1680 Tasting Notes
DF Advent — Day 10
Conceptually, I enjoyed the idea of the mix of tastes, but Tourbillon was so overwhelmingly perfumey that it produced a slight headache. Too bad, as this was much like orange blossom water, which I love, and had a strong buckwheat syrup-caramel aftertaste. Indeed, a whirlwind.
Flavors: Alcohol, Apple, Baby Powder, Buckwheat, Caramel, Chestnut, Orange Blossom, Overripe Cherries, Perfume, Viscous, Wood, Woody
DF Advent — Day 5
Not sure what panettone tastes like. Regardless, this was fine if not disappointing. It smelled great, like white chocolate orange chip cookies but was a bit watery in taste and it produced a drying catch in my throat. The most memorable part of the taste was of jeweled, candied orange.
Flavors: Biting, Bread, Orange, Sugar, Watery, Wood
Glad I’m not the only one who’s never had panettone.
They come in all different types of flavours, but basically like an eggy/custardy sort of cross between a brioche bread and cake is how I’d describe it? Someone brought one into work a few days ago that was rum raisin which was very good – but other flavours I see more popular in the grocery store would be orange w/ either nuts or spices, pistachio, chocolate chip, and even lemon.
Also it’s seemingly a pretty French European “dessert” – I’d heard of them before, but it wasn’t until moving to Quebec that I actually saw them widely available for purchase and here they make these MASSIVE front of store displays with giant pyramids of them.
DF Advent — Day 4
Enveloped with perfume, I was in some kind of aquatic-floral, fruity-oolong dreamy wonderland.
Airy, sweet, floral, fruity, soft viscous, dewy cool. Blue water lillies, aloe, melon, plum, hawthorn, jasmine. The acacia note was something I’d never experienced before and it was beautiful.
This tea moves like the sound of a harp played among a collection of fountains in a lush garden.
Would love to have a tin of this!
Flavors: Airy, Aloe, Floral, Flowers, Fruit Tree Flowers, Fruity, Honeydew, Perfume, Plum, Soft, Sweet, Viscous
DF Advent — Day 3
Very strong heady and floral honeyed peach aroma. Viscous body, not quite sweet but almost. I enjoyed how the aroma plays with the mineral and herbal taste of the verbena. The base green tea seems like Chinese sencha — toast-vegetal-dry grass, and kind of tastes a bit separated from the rest of what’s going on. Regardless, I enjoyed this tea immensely due to it’s texture and long, floral and fruity peach aftertaste. Had hot, it was thrilling, but once the second steep reached room temperature, it did not impress.
Flavors: Dry Grass, Fruit Tree Flowers, Herbal, Herbs, Honey, Mineral, Peach, Perfume, Toast, Vegetal, Viscous
DF Advent — Day 2
Earl Grey des Seigneurs is very robust, so strong that I added a little eggnog to the cup. Doing so surprisingly drowned out a lot of what was going on with the base tea but the bergamot did come through as a little sparkle. Plain, it’s simultaneously bright and heavy, tannic and smooth. The Assam leaf clearly steals the show from Yunnan. If I had this in the future, I’d steep it for less than the recommended time. I’ve had other Earl Greys more to my preference.
Flavors: Bergamot, Bright, Brown Sugar, Citrusy, Drying, Fig, Floral, Fruity, Grapefruit, Hay, Heavy, Incense, Oats, Raisins, Round, Smooth, Woody
Good morning. Got a lot of backlogs to work my way through. I bought a Dammann Frères advent calendar for both myself and Kiki, but since I don’t live with her anymore, it’s been difficult to coordinate drinking the teas together. Hoping in January I can spend some time making tea for her and logging her reactions.
For now, these are mine and many are gonna be short.
DF Advent — Day 1
If you’ve been disappointed by mango-flavored teas and are still pining for an accurate presentation, Bella Blanca might be what you’re looking for. Full-bodied and viscous with a potentially earthy, white tea hay taste. Bergamot rings the high note. The mango is lovely, sitting comfortably in the midtone with it’s sweet, fruity notes and faint edge of pine. An almond cookie flavor softens everything and ties it all together. Don’t steep it too hot or too long, though, as it can get bitter and very strong. Maybe go less than the recommended steep time.
Flavors: Almond, Bergamot, Cookie, Earthy, Fruity, Hay, Mango, Pine, Tropical, Viscous
Six years later I’m finally breaking into the cake I bought after trying a sample and falling hard. Drinking puerh allows me to reflect on the passage of time, to be reminded of all the joys and sorrows that have occurred between one pot and the next. I’m overwhelmed with emotion right now without the words to convey.
<3
Flavors: Ash, Camphor, Cedar, Forest Floor, Geosmin, Leather, Mineral, Peat, Peppercorn, Rich, Seashell, Spicy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Woodsy
Preparation
I still have a bit of my first ever sheng and when I see it I remember sending some to K S to try and I miss him being on here with us.
what a beautiful reminder, sending love to the other side of the Earth <3
This was an amazing tea. And when a nice reminder hits, it’s maybe even better. I read my notes and indeed it reminded me joys and sorrows between drinking and today.
