Fauchon

I have my box of these teabags at work, and I’ve found it to be really unfussy and easy to steep without a lot of attention paid. Love the apricot flavor in this.

The apricot flavor in this is just so delightful. Love having some of these tea bags at work, an easy grab and I’ve found it pretty unfussy to brew, which has also been nice for work.

Bought a box of sachets while in Paris and just now getting around to opening it. Lots of apricot flavor, which is delightful! Outside of the apricot there are some generic citrusy flavors, but the apricot makes it special.

Advent Day 24

I’m a little surprised they didn’t put their Christmas Eve tea in this advent, especially for today. Whoever put this advent together was sleepwalking through the job. Not only did they not include their Xmas tea, but there were at least SEVEN repeats. That is seven missed opportunities to expose your audience to the range of your teas. I’m not sure if Fauchon has put out a tea only advent before, so maybe this was a test run? I’m still thrilled to have tried it, but there is disappointment mixed in there too. It’s a hard tea brand to get in the states and I do enjoy their teas so it’s exciting to have the opportunity to try sample sizes of their servings, but it’s deflating to have duplicates, especially when they are ones you weren’t thrilled with on the first cup. If they do another tea advent in the future and put more effort into the selection and variety of the teas then I’d buy it again.

Onto the tea in my cup! I have had a couple of brands of French tea called Melange and they all seem to be a vanilla orange peel combo. Melange translates to “blend”, but it seems like there is a specific blend in mind when it comes to tea. I like this one more than the others I’ve tried. The orange peel has a slightly aged flavor, meaning more mellow than the brightness of fresh peel. Vanilla mixes subtly to round out the flavors. It’s a nice cup. Not one that I’d stock because they have other blends that are similar, but more complex, but I’d happily drink another cup if it was offered.

Advent Day 18

Excited to try a flavored tea today! When I think of rose and apple blends, Nina’s comes to mind as the perfect example of that. This tea is similar. The flavors are toned down, which isn’t a bad thing. The apple tastes the same as Nina’s, the rose is less prominent, hiding in the sip and appearing in the finish. There is something a little sour in the sip and something a little flat in the taste if I take too long between sips. It’s not a bad tea, but I’m not as fond of it as the comparison. I’d drink it again if I crossed paths with it in the future.

Advent Day 17

Not a fan of rooibos or hibiscus. If I took those two out and focused only on the pineapple strawberry in the front of the sip, it’s not bad. If the hibiscus had been toned down to the point that it rounded out the sour hint in fresh fruit then it wouldn’t be distracting, but it’s just over the edge into too much for me. There is also an alkaline flatness that comes in towards the back of the sip and lingers in the finish. Not into this one.

Advent Day 16

I was eating some food before I started sipping on this cup and it tasted kinda bad. I kept sipping to wash the taste of the food away, but it didn’t get any better. I added some cream and sugar and this tea blossomed into a really nice breakfast cup! Smooth with depth and a little malt. It’s delicious. I’m trying to drink this cup quickly before I head out the door, but it’s too hot for that. This is a tea I’d love to drink again. Almost a “put it on my wishlist” tea, but not quite. I’d need a few more cups to sway me to add it to my cupboard.

And also Advent Day 23

This time I added oat milk and sugar to see if that made this tea more interesting and I think it worked. The milk added a significant amount of creaminess and the sugar rounded out the fruit flavor well. It did tone down the flavor of the apple, but now it’s more like a creamy apple reminiscent of a pastry. Not quite apple strudel level (it’s much more subtle than that), but it made it nicer and gave me something to sip on while waking up slowly.

Advent Day 12

I’m trying to figure out how I feel about this tea. It smells appley, but the taste is very dry, puckering and dusty. It is astringent. I get a little dusty apple in the finish, but not much apple taste in the sip. The flavors are flat. It’s a shame because there are really good apple flavored teas out there with bright vibrant tastes and so much pairs well with apple to make a more complex and interesting blend. I was hoping that my feelings would change as I worked my way through this cup. Sometimes the first few sips hit weird and then the flavors open up, but I’m more than halfway through this cup and that hasn’t happened. This is a big nope for me.

Advent Day 12

Okay… WHO was in charge at Fauchon of putting together this advent calendar? I need to do their job for them. Chai on day 10 AND 12?! Come ON! Repeats starting on day 12 is disappointing. At least it’s still fresh enough in my mind that I know better than to desecrate this cup with milk.

Advent Day 10

A chai! Exciting after the straight teas! I’m feeling slightly under the weather. One of my not so tiny anymore roommates (aka kids) has been sniffling for a few days, so I may be fighting whatever non Covid crud they have. All that to say something spicy and warm to drink sounds lovely!
This is indeed a chai with the mix of usual chai spices. Clove and cardamon seem to dominate. Hard to pick out any cinnamon. It doesn’t have any peppery spices, which would be very welcome right now. It’s on a black base that rounds out and balances the flavors nicely. I’ve been drinking it straight so far. I do like chai with oatmilk and honey, but I just added that to the second half of my cup and the chai flavors in the tea aren’t holding up well against the additions. It was loads better straight. I would say this is a good tea with solid chai flavors. I’d happily drink it again if I came across it. I might even go for a second steeping today. I would not add it to my cupboard. It would have to be an exceptional chai for me to make room for more chai next to my beloved Zhi Tea chais which have enough kick to withstand the addition of milk and honey which in my brain is a large part of what makes a chai.

Advent Day 9

How to describe this tea? It’s smooth, light but strong malt, a hint of light tobacco flavors with bread, maybe some hay, a little dry in the finish. It’s nice. I don’t know straight darjeelings well enough to say if this is average or above. I’m finding that a lot of these teas are ones I’d drink again if I came across them, but I wouldn’t seek them out or add them to my cupboard. I’m really hoping to see more blends in this calendar. I know Fauchon has a bunch of teas I like and more I’d like to try.

Advent Day 14, repeat of Jasmin Chung Hao

I went shopping for stocking stuffers yesterday at Lush. Four bath bombs later and my room smells overwhelmingly like a Lush store and not in a fun way. It’s more an invasive “you hugged someone with too much perfume on, some of which transferred onto you and now you can’t shake the scent” way. It’s unwelcome (even though I brought them into my house) and I’m going to have to put them in the basement.
That said, the scent in this room is muddling my enjoyment of this tea and complicating things. I could take my laptop and switch rooms, but that feels like a lot of effort while I plot my day. I am ever so slightly grumpy.

Advent Day 8

Woke up to an email that 2 of the 3 tires I ordered to be put on my car (1 tire was replaced a year ago) are cancelled, so I’m somewhat mindlessly sipping on this cup while messaging Costco customer service. The jasmine is lighter in flavor than I prefer, but I’m adapting to the more delicate flavors. The sip is smooth, there is a little jasmine tang in the finish. I can taste a little bit of the tea flavor coming through in the back of each sip. It’s a nice tea, but I’d love to see something a little more creative such as pairing jasmine with another complimentary flavor to make it more exciting.

Time to put my adulting pants on and order more tires. I hate those pants!

Advent Day 15

EG again. I’m less excited about it today than I was the first round. I’ll find something in my cupboard more exciting to follow it with.

Advent Day 6

I see two other entries for EGs from Fauchon, but I think they are both a little different. I wasn’t thrilled to see an EG today (I just had a cup of Fortnum and Mason’ s smokey EG yesterday), but this is a fairly solid cup. It has prominent, but not overwhelming EG flavors. Towards the back of the sip I swear I can taste the tea, which doesn’t often happen with strong EGs. It goes down really easy and pleasantly as I ponder my day.
I tried to get one of my beehives buttoned down for the winter yesterday, but it started to rain so I had to close it back up. Today the sun is out and I’m trying to decide if I give it another go or focus on things like repotting some apricot trees I got a couple weeks ago. OR I could continue my project of photographing the various acorn species I’ve found. SO many choices and all of them depend on me getting off the computer! Maybe after I finish this cup.

Advent Day 6

For being a tisane that is filled with things I’m not a fan of, this isn’t bad. It tasted better when it was hot, but I let my cup cool. The rooibos isn’t leaving my mouth super dry, which I appreciate. The pineapple is fairly mellow. The hibiscus is subtle and not obnoxious when warm, but is a little more pronounced once it cools. There is a slight sweetness to it. I would never choose a cup of this, but it isn’t undrinkable either.

Advent Day 11

Wait a minute…. AGAIN?! Come on, Fauchon! I know you have more than 24 teas. You CAN put together an advent without repeats. Wow me with your tea. I implore you!

Advent Day 5

I’m kind of surprised that a few of the teas (five days in) didn’t have profiles here!
Very nice and smooth. The tea blends so well into the mint that it is hard to pick it out. It reminds me a little of 52Teas Graveyard mist, but it’s been years since I’ve last had a cup of that. The mint in this leans more towards a light spearmint taste than it does an herbal tisane mint that is more powerful and in your face. I’m really enjoying this cup, but it doesn’t stand out as something I’d want a tin of in my cupboard. It would be a great staple if you were looking for a solid mellow mint green tea.

Advent Day 4
Smooth, malty, almost bready, light tannins in the finish, doesn’t leave my mouth feeling dry and puckered. It’s pretty good. The flavors are strong enough that I’d guess it could stand up to cream and sugar.

Advent Day 2
It’s an EG alright. It’s nice, smooth, strong EG flavors that could probably stand up to the addition of cream if that’s your thing. It’s perfectly lovely, but it doesn’t stand out to me in a sea of good EGs. I for sure wouldn’t buy this, but I’d drink more if I crossed paths with it again.

Advent Day 1

My last minute advent purchase arrived yesterday! Just in time!!! There was a glitch on the website when I ordered and I accidentally purchased two. I have to run to FedEx to drop off the extra so I can get the $70 double charge back, but I digress.

I lean more towards black teas, so I’m always pleasantly surprised when I find a green tea that I like. This tea has a very bright crisp (but not grassy and sharp) flavor to it that stands on it’s own in the citrus ginger flavors. All the flavors play well together. Probably not something I’d buy, but I’d drink another cup if it was offered. I didn’t see the small steeping instructions of 80c for 4m and I’m kinda glad I didn’t because 1 minute produced a very enjoyable cup.

Picked up a tin of this on a trip to Japan! Fauchon has multiple store fronts in Japan, usually in the lower level of a mall which are these insanely busy high end food courts. The translation I was seeing and understanding was that this was a fall tea with chestnut and maple, but I don’t think that is correct. On the tin the translation is cinnamon, ginger and cardamon. Marron is mentioned, which I think is French for chestnut, but now that I’m home I’m not seeing any mention of maple. Could have been the orange maple leaves on the tin that gave me that impression.

This tea is coming across as a very light and delicate attempt at a chai. On some sips I’ll think I get a hint of chestnut, which isn’t an ingredient I’ve come across often in teas so I’m not super familiar on the flavor. I’m not loving this tea, but I have had several Fauchon teas that I wasn’t excited about with my first few cups and then had the tea grow on me quite a lot. Not writing it off yet, but I’m not impressed so far. Maybe a slightly higher temp next time.

This is from the forgotten batch from VaraTEA that I unearthed the other day, the leaf is a bit ancient: totally my fault, not hers.

So there it was—not enough leaf for two cups but far too much for one. I used it all, cooled the water down, and steeped FAST. The leaf is teeny teeny tiny CTC, powder really, so the result is super super strong but tasty. The apple flavouring has faded but it’s still there. And then there’s that je ne sais quoi of French teas.

If I had some milk, I would add a glug.

I am enjoying this punchy cup, softening it a bit with bites of sweet chocolate. lovely way to kickstart the morning.

Thank you for letting me try this, VariaTEA.

And it’s a sipdown!