Nina's Paris

Took a sample to work to lighten a dreary Monday. Even in a sloppy work-water microwave environment, this is luscious. Fruit and caramel in very pleasing proportions, although I might not have guessed raspberry had I not read the description. I haven’t had a disappointment from Nina’s yet.

Thank you much Lala for this sample ad so sorry it took me so long to try it….so much tea, so little time!
This was first on my list because honestly, I have been a little scared of it. I love flowery teas, but for some reason, I am not a fan of rose. Anyway, it smelled and tasted pretty strongly of rose. So, it is just not for me. I am glad that I got to try it though!

So I’m pretty sure this came from Fuzzy_Peachkin at our Taste of France swap. Thanks! I really like this tea. Citrus and mint are just a good combo. The lemon here tastes very juicy and natural. It’s more prominent in the second steep. I suspect I might be able to get a third steep out of this, but it’s just too much black tea for my poor tummy. See previous tasting note for a more thorough review!

Sipdown number four for the day!

Another subject in my ongoing experimental series, “guess what’s in this tea without looking at the description” (suggestions for a better title are welcome and encouraged). I believe that I got this from our Taste of France swap, but I don’t know who gave it to me. Thanks to whoever it was!

I picked this out for its lovely minty scent. The auto complete on my phone just suggested that I follow “minty” with “frosting”, which sounds delicious and now I want a chocolate cupcake with minty frosting. That would actually go pretty well with this tea, though vanilla would probably be even better.

Aaanyway, this has a clean spearmint smell. The first few sips are a great balance of spearmint and good quality green tea, with a hint of lemon. As I kept drinking, the (very natural) lemon flavor really came to the fore and stayed there. The spearmint kept playing around the edges and kept this from being a boring lemon tea. This tastes exactly like what it purports to be.

I generally dislike lemon teas because they either taste fake or like plain tea with some lemon juice squeezed in. If I want my tea with lemon, I’ll just make tea and add lemon in exactly the proportion I like. But this tea has a lemon taste that is simultaneously natural and less acidic than lemon juice. The added element of the mint really makes this stand out for me as an enjoyable cuppa.

Sipdown!

I’m trying to drink teas without knowing what’s in them and see if I can pick out the flavors. This one seemed very floral and a touch creamy without overwhelming the base tea. Of course once I looked up the description and saw pineapple and coconut, it totally tasted like that instead. So yeah, that’s bias for ya. Either way, this is quite tasty. I don’t even like coconut teas, but the flavor is very subtle here. And there’s a nice tanginess too. Thanks to Laurent at Nina’s Teas for the sample.

i love this tea, not just the fresh raspberries mixed with the green, but that balance of ripe berries with sencha which, in my experience, has the potential to be volatile.

this tea is the one that settles me in to sleep often these cold evenings…. =0)

this tea is grand, i mean truly exceptional.

dry it reminds me of ripe strawberries and raspberry jello, but once the water goes in there is a premeditated tartness from the green base that negates any thoughts of jello whatsoever.

my unsolicited advice (as someone who thoroughly messed up their first attempt), believe the 3 minute recommendation on the bag. nina’s has been doing this long enough that they don’t recommend halfheartedly.

the green they have chosen is very smart indeed…. it has a sharp tang that is absolutely timed to the minute. the berries are balanced against a three minute time…. like a smartypants i figured more was better and went for 4 the first time and got no berries whatsoever. when correctly timed you get a perfect equation with perfectly (not over) ripe berries with a medium strength green tea. this is a flavoured green, there is never any doubt that it is a tea. with some flavoured blends the tea essence is lost, but not here.

very nice. little doubt i will buy again!

i was curious, so i looked up the history: nina’s paris, (named after the founder’s wife mme nina diaz) was founded in 1672 as the furbishers of fragrance to versailles. it shows.

this tea is red, and round. it actually creates a spherical shape in my mouth. i am not referring to the natural process of swallowing here, i feel the flavour in a spherical shape, over my tongue and against my cheeks.

this blend is an exercise in just enough and not too much; had the raspberry been stonger it may have evolved from a balanced tart to sharp or bitter, but it did not. the red currant adds the round component i think, as well a classic element. the caramel is very quiet… three fingers brushing one time lightly between your shoulder blades after a long day. soothing.

this tea is lovely. i was surprised at first when i learned that the french tea apothecaries were also frequently parfumeries, but it makes perfect sense now. how the two vocations could ever be separate is a foreign thought to me now because it is. so. logical.

while she did not send me this tea, i really must thank ysaurella for playing the part of brilliant catalyst for this part of my tea journey. our swap caught me so offguard i think my heart may continue to dwell in parisien tea houses.

Thank you Nina’s Paris (Sophie and Laurent for the tea sample. This tea smells mildly fruity, citrusy with a hint of floral. Very mild black tea with a good mix of fruits with the blood orange slightly in the forefront and the a floral note in the background.

I’m really enjoying this cup tonight! I’m picking up more spearmint, but my mother swears she smells the lemon from across the room. There is a lovely lemon tang to this. The whole thing reminds me of summer lemonade with mint thrown in. Yummy!

Made this one again this morning. This time I added two smallish pieces of brown rock sugar. I am finding the black base still strong. Almost malty. Reminding me of an assam. There is still an orange rind, peppery, spicey taste but it is blunted by a more citrus flavour. The rock sugar has seem to bring out a much more grapefruit flavour vs the citrus rind flavour. This one is very much reminding me of a citrus Earl Grey but there is no bergamot. Its making a great breakfast tea. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone! Today I give thanks for awesome family, great friends, and of course delicious tea!

This one definitely has a taste of grapefruit and orange rind. It is peppery and spicey. It tastes very natural. The black tea base tastes stronger than what I find most of Nina’s Paris teas taste. I think this one is lacking a bit of sweetness. Overall it is a good tea, but I would like there to have been more of an actual citrus taste.
This one tastes better once it starts to cool. I think next time I will be adding a but of sweetener to see what happens.

Thank you Nina’s Paris (Laurent and Sophie) for this sample. This is the first of the three samples they sent me that I’ve tried. Actually, this is the first Nina’s Paris tea I’ve ever tried and wow! This tea is sooo good. Hot steeped, it’s like sweet and tart strawberry jam with rooibos in the background. Cold steeped the rest of the packet, and this truly makes a great iced tea. This tea is definitely going to be on my buy list!

I was trying to make some room in my spice cabinet for a newly bought jar of paprika, and saw an envelope in the back of the cupboard. Hmm. What’s this?

I opened it and saw that it was tea from ashmanra! Gasp! I must have been in one of my crazyrush flurries and put it in the general place it was supposed to go and never put it with my actual tea things. Bad, bad JacquelineM.

I sniffed the leaves and they smelled like apples and cloves and almonds and something floral. Ohmygosh. Could there be a more perfect tea for the beginning of autumn?

I’m enjoying my first cup, sans additions, and loving it (I took a raw sugar packet out, but sipped the tea first and decided it needs nothing). I read some tasting notes saying it was strong in flavor, so I steeped it for two minutes — perfect.

I’m tasting just what I smelled — an apple cider flavor, almonds, and a floral-ness — it doesn’t scream rose to me, but floral, and it’s just on the end of the sip. I love it. I must procure some!

What other lovelies should I try from Nina’s? :)

My very last pot of this. Yay!
I like the idea of this tea much better than I like the reality. Green apple tea sounds good, and I like rose, but nothing really gelled in this whole tin, and nothing turned out quite as I wanted it to.
Goodbye, Marie-Antoinette. I will have all my notes and the very pretty tin to remember it by.
Sipdown!

Its my steepster anniversary! I’ve been a member of this lovely community for a whole year, and honestly I have no interest in slowing down at all.
This place is easily one of my favorite things on line. Its wonderful here, and I’ve met so many cool, supportive people, and learned so much about tea!
Here is to Steepster, long may it reign!

I have entered into a phase where I am determinedly drinking this tea. I’ve got maybe two pots of this left, and I’d like it to be all drunk up, and quite soon. So I’m including this in the rotation more than I normally would.
Its gonna be a long day, and I’m already running late this morning. (Well, running behind. I’m not late actually yet).
Time to apply the sunscreen and head out into the world!

I saw the bottom of the tin today while I was parcing this out! I cant believe it. Its amazing. I’ve only got a few pots of this left.
I’ve got mixed feelings about Marie-Antoinette. I love that is a sour apple tea, but I’m not completely sold. Something has just never set perfectly. Well, oh well.
Its hot! Argh. We have entered into my summer season, my least favorite. Argh.

I woke up convinced it was Saturday. Argh! I want this week to be over.
Its going to be 100 degrees around here today, which means I need to drink my tea while I can. And I can right now.
Short steeps! Thats the magic combo of this, to make it enjoyable. And I am enjoying it. I still think I’m not going to buy more, after its done, but hey, I’ll sip it down without too much trouble.

Light steep. Thats whats key about this one. Light steep to make this the best it can be.
How is it Monday? How is it Monday already? Argh!

So the commotion last night that kept waking me up turned out to be someone being shot to death across the street. I left my house to a swarm of police.
Yesterday was a very surreal day, with me sort of floating through things, unsure as to what was going on, and, when I turned the news on, seeing my house as the backdrop of police activity.
Eeeesh. I’m unsettled. Last night was calm, but I think the whole neighborhood feels a little off right now.
But life keeps going. I have tea to drink, and to go to work, and see a friend, and generally feel odd all day long.
Not my most cheerful steepster post.

I woke up exsausted. Dont you just hate that? Well, fortunatly, there is tea for this!
So I brewed up some of this.
I know that a short steep is important and makes this shine its best. I did it a little too long today. Bah.
Going to be a fun day. I’ve got to do my morning shift at work, but there will be a play tonight! I love the theatre.