Thé du Hammam

An exquisite flavored green tea. Light with balanced, nuanced flavors.

My mom picked some of this up at one of Le Palais des Thes’ NYC shops. This is my first time trying one of their teas, and I’m quite intrigued by the description of this blend in particular. I’ve never had tea flavored with either dates or orange blossom, and I’m quite curious to see how they’ll translate. Plus I love fruity and floral greens, especially iced in the summer.

This tea is quite fruity, in a rather generic way. I’m getting berries more than anything else, I think. I’m not tasting the rose, which is surprising since I usually find rose to be a strong flavor in teas. There’s a faint floral undertone, but it’s one I associate more with the orange blossom than with rose. I don’t taste anything I’d especially identify as date either, although there is a sweetness that is not unreminiscent of dates. I’m also noticing a faint vanilla undertone.

The base is nice – it’s quite light and neutral (in that it’s not too vegetal, seaweed-y, etc.), which is how I like my green bases. I’m not averse to stronger greens on their own, but when combined with fruits or florals (which are the profiles I go for in flavored greens) I find there’s too much of a sweet-savory flavor clash.

This tea reminds me a bit of Mariage Frères’ Bouddha Bleu, although I like this one quite a bit better. Both have strong, somewhat generic fruit flavors and hint at vanilla, but fortunately this combination isn’t translating to bubblegum here the way it does in MF BB.

I’m drinking this iced (brewed hot, then chilled), since it’s too hot to do otherwise at the moment. I’ll certainly be trying it hot when the weather allows though. I’m also thinking this might be a good candidate for cold-brewing.

the aroma is a mouthwatering mélange of dates & honey…when sipped, a truly delicious, fruity floral golden green tea, sprinkled with rose petals. i also get a definite strawberry note in this, so that takes care of the ‘red fruit’ at least in part. on the whole, no one note prevails save maybe the perfume imparted by a rich honey-date liqueur, but make no mistake, this isn’t thick or overly sweet. as Darjeeling can be likened to the champagne of black tea, so this is for green. taken without sugar, the infusion is dainty, elegant & graceful; the tartness of the fruits & green tea cut the otherwise gourmand aroma with astringent pragmatism, saving it from becoming what bitter purists might call a ¡confection! i imagine with honey this would be decadent. looking forward to try it that way & seeing this transform from Turkish delicacy into delight.

Very light, crisp, and refreshing. I really enjoy this tea iced. The green tea is great for people who aren’t necessarily big fans of the tea’s more verdant varieties. Love the flowers!

Very refreshing tea for daily use, can be drank warm or cold!

This is definitely on the lower end of the rating scale, as I work through the last of the 20 or so tins I bought during the PdT Black Friday sale.

Conceptually, this intrigued me. I like a sweet fruit flavor every now and then, and I enjoy green tea from time to time. Berries and dates sound good… so I was feeling optimistic, despite the fact that this hadn’t bubbled up to the top of varieties I was trying.

From opening the tin, though, it smelled like it had been sweetened and flavored. So that made it all the more surprising when I steeped it and discovered how the green tea is nearly absent. On the nose, the tea smacks of fruit-and-cream vape juice. It’s… odd.

The initial flavor is vaguely “fruit” and there is an almost off-putting creamy element that I just can’t figure out. On the finish, I start to detect the date, and waaaaaay in the back, a touch of orange blossom. But it’s one of those things where I feel like I need to put on my wine tasting hat to try to figure it out. As something you just want to drink without thinking about, the best I can come up with is “inoffensive”. It’s like a vaguely sweet water. Like putting hot water in a cup that hadn’t been washed after containing fruit juice.

I recently tried Thé du Hammam, a tea blend from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

- Temperature: 170°F / 76°C
- Time: 3 min, 15 sec
- Tea Amount: 2 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

Thé du Hammam was quite a shocker for me. My experience doesn’t seem to fit what I expected. It’s sweet and subtle, both traits that are important for a tea that describes itself as inspired by oriental hammam’s scents.

Here’s my issue, out of the four elements of the tea, only two seem to be noticeable, with one overpowering the other: the green date (notable in the aftertaste) and the rose (subtle at the front of the taste). The green date is something I never expected in a tea, providing a very refreshing form of sweetness, while the rose adds a nice touch for that Hammam-like taste. However, I didn’t detect any signs of orange flower water or red fruits.

This is a recurring theme in Palais des Thés flavored teas; they tend to be too perfumy, lacking much-needed substance. While some of their recipes hit the mark, this one falls short in delivering a well-balanced flavor profile.

I have tried this tea twice, once in a gaiwan with 30-second steeps at 75°C and 2.5g/100ml, and once in a teapot with 6g/300ml, 75°C, steeped for 3 minutes. Unfortunately, both experiences have been disappointing so far.

I am sad because I deeply wanted to love this tea, but for Palais des Thés teas, I think I’ll just stick to their pure teas.

Flavors: Dates, Rose

- Flavor Complexity: 10/30 – Limited complexity, with dominant but unbalanced flavors.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 10/20 – Sensitive to brewing parameters, easily becomes perfumy.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 8/20 – Fails to maintain a consistent flavor profile.
- Overall Enjoyment: 8/30 – Disappointing and not enjoyable overall.

- yaro

It’s clear Palais de Thes and I aren’t going to get on. This tea sounds like all the things I like:

“Inspired by a traditional Turkish recipe, this sweet and fruity green tea evokes green dates, orange blossoms, roses, and red berries.”

I get a flowery aroma over a rather cheap tasting sencha when I open the bag. Oddly enough, after it’s brewed, I got a dominant buttery gourmand note which is not mentioned in the description. I get a hint of date, but very little orange blossom or rose. As with most of my Palais des Thes, this is a weak cuppa. I tried this with 150ml and it’s still flavoured water. I followed the instructions exactly and even oversteeped in a vain quest for actual flavour. Still tastes like The Ghost of Cuppas Past, or a fourth infusion on a single bag.

I shall power through the rest of the advent calendar, but this is not a brand I care to ever revisit.

Sipdown!

This is a tea that a friend brought to our tea time one day and it was purchased locally at The Fresh Market. It is light and smooth and works well to steep twice and combine the two steeps for a nice big pot of tea that is a little more economical, still showing its berry and floral flavors.When steeping once, those flavors are still at a nice level and are not cloying.

This is one I would repurchase if I needed something in this profile for the cupboard in future as Sipdown progress.

2022 Palais des Thés Advent Calendar