Jardin du Thé

Sipdown! 59/365

Well, I don’t taste gin, which is good because I don’t like it, but bad because this tea is called “Gin Fizz”… Instead, I taste a light, citrussy note (lime?) on a decent green base. So basically, a citrus green. It’s not bad, but nothing special. Thanks for sharing, MissB!

(Reading the tea info, I see it’s supposed to be lemon/ginger? I am not noticing the ginger, but it could be because the tea is pretty light.)

ETA: Ginger very obvious in the second infusion. Not sure how I missed it.

Sipdown! 50/365

Another one I thought I reviewed. Mysterious. Anyhow, thanks to MissB for this interesting-sounding tea! My recollection is that I was unable to taste curry last time, although I don’t recall the other flavours. This time? It’s a lightly minty(?!) fruity tea, and I’m trying really hard to pick out curry (I’m thinking curry powder here), but it is not appearing. Sounds like this was fairly common among those of us who tried it. Too bad; it’s a solid meh for me, when it could have been really interesting (or really terrible!)

Hello, I’m just popping in to say I enjoyed this tea….just drank the last little bit and want to make an official record of my opinion for future reference since I’m not likely to recall this later. Given that I can barely remember what movie I watched three nights ago…you get the gist.

So I uhhhh got this sample from someone. No idea who! Someone accidentally dropped their tiny spoon in my box of samples and in rooting around for it, separated from the envelope indicating origins. So to whoever graciously gifted me this, thank you! EDIT: It may have been MissB, so thanks again! :)
Anyhow. The tea. I’ve had it for awhile, so it may have lost some flavour. But overall it was pleasant. It was very fruity, and slightly tart in a rather refreshing way.
I was shocked to see that the ingredients included the evil berg. I didn’t taste it at all, nor did it make me feel unwell. So either I’m getting over this darn allergy, the berg had faded, or it was only a teeny tiny bit. Whatever, I’m just glad it went over ok!
Overall, I enjoyed it and would gladly have more if it weren’t a sipdown.

I don’t have a problem with bergamot and flowers from fruit trees. I could live with and possibly even enjoy it in another tea. The tea base though.. I don’t know what it is but it’s boring and blunt- I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me it was bancha or Chinese sencha (bane of my flavoured green tea-filled existence).

Or maybe my sample is feeling its age. I’m no expert. All I know is that the resulting combination leads to grass soap in one sip and fruity asparagus in another.

The sweetly tart raspberry delivers both in smell and taste but I’m just not a fan of this type of green base, which for me is a big bucket of generic meh. If it wasn’t for that I’d be a bigger fan of this one!

Smells like a sour lavender banana and tastes more like citrus-ginger fruit tree; it’s definitely a puzzler to the senses. I think I’d like this if there was more banana, the tea base was more noteworthy, the ginger was fresh and sharp, or something. There’s potential here.

Thanks for sending this one out, MissB. I never would’ve thought of such an ingredient pairing if not for this tea! Now I want a eclectic fruit smoothie.

Sipdown (127)

Thank you MissB for sharing this interesting sounding blend. Now that I am drinking it though, it’s a little underwhelming. I was expecting something more over-the-top flavor-wise given how strong both pineapple and curry can be most mostly this is a sweet, candied fruit type of tea. I would never have thought this had curry in it and I really want more from this. Perhaps age has something to do with it?

Spices. Orange blossoms. Flowers.

Hmm. Interesting. Not bad, but not my favourite profile. It’s almost too complicated, and doesn’t let me wallow in anything.

Also, it says on the packet that it’s a black tea but on here it says it’s a green blend. At any rate, it’s astringent. Even with milk.

Thanks so much for letting me try, MissB. It’s a neat combination of flavours but I would not search this out…

Thanks for this one a while ago, MissB! It’s a fruity Earl. Before I looked at the ingredients list again, I noticed every type of fruit BUT the fig mentioned. I swear it tastes more like strawberry, papaya, mango. So odd! Maybe that is the fig combining with the light and sweet bergamot. Anyway, I like it but the bergamot isn’t tough enough for me when I want bergamot. One teaspoon left though….

Another green tea from MissB.

Sadly, not something I like. It smelled nice and sweet and fruity when dry, but tasting it now it’s just… lacking. The green veggie water flavour is fairly mild, but it’s mostly what I’m picking up from the sample.

Oh well. Thanks for sharing, MissB!

I think this weekend might be a “get through all the green tea samples” kind of weekend!

This is from MissB. Thank you!

And omg, this is actually really good. Super floral mango/tropical goodness. Yum!

Since I don’t love green teas, I wouldn’t get this again, but if you do and this tea is available, it’s definitely worth a try. There’s no coconut in this tropical tea. :)

Really loving this tea! I adore orange and that’s the main note that comes through. A tiny hint of spice in the aftertaste, and some vague green tea notes hangin around somewhere I can’t put my finger on.
Funny, I’m never one for floral teas but I don’t get much of that at all here. Definitely some in the lingering afternotes but not enough to make me notice unless I concentrate.
Hot, I quite adore this. Cooled down, I find it a bit tart but still quite tasty. Thanks for sharing MissB!

I initially read this tea as “Berry Lindon” and expected berries. It’s more likely referencing Barry Lyndon, which I haven’t seen.

Thanks, OMGsrsly and Sil, for passing along MissB’s generous tea package!

I got this a while back via Sil from MissB!

O. M. G. This tea is AMAZING. WHOA. I LOVE IT PLEASE CAN I HAVE MORE OMG.

Apparently it’s Damman Freres, so I’m sure I’ll be able to find it somewhere.

It’s SO FLAVOURFUL. I didn’t actually pick up on the cinnamon, mostly just intense floral (orange!) and the grapefruit and such complexity!

I’ve been steeping it in my new wee tea pot thinger IDEK, 20 seconds the first cup and 30-ish seconds the second cup. So good.

Thanks so much, MissB!

https://instagram.com/p/6y5_pKx5GZ/

I find teas with both floral and spice profiles hard to mentally digest. I simultaneously want to add milk and go chai, while also wanting to do a low temp steep without milk and sugar. The tea is a mixed black and green blend with fruity notes, and the main spice is the cardamom so I ended going with a cold brew.

Notes of cardamom and spiced fruit draw my attention the most, like a watery homage to mango lassi, while the rose is light and more inclined to a dessert-like Turkish Delight juiciness.

The blend is more of an abstract aromatherapy/spa mix than a concrete dessert tea, but that isn’t stopping my mind from filling in gaps..

MissB sent along a sample of this tea as well. From the name alone I knew it was the Dammann blend, not surprising since apparently they wholesale their teas around France in general. As always, it’s one of my favorites. :)

I’m cranky, I’m tired, I have more than I can possibly do in 24hrs, so I want tea. Waaah.

This really grew on me as I sipped it, and ended up quite delicious once cold. Sweet, a bit tart, creamy, lightly-colored tan, there’s definitely some flower/rose French thing going on, and I want to say… plum? Fig? Something-something. Oddly granular, like there are a few floaties in this tea that I can’t quite figure out where they came from.

Pretty sure I passed most of this along, but couldn’t find it in the database, so I added it. Almost positive it’s Mariage Frères, but, well, can’t confirm 100%.

Lovely tea, likely a fantastic tea for someone who prefers these kinds of flavors.

OMGsrsly (or someone else who passed along this tea) wrote “interesting” on my sample packet, which essentially sums this tea up. It’s not the savory spices that are “interesting”, but the fact that I don’t get pineapple from this pineapple tea at all.

The dry blend smells of tropical fruits, but the fruitiness to taste is more a fuzzy peach, banana runts, or even plantain/banana with the finish and aftertaste- also reminiscent of a clove and banana accented hefeweizen. But, just as there’s a smiley face at the end of that “interesting” on my packet, this tea is a lot of fun- you just have to accept it for it is.

The aroma of the broth is probably the most “pineapple-y” aspect of this tea, so I’ll continue to breathe deep. Although now I want a plantain tea. Or a German Wheat Beer. Whichever is closer.

This is what I always think of as a “spa tea.” The combined flavour of the spices, fruits, and flowers is less of an appetizing meal and more of a perfume-like oil diffuser. It’s nose food, not tongue food.

That being said, I still found this pleasant enough to drink; the aroma was just way better. The green base is smooth (veering on butter), with a vegetal quality that teams up with the spices and citrus sours for an nippy parting gift. The finish is almost a dry “sparkling,” and grapefruit-like. It puts me in mind of ciders and grapefruit pop.

Also, when I put Butiki’s Flowery Pineapple, Janet’s Black Currant Rooibos, and this in a lineup for Mom she choose from she chose this one. I can report to Sil and MissB that this tea finally found its intended audience!

Dull green tea note with a peachy tone. Sweetness close to the end of the sip. I can taste the lavender note which is a great match for the peach.

Thanks to MissB for sharing!

Sipdown! 66/365

Ok, a bit off-track on these sipdowns with all the Butikis, but I snuck this one in the other day. I didn’t remember what this was supposed to taste like, so I was pleasantly surprised when it was quite good! If I had to guess, it was pineapple (but apparently it’s goji, so I suck at that). A good cup, either way.

I… rather like this tea. I’m trying to figure out if I accidentally switched this and Nuit a Versailles, but even just sniffing the bag’s contents, I’m quite certain I didn’t, though. This one is quite lovely, actually – sweet and fruity, with a bit of a mariney green base. I don’t think I would have guessed goji berries at all though, if I had to guess, as this is pretty sweet.

Anyhow, enjoyable, and I’ll probably enjoy it the next time too. Thanks for sharing, Miss B.