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Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 14

Solid citrus black tea and tasty with milk. This went over extremely well in the big communal pot. Bright and malty earl grey-styled teas are always a hit.

1st Tea of Christmas 2022

Mmm, this one reminds me of “Tangerine Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting”, from last year – a tea I adored. Cue orange-y citrus, creamy vanilla, undertones of sweet baked goods, and a hint of malt. The additions of a honey note, jam-like raisins, and the buttery finish give the overall impression of citrus-fig jam, clotted cream, and buttery hot scone (the black tea malt flavour is the “tea”, in the “tea and scones” lol). It’s a lovely blend and I’ll probably rate it high when I’m done my pouch.

As an offside, I have to laugh that all three of my advent selections today are earl-greyish citrus blends. Not complaining though. Citrus is life. Also, I desperately need the caffeine today.

October 2022 Blend

This was a sipdown a day or so ago but wanted to give it a shoutout for being an awesome coconut genmaicha before it disappeared into the abyss. I normally enjoy coconut but found this generally steeped up to a particularly blissful level of creamy and toasty coconut. It’s a smart combo!

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 13

I’m so grateful this was the tea yesterday. I had a six hour math final ordeal, and by the time I was done it was nearing midnight and I had a headache.

I love chamomile more than most people. Adding apple to it is always a nice way to emphasize the already apple-ish notes of the sleepy-flower. Likewise, sage tidies up and rounds out some of its herbaceous edges with earthy fresh notes (not that much sage though). In that way, the extra ingredients don’t really flavour (and smother) chamomile so much as highlight its existing profile. It’s perfectly soothing so gets my general chamomile score of “76” + 2 points for solid (if somewhat conventional) blending.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 13

I’ve never tried the original black tea version but, after this, I want to. I’m pleasantly surprised how well the almond and mild spice levels take to a green tea base. The addition of nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove provides a satisfying level of heat to the bright pastry-almond finish.

The green tea itself is not intrusive; I think I can pick out some sweet grass notes but the tea blends so seamlessly with fruity, nutty, spicy, floral and buttery ingredients. There’s so much going on here that it’s hard to discern what may be from the tea’s natural notes and what is due flavouring.

The ingredients also list rose, but I mostly pick up on a vague fruity-floral red note; when it combines with the almond and butter notes, the impression is not unlike marzipan, sweet yam, or even a red bean paste. It’s a fancy pastry tea that I want more of – In part because I want to see what green tea MF used. Looking at the price per tin though.. maybe I’ll check out Pleine Lune first!

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 12

Nothing too exciting or offensive; just another version of DF’s Christmas blend – with notes of cherry, ginger, and almond. It still doesn’t taste like gingerbread at all but I don’t mind the cherry on the white tea base for some reason. My feelings about cherry flavouring appear to change from moment to moment.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 12

Two flavoured Darjeeling blends in one advent! And here I thought flavouring a Darjeeling was against whatever goes for tea propriety (I’m joking but I also can’t recall coming across any tea blender who dared to flavour one).

The deep grape hues are maybe a tricky pairing for peach; the combo leaves the impression of a mulled fruity red wine or a pruned purple plum, rather than peach itself. When the peach is ascendant, the combined sweet, floral, and sour notes of the Darjeeling creates a portrait of a hip Bellini or… Fuzzy Peaches (hurrah). Also, bittersweet children’s grape-flavoured cough syrup (boo.. at least it’s not an overt association). It’s a neat blend but, as a huge fan of violets and a lesser fan of peach-flavoured teas, I think “Aviateur” is the better scented/flavoured Darjeeling of the two.

I’m going to go for a second steep later because, like oolong, I think that’s where a lot of Darjeeling teas hit their stride. Edit second steep was softer, but my Mom actually loved the first steep – which changed beautifully as it cooled.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 11

Glad to see some of the non-caffeinated blends show up in this advent; there are a few of them and I’d rather not see them all clumped together near the end!

Rooibos is usually a “meh” for me but this blend won me over as soon as I ripped open the packet and could smell its glorious (and on point) lemony madeleine aroma. My mom even thought it was a cookie and was pretty disappointed to find it was “just a tea bag” when she opened her eyes.

I didn’t want to taste a lot of woody rooibos tonight, so added milk, then I poured another cup from the pot and drank it plain; both styles are tasty. I’m satisfied with the amount of lemon, almond and biscuit flavour I get – even if I can still pick up the sweet tobacco profile of rooibos here and there. It’s a lovely way to wrap up the evening.

Sipdown!

If you’ve tried any cream-flavoured tea from this company then imagine that with cranberries. It’s a muddled tart cream contraption which may or may not groove. It’s a simple concept but a cozy one. It also reminds me a little of Cranberry Pear by David’sTea. The crass, robust black tea base means this blend does well with milk.

After sampling it in 2022’s advent calendar, I wanted to spend more time with this tea. After a year of wisdom, and a summer of growing startlingly large sunflowers – I’m 95% certain I can pick out the bright sweetness of raw sunflower seeds. The note behaves like a sweetener to the more acidic but equally bright pomegranate and pineapple notes. It’s quite something, and makes for a cheerful profile.

However, I also know from experience that you don’t want to taste sunflower seeds when they’ve gone rancid. So, out of an abundance of caution in the likely case that there’s real sunflower seeds incorporated into the blend, I’m not going to be hoarding this one – despite enjoying the mix of bright, juicy tart-sweet fruits on a mouth-drying, grassy base. Enjoying it while it’s fresh!