French Friday! Pulled this from the sampler bag from Dustin this morning, thank you!
…I had very little time to prepare tea this morning, so instead of coming to Steepster to look up the tea first, I just ran straight over to the kettle to start preparations. And for whatever reason, in my uncaffeinated state, the leaf looked like black leaf to me, so that’s how I prepared it… only to come back to Steepster, look up the tea for logging, and see this is a green tea. So basically, I’ve just scorched the hell out of these leaves (at least the second cup for the thermos will be the right temperature…)
Dry leaf had a strong grape aroma to me… a bit like grape, black current, and cranberry? It was pleasant. The steeped cup smells pretty much the same, with an emphasis on the grape note. It doesn’t taste too bad for dunking green tea leaves in 205F water, though there is a sharpness/brassiness coming out. It’s pretty subtle under the flavoring, which is strongly berry; purple grape candy, black current, blueberry… without any of those flavors being particularly distinct, but a fusion of each other. A bit of astringency on the end of the sip, it is more of a sharpness at the back of the tongue than bitter persay, with some mild drying. Hard to tell if that is a result of my brewing, or the tea itself. I’m attempting to carefully sip from the work thermos which was brewed at the proper 175F, and I’m uncertain if I can tell much difference. At least not enough that I see no reason to combine my cuppas in the thermos before leaving for work. Despite the harsh brew, I’m not in sink territory yet.
This one feels slightly more waxy on my tongue… I remember having that issue with Marco Polo too, and wonder if I’m more sensitive to the kind of scentings Mariage Freres uses compared to THEODOR. The flavor is very pleasant, I’m just not as much a fan of the mouthfeel compared to some of the other French teas I’ve tried thus far.
Flavors: Astringent, Berries, Black Currant, Blueberry, Candy, Drying, Grapes, Grass, Thick
Preparation
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I haven’t tried much Mariage Frères due to the price and so many things only being available in fancy tins.
Well, I am only now getting to dip my feet into French tea at all. Maybe it is the particular strength/way that Mariage Freres scents that doesn’t sit with me, but it could be the flavorings themselves; it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had sensitivities/reactions to certain flavorings. I think I’ve only tried two Mariage Freres now and both have left this sort of heavy, waxy feeling from their flavoring on my tongue that I don’t like. But I have never gotten that with the handful of THEODOR I’ve sampled thus far.
I’ve only tried a couple of their teas as well, but I don’t remember noticing that? I’ll have to pull one of them out to have next.
It could very well be a “Sara’s weird tongue” (the same tongue that likes straight, unfettered hibiscus, mind) thing. I know I’ve had some flavorings (from other companies) in the past where I got weird metallic notes that pretty much no other tasting note noticed or had any issues with. (Even more mind-boggling is it often is only certain flavorings and not all flavorings by a single company when I do get weird reactions). Since the chemical makeup of flavors is not disclosed (they are just “natural” or “artificial” with no real idea what is in them) I don’t really have a way to pinpoint what it could be my body seems to react to.
I haven’t tried much Mariage Frères due to the price and so many things only being available in fancy tins.
Well, I am only now getting to dip my feet into French tea at all. Maybe it is the particular strength/way that Mariage Freres scents that doesn’t sit with me, but it could be the flavorings themselves; it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had sensitivities/reactions to certain flavorings. I think I’ve only tried two Mariage Freres now and both have left this sort of heavy, waxy feeling from their flavoring on my tongue that I don’t like. But I have never gotten that with the handful of THEODOR I’ve sampled thus far.
I’ve only tried a couple of their teas as well, but I don’t remember noticing that? I’ll have to pull one of them out to have next.
It could very well be a “Sara’s weird tongue” (the same tongue that likes straight, unfettered hibiscus, mind) thing. I know I’ve had some flavorings (from other companies) in the past where I got weird metallic notes that pretty much no other tasting note noticed or had any issues with. (Even more mind-boggling is it often is only certain flavorings and not all flavorings by a single company when I do get weird reactions). Since the chemical makeup of flavors is not disclosed (they are just “natural” or “artificial” with no real idea what is in them) I don’t really have a way to pinpoint what it could be my body seems to react to.