel like every year when I post this Christmas pigeon mug it never gets any love at all, and that seems to be the case so far today. One of my least engaged IG posts of the year. Such a shame, though – I just think this mug is SO COOL with the protruding beaks and the super saturated colours.
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85PnKJz7BsQ&ab_channel=ClotheslinefromHell-Topic
That mug is nightmarish in a way that’s oddly captivating… I can’t decide if it’s the protruding beaks, that they’re aligned in different directions, or the art style, but the overall effect is very “what if a fifth grader made a Hitchcock-themed Christmas mug?” I can see it being the kind of thing people either love or hate.
DF Advent — Day 7
Jasmine was barely perceptible once brewed and the green tea wasn’t much to talk about. I was really looking forward to jasmine green tea mixed with cinnamon and cocoa but all I tasted were the warming tastes of cinnamon and cocoa, neither of which were overpowering. Oh well. This combination certainly has potential, though!
Flavors: Cinnamon, Cocoa
DF Advent — Day 6
Really nice chamomile — fluffy and fresh. Somehow the texture of this was viscous, unlike chamomile alone. Perhaps due to the apple bits? I could smell the mentholic sage from the plumped up, steeped sachet sitting next to cup on the nightstand, but it was not present in actual aroma or taste. Ginger was entirely absent.
Flavors: Apple, Chamomile, Pollen, Smooth, Sweet, Viscous
Adventageddon Day 6
After two really strong days in a row from Dammann Freres we were bound to get something less appealing, and this was it. I really dislike chamomile and, to be totally honest, the taste of it was so strong in this mug for me that I didn’t even realize this wasn’t just pure chamomile tea. The ginger/sage were basically absent.
After sipping through maybe a fifth of the mug and just NOT liking it, I ended up adding a bit of whipped cream and caramel sauce from our office hot chocolate bar and that kind of made a bit of an improvement? It very loosely started reminding me of DT’s Valerian Nights which is also a chamomile/caramel blend with a lot of creaminess – though in that case the creaminess comes namely from coconut.
Glad I at least made it somewhat more enjoyable, but just not my jam.
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDQMGQsSJFF/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDvb3NQnwKU&ab_channel=IssyWood
Sorry, the only takeaway I’m getting from this tasting note is that you have an office hot chocolate bar! That’s so awesome!
I’m impressed by the lengths you will go through to make an unpalatable tea drinkable! Hot chocolate bar is pretty impressive too though.
It’s just a temporary hot chocolate bar for the month of December (a holiday office perk), but still pretty cool to have.
Adventageddon Day 5
Probably my favourite of the day? Though, honestly, everything was pretty solid today. At first I was mostly just getting the sort of bright, sweet candied orange top notes of this blend and they were lovely but lacking a little in conveying panettone to me. However, this was definitely one of those teas where the flavours build on your palate over time, and after a few bigger sips I started to get a little more of the almond notes and a much more defined brioche-like baked and bready undertone that helped complete the overall profile for me.
Would maybe consider getting more of this as it does give off the vibe of the kind of tea you’d really grow to love with time – that sort of really consistent and reliable “fits all moods” type of blend. I do think maybe I have a few similar teas already, though…
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDNnFftS3pU/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkx4bdbHXc4&ab_channel=SOFY
A peach green tea with a strong peach and smooth green tea is one of my favorites, and this was a winner. The peach flavor dominates the scent, and while it fades in the flavor, it’s still present and clear. I’d love to try a cold brew on this one – I suspect I’d bump up the rating.
Dammann Freres advent day 3
Preparation
DF Advent — Day 5
Not sure what panettone tastes like. Regardless, this was fine if not disappointing. It smelled great, like white chocolate orange chip cookies but was a bit watery in taste and it produced a drying catch in my throat. The most memorable part of the taste was of jeweled, candied orange.
Flavors: Biting, Bread, Orange, Sugar, Watery, Wood
Glad I’m not the only one who’s never had panettone.
They come in all different types of flavours, but basically like an eggy/custardy sort of cross between a brioche bread and cake is how I’d describe it? Someone brought one into work a few days ago that was rum raisin which was very good – but other flavours I see more popular in the grocery store would be orange w/ either nuts or spices, pistachio, chocolate chip, and even lemon.
Also it’s seemingly a pretty French European “dessert” – I’d heard of them before, but it wasn’t until moving to Quebec that I actually saw them widely available for purchase and here they make these MASSIVE front of store displays with giant pyramids of them.
Adventageddon Day 4
This was my favourite tea today, but quite a lot. Also the first Dammann Freres blend so far that I would 100% without question purchase again for myself. It was just so incredibly lush with the perfect mix of fresh garden florals and supple, dewy fruits. I LOVED the notes of rose and water lillies, as well as the lightly sweet acacia which is such a specific and poignant note to capture in a tea. I know it’s inspired by an Italian garden in Paris, but I have to say it very much felt like drinking the liquid version of a Claude Monet painting.
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDLC-EZyVkq/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQfLw8-Nfx8&ab_channel=JelaniAryehVEVO
Edit: Just wanted to add that there’s less teas today because the Tea Thoughts advent selection was actually teaware! I ended up using it alongside this tea.
DF Advent — Day 4
Enveloped with perfume, I was in some kind of aquatic-floral, fruity-oolong dreamy wonderland.
Airy, sweet, floral, fruity, soft viscous, dewy cool. Blue water lillies, aloe, melon, plum, hawthorn, jasmine. The acacia note was something I’d never experienced before and it was beautiful.
This tea moves like the sound of a harp played among a collection of fountains in a lush garden.
Would love to have a tin of this!
Flavors: Airy, Aloe, Floral, Flowers, Fruit Tree Flowers, Fruity, Honeydew, Perfume, Plum, Soft, Sweet, Viscous
Adventageddon Day 3
Cold Brew!
I actually just totally assumed based on the name that this was going to be an herbal blend and I’m not sure why, but I was definitely a little surprised to see it was a green tea when I opened up the packet. I also fully intended to have this hot, but when I poured the water from the kettle in the office I didn’t realize it hadn’t actually heated up until several minutes later into “steeping” the tea. So, it ended up becoming a deskside cold brew instead which I let steep for a few more hours while working…
Not necessarily a favourite, but it’s hard to say if that’s the tea or the very chaotic brewing method. It was peachier than I expected it to be, but not very sweet at all and with a very herbaceous backend of the sip from all the vervain and the grassier green tea. Sort of just mediocre, and not something I’d personally seek out again aside from maybe just trying it once hot to see if that would MAYBE perk it up a little bit more…
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDIdoKPSOFh/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AXmFKFuhgU&ab_channel=ConflictatSerenityPools
DF Advent — Day 3
Very strong heady and floral honeyed peach aroma. Viscous body, not quite sweet but almost. I enjoyed how the aroma plays with the mineral and herbal taste of the verbena. The base green tea seems like Chinese sencha — toast-vegetal-dry grass, and kind of tastes a bit separated from the rest of what’s going on. Regardless, I enjoyed this tea immensely due to it’s texture and long, floral and fruity peach aftertaste. Had hot, it was thrilling, but once the second steep reached room temperature, it did not impress.
Flavors: Dry Grass, Fruit Tree Flowers, Herbal, Herbs, Honey, Mineral, Peach, Perfume, Toast, Vegetal, Viscous
Dammann Freres advent day 2
It felt a bit strange to go from a bergamot forward white tea (day 1 of this advent) to an earl grey where the bergamot felt more like an afterthought. It’s there in the scent, but I was underwhelmed. I got mostly a slightly bitter black tea with an aftertaste of bergamot. I prefer a heavier hand, so ymmv, but I’d definitely pick the Simpson & Vail version over this one.
Preparation
I don’t mind a mild bergamot, but you definitely need a very tasty black base to go with it.
So interesting how different all of our palates are! I thought the bergamot was quite strong in this, and was the opposite of you where I was wishing for a lighter touch ;)
DF Advent — Day 2
Earl Grey des Seigneurs is very robust, so strong that I added a little eggnog to the cup. Doing so surprisingly drowned out a lot of what was going on with the base tea but the bergamot did come through as a little sparkle. Plain, it’s simultaneously bright and heavy, tannic and smooth. The Assam leaf clearly steals the show from Yunnan. If I had this in the future, I’d steep it for less than the recommended time. I’ve had other Earl Greys more to my preference.
Flavors: Bergamot, Bright, Brown Sugar, Citrusy, Drying, Fig, Floral, Fruity, Grapefruit, Hay, Heavy, Incense, Oats, Raisins, Round, Smooth, Woody
The third freebie included with the advent calendar.
This was even more headache-inducing than its green tea counterpart Nuit à Versailles. At least the linden gave it nice texture. Didn’t care for the tanginess imparted by the rosehips. It left the vibe out of balance.
Flavors: Floral, Fruity, Perfume, Tangy, Viscous
Adventageddon Day 2
A little bit bummed to see a second bergamot blend in a row from DF, but maybe that means we’re getting them all out of the way early. One can hope, right? Anyway, this one just wasn’t really my cup of tea at all. It’s a very, very classic feeling Earl Grey with a brisk, aromatic presence of bergamot on a somewhat more mineral and brassy tasting black tea base. I’m sure others would appreciate it, though.
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDF43CoyYo2/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAG_-GXDGME&ab_channel=GlassAnimalsVEVO
Dammann Freres Advent Day 1
I was thrilled to finish with this tea, especially after feeling so overwhelmed with black teas throughout day 1. The scent gives mostly bergamot to me but in the flavor the mango stands out. I’m also a big fan of a white tea base in general. There was no savoring this cup – I enjoyed it far too much to wait!
Preparation
Adventageddon Day 1
Excited to be kicking off the Dammann Freres advent with a tea that’s new to me! I think this was my least favourite tea of the day, but it wasn’t bad by any means. I was sort of just left with a feeling of being kind of on the fence whether I liked it or not. It was a little confusing.
The blend is a white tea base, which I’ve had hit or miss experiences with when it comes to Dammann Freres. I definitely think they have some other stronger bases they utilize; the white tea is just sometimes a little coarse and more fickle to brew. But it wasn’t unpleasant here, and I thought the more medium level of body was the appropriate amount to bring to the cup based on the flavour.
In terms of flavours, this is a blend of bergamot, mango, and almond. Very intrigueing combination, in my opinion. I really like DF’s mango flavouring and that’s no exception here. It’s juicy and fresh but not fake or cloying, and there’s a nice naturally floral undertone and hint of pine-y notes to it that really sell the authenticity of the flavour in my opinion. The undertones of almond were interesting because it was almost as creamy as it was nutty. More like an almond milk than the amaretto/marzipan style or roasted almond I would have guessed it to be. The bergamot was kind of the kicker for me. I already don’t love really strong bergamot flavours and I definitely thought this was a lot. Very perfumey and heady in a way that felt a little bit cacophonous with the freshness of the mango and silky undertones. Like walking through the perfume section of a department store, a little bit.
I would probably need to drink this one again to decide if that’s a flavour balance I could acclimate to as I got more familiar with it or that could be dialed back with different steeping parameters. Right now it’s sort of just “so so” to me.
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDDUEFtyMDA/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXtNBFcBcC8&ab_channel=Findlay
Good morning. Got a lot of backlogs to work my way through. I bought a Dammann Frères advent calendar for both myself and Kiki, but since I don’t live with her anymore, it’s been difficult to coordinate drinking the teas together. Hoping in January I can spend some time making tea for her and logging her reactions.
For now, these are mine and many are gonna be short.
DF Advent — Day 1
If you’ve been disappointed by mango-flavored teas and are still pining for an accurate presentation, Bella Blanca might be what you’re looking for. Full-bodied and viscous with a potentially earthy, white tea hay taste. Bergamot rings the high note. The mango is lovely, sitting comfortably in the midtone with it’s sweet, fruity notes and faint edge of pine. An almond cookie flavor softens everything and ties it all together. Don’t steep it too hot or too long, though, as it can get bitter and very strong. Maybe go less than the recommended steep time.
Flavors: Almond, Bergamot, Cookie, Earthy, Fruity, Hay, Mango, Pine, Tropical, Viscous
Freebie with the advent calendar, thank you :)
Despite enjoying black coffee, I really don’t like coffee-flavored things, especially if sweet or in a dessert. Objectively (if I can say that), My Tiramisu is a well flavored black tea. It’s moderate in the application of flavoring and I can taste every bit — coffee, biscuit, cream, cinnamon, chocolate and maraschino. It all blends together very well. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this for dessert lovers.
Flavors: Biscuit, Cake, Cinnamon, Coffee, Cream, Dark Chocolate, Maraschino, Sweet, Tea
