Noël à Manhattan

Dammann Frères Advent 2021 – Day 24

I ate some roasted chestnuts a couple of days ago at the Vancouver (German) Christmas Market – so, now that the memory is fresh I feel more confident saying the anise and orange aid in bringing forward that chestnut flavouring! Like “Montreal”, sometimes the anise hits in a certain way which dissociates me from chestnuts, but when it’s blending in I enjoy it. Sometimes the orange clementine becomes prominent as well, and I get spiced chocolate orange flavour (the only time I notice the chocolate is when the orange breaks away. Weird eh). The maple is so light I barely register it except as ideal sweetness. I don’t pick up on the apple at all. Perfect.

I actually enjoy the green base with this profile; it’s a smooth, slightly vegetal template for the decadent flavours. It’s on the drying side though.

After two samples of Montreal and this one, I think the ingredients are mercurial in how they poke through. Today it’s working beautifully; I wish I’d had this in my travel mug at the market to pair with all the good food I ate!

Dammann Frères Advent Day 21 (21-February 2021)

The puffed rice blends nicely with the green base and both the chocolate and orange are here. I really enjoy DF’s chocolate flavour, it makes me think of a thin chocolate biscuit one might have with tea. There are hints of anise and hazelnut, but they stay in the background and are a lovely addition.

A really liked this one too. This one will definitely make its way into a future DF order!

2020 Advent Calendar – Day 21. Ohh, how I wanted to try this one! It sounded right up my alley. I LOVE chestnuts. They remind me of my childhood in Paris. Coming out of a Metro station and getting roasted chestnuts wrapped in newspaper paper from a street vendor. Add maple syrup, chocolate, apples and clementines and it sounds like an unexpected twist. In other words, it was love at first sight (on the website at least).

But in my sleepy state this morning, I forgot it was a green tea and brewed it too hot and too long. Argh… So annoyed with myself. I’m trying to take the bitterness out of the equation since it’s probably my fault, but even then, I can’t find the deliciousness I was anticipating. I do get a sort of candied chestnuts which makes sense since I sweeten my teas, and a light bright citrusy zest. The licorice is also present and I don’t know what to do with it. I actually love anis but it’s a little confusing. And as for the chocolate, I smelled it but I barely tasted it. I feel like this tea and I are miscommunicating. It wants to tell me something, and I’m getting something else entirely. And it doesn’t help that I started this “conversation” on the wrong foot entirely.

I’m going to try to do a second steep to see if I can still pull off a good cup of tea. I do wonder if it’s too late now that I have burned the leaves on the first steep. Finger crossed.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 21 (from November backlog)

This one sounds interesting – a green tea with star anise, chestnut, maple, chocolate, clementine, and popcorn? I can’t imagine what this will taste like! The sachet has a very potent anise aroma that gives me pause… Ah well, here we go!

Well… It’s interesting for sure. The star anise is definitely the strongest note here, though it’s possible I got unlucky with my sachet. I do taste a bit of clementine in the middle of the sip, which adds a nice brightness. The end is all maple syrup, which is lovely as I generally find maple teas underwhelming. It tastes very much like real maple syrup as well, which is astonishing.

What a weird combination this is. The star anise is so overpowering, I have to wonder if I just happened to get extra in my sachet. It mostly tastes like black licorice, ha ha. I would be interested to try it again to compare, but I suppose I’ll have to settle for reading others’ advent notes. ;)

Advent 21.

The dry sachet smells a lot like candied chestnuts and artificial chocolate flavor coated hazelnuts with some mandarin orange zest.

The base tea feels like a mix between alkaline-bitter and oceanic-saline . It has a bothersome astringency and dries out my mouth. Guessing it’s a sencha. And I don’t think it at all goes well with the artificial-tasting chocolate and maple flavors. Slight hint of puffed rice. Finishes fruity and very drying. Gets prickly bitter when allowed to cool. Second steep was the same.

I like the concept but think it would taste better on a different green tea base, something that better complements the sweet flavors of chocolate, maple and chestnut, and even the mandarin orange, so maybe a Dragon Well. As it is, I’m surprised I drank two cups.