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Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 11

Like Île des Dieux from day eight, this is a delightfully smooth and fruity unflavoured green tea! The tropical fruit note appears at the finish and morphs into something quite sweet (MF says papaya; I get more under-ripe mango). The website description likens this Nepalese tea to an oolong – and I can see that, but there are still plenty of notes that place it in green tea territory.

I drank this with a salty bowl of Indomie stir-fry noodles, fried egg, and shrimp – because I’m reliving my undergrad junk food favourites this morning. This tea elevates the crude meal in a huge way, and also cuts through the strong fat, salt, onion, and crustacean flavours. Classy, for a palate cleanser (and here I initially thought this tea was gentle).

Steep Count: 2

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 10

I believe this black tea has every imaginable flavour of citrus present ::checks description:: yep, essentially every kind of citrus.I’m in CrowKettle heaven. All the citrus in one tiny cup… (so much power).

On the flipside, someone with less favourable opinions about this fruity tea might call this the citrus equivalent of the creature from Frankenstein – or “what if one of Naomi Novik’s maw-mouths consumed only citruses and became an all-consuming, ever-hungry chaotic citrus blob?” Yes, then it’s a nightmare. I find that I even take great joy at imagining these less appealing citrus-form creatures. I just really love citrus.

This is an older tea from MF and seems to be sold solely in a rainbow canister (the image here is broken, but I added a new one on the main page); it’s an aesthetic choice that fits this advent’s “rainbow world tour” concept perfectly (I’m starting to immensely appreciate this concept, even if I don’t love every tea selected).

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 10

So far, this is probably my favourite of the DF “Christmas tea” blends included this year. Cherry flavour in tea is a hard-sell for me but I like it here, when it’s caramelized with baked pineapple. Last year I wrote that this reminded me of fruit cake – but, more specifically, it resembles a pineapple upside-down cake (and the old Della Terra Tea of the same name). That impression still stands this year! I enjoyed the tail-end finish of orange blossoms too; it makes for a good last sip.

This blend also contains orange but feels toned down and “softer” compared to other DF blends.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 9

Is it even a Mariage Frères advent without a version of Marco Polo showing up?

The famous red fruit aroma is present but the choice of oolong base is gentler than either the black tea and green tea versions I’ve tried in the past. It has light vegetal, floral, and mineral notes (on the second steep it’s almost milky in that silky way of green oolongs). With this delicate profile, the fruit flavours not only tastes like strawberry-rhubarb but also goji berries. The first steep was kind of woody and earthy too, although that’s probably from the blue pea flowers (woody is what leads into the goji interpretation).

Steep Count: 3 – as usual, the second steep of the oolong is my preferred one so far. It mostly loses the woody note, which I personally find a little jarring and would rather do without.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 9

I’ve made a few notes for this tea in the past; it’s working up to be one of my favourite casual dessert blends. When I finished up my original 100g, I took to refreshing the DF website every now and then, hoping that the 2022 advent would drop so I could justify ordering more of this. That was six months ago. I’m ok.

I got that 100g “refill” but, since I’m gifting it to myself for Christmas, I’m extremely happy to see it included in the advent itself. Hurrah for great creamy mango-almond-biscuit flavouring!

P.S. – I noticed a couple other “no. 9 mangoes” floating around the general Steepster advent note-fest. Good showing.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 8

I love strawberry rhubarb am glad this was selected for the advent (but, it also reminded me that I forgot to order “Mélange Vénitien” again; it’s also supposedly rhubarb). There’s a good balance between the two red fruits – although, maybe slightly more sweet strawberry. Tartness is at a minimal and it veers into jam territory.

This is one of those times I wish DF used “loose-leaf in small tins” rather than sachets – because I’d love to try cold brewing this tea. I imagine it would be delicious!

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 8

Today’s selection is a steamed green tea from South Korea, that Mariage Frères calls “The island of the gods.” What a name.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a Korean tea like this before; my limited experience has been with astringent, seaweed-inclined specimens. However, this one is a delicate peach.. or, more accurately, a tangerine! There’s a touch of anise, juniper berry, and celery – along with brightly fruity notes of tangy green apple and a soft, sweet citrus. The tangerine note makes this a lovely fit for a Christmas advent.

I really need to opt for an unflavoured green tea advent calendar next year. They bring me so much joy.

Steep Count: 3

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 7

Yeah, not quite working for me this year. Definitely get the spiced orange flavoured bubblegum candy. Not passing up a cup though!

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 7

First black tea of this advent and it’s a lovely darjeeling! I honestly cannot recall the last time I drank a darjeeling but it’s so good to revisit one.

I don’t know how to accurately describe the floral flavouring of this lovely tea but I can pick a colour: purple. Purple like muscatel grapes; purple like violets. Mmm… all I know is that I want more of this delicate, fruity-floral tea.

Steep Count: 2

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 6

On the subtle side, but lovely accents of banana and maple to finish. Toasted grain, in the shade of buckwheat, is the predominate note for me. It makes for a malty sugar in the hue of dark amber. It’s more in porridge or pudding territory than pancake land, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

I was really excited to try this one but, of course, left it until the end of the night. So I’m sipping it half asleep. Oh well!

Steep Count: 2