1711 Tasting Notes

Mixed feelings here. I’m glad I’m going through my obscene amounts of tea, but it sucks when I come to an end of a tea that I am going to miss. I dumped the rest of this tea in a mason jar with some sugar and let it cold brew in the fridge for a few days. SO. DAMN. GOOD. It was a little grainy since all the dust from the bottom of the bag was in the jar and didn’t filter out, but I don’t care. I get the gemaicha taste very clearly, but the cherry is a little hard to pick out as cherry in this cup. It is definitely a fruity flavor, but the distinction of cherry is escaping me today. Genmaicha is amazingly refreshing cold! Kinda blows my mind.

Stephanie

I’ve never tried iced genmaicha…I guess I should :)

Dustin

Yes, yes you should!

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drank La Naissance by Fauchon
1711 tasting notes

Trying this tea again, but overleafing for this go round. The flavors are much stronger! Almond seems to play a more behind the scenes roll to the rose and jasmine, rose being dominant. I can taste some almond at the beginning of the sip, but by the end of it the floral flavors have taken over. There was another Fauchon tea I had who’s floral notes tasted like raisins and baby powder. I’m getting a light touch of that here, but it isn’t overwhelming like the other tea was. I’m not sure what flavor tastes like that, the rose perhaps? I am enjoying this cup, but I don’t think it is one I’d go for a tin of.

Big thanks again to Dinosara for this sample!!!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Stephanie

I really like this one, but I experienced more almond than floral for some reason!

yyz

I get more almond too! But I also get Turkish delight, and I like floral teas when I’m in the mood. It seems that those who are sensitive to florals, seem to pick out those notes a little more.

Dustin

Oh, I hadn’t thought of Turkish delight! I usually do like florals, but this one just wasn’t doing it for me. :/

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drank GenmaiCHAI by 52teas
1711 tasting notes

Garrrrrrr… sad sipdown. I’m bummed to see this stuff go. It is weird and I love it. I have been saving the last of it, not wanting to face the fact that it would be gone. Fact now faced. :/

Stephanie

I hate when that happens

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drank Cheesecake Matcha by Matcha Outlet
1711 tasting notes

I tried some of this in the red base in the past and loved it, so I had to jump when it was the sample of the month in the matcha base! Thanks Redleaf for the sample!

The sample came with two fliers explaining ways to prepare it. On one it said to use 1/2 a teaspoon with 6-8 oz milk hot or cold, but on the other flier it suggested using 1 tablespoon for 10-12 oz of a mix of milk, water and ice. I don’t know if it was a typo, but I hesitate to use a tablespoon worth and use up most of the sample in one go. I ended up doing 1/2 tsp in 8oz of a coconut/almond milk. I haven’t tried the milk before, so the taste of the milk was a little distracting. I added a little sugar, but think it could have done with a little more. The matcha is DELICIOUS. I adore this flavor! I haven’t tried many of Redleaf’s flavored matchas, but this one is my favorite so far and I can’t wait to try a few of the different preparation suggestions.

Stephanie

Agreed, this one is great!

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drank Tochiotome Green by Lupicia
1711 tasting notes

I still don’t have the hang of this tea, but I feel like I’m getting closer with this cup. I bought a new kettle, so I have the right temperature water and I did a short 1 minute steep. This is still a little strange on the sides of my tongue. Tart, edging on bitter. I’m getting strawberry more on the aftertaste than the sip. it leaves my mouth feeling dry, like a rooibos would. I’m adding more sugar and water… and it is tasting much better. That bitter tinge is gone and it is tasting more like strawberry gummi candy now.

Lessons learned: Short steep time, Ignore directions for boiling water that come with the tea, underleaf and over sweeten.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 15 sec
MzPriss

I went to the mall and got the kettle from Teavana. Thanks for the recommendation.

Dustin

Sure! Hope you like it! I got one the other day and like it pretty well so far. The only strange thing is that the max water level line is just over half way up the kettle.

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Oooooooooooooh, I like! I got a sample of this from Moraiwe (many thanks) and dumped the whole thing in a mason jar and stuck it in the fridge overnight. The first thing I get is creamy ginger followed by nutmeg and pumpkin. This is pretty tasty. And to think I almost gave up on honeybush teas!

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drank Amande Amaretti by Dammann Frères
1711 tasting notes

I big huge thanks to Dinosara for sending me a sample of this tea!

I’ll start off by saying that Damman and I don’t get along so well. We rarely see eye to eye, but I’m not one to learn lessons easily and am attracted to anything almondy like a magpie to shiny. I steeped this in less water than normal because DF teas always seem to have meek flavors for me. When hot, this tea was so-so. As it cooled it got better. The almond taste is present on the sip and fades out to leave the black base to hold up the aftertaste. At first the almond seems sort of baked marzipan like, but has a flash of raw almond tang. I’m finding that my favorite almond teas are paired with something else, making a more complex mix of flavors. Chocolate, coconut, rose… things like that. This tea is good (really good if I’m comparing to other DF teas), but I’m not captivated by it.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
keychange

I agree that there are better almond teas out there. Mariage frères has a few.

Dustin

Which do you like of Mariage’s?

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drank Amande Amaretti by Dammann Frères
1711 tasting notes

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I cold steeped some of this in the fridge overnight and I have to say it is LOADS better than when I tried it hot. It is still really weird and I still get a ton of baby powder flavor, but the raisin taste has faded and some of the orange and rose has come out on the sip. The aftertaste is still all powder tho. If the flavors from the sip lingered into the aftertaste, I’d have a winner here, but I just can’t get past the powder mouth.

Preparation
Iced
Stephanie

baby powder gag

TeaBrat

Where do you get Fauchon teas in the US?

Dustin

There was a sale from Vente Prive. It is one of those places that gets a limited quantity of stuff from particular brands and does a flash sale. Keep an eye on the sale threat we have on the forum. Someone always posts when they are doing a Fauchon sale. Last year people were finding it at stores like Home Goods and Tjmaxx too, but it is really random there too.

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I’m not 100% sure I have the right year for this tea, but I’m reviewing it here anyways!
When I opened the bag and smelled this tea I thought “Whoa, green and super grassy!”. It wasn’t really a good omen since I’m really not in the mood for super grassy right now, but I decided to try it anyways. Once steeped it was really mellow! That green edge is gone and the tea is nice and mellow. It is light, slightly sweet with no green tang to it. The aftertaste has the faintest tingle on the back sides of my tongue like anise would leave, but much less intense. At one point in the aftertaste it is similar to the aftertaste of having had swam in the ocean. It is the point where you are back on the beach laying down, listening to the sound of the ocean and birds, relaxing and the faint taste of the ocean is still lingering. Then the taste is gone and I’m brought back to the reality of standing in my kitchen reviewing a tea on my computer on an overcast day… far from any ocean. Oh reality, you cruel beast!
My preferences lay with flavored teas, but if I was in the mood for something more basic yet still complex, I would reach for this tea!

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 1 min, 45 sec

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Bio

My name is Dustin and I like tea.

I’m an added flavor kind of tea fan, but have had a growing appreciation for plain. I want my tea to remind me of cookies and cakes with coconut and almond slices with a hint of chocolate drizzled on top. I want dancing ponies and flying monkeys shooting off fireworks! And no hibiscus. Hibiscus is the devil.

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BA, CA, US

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