Mélange de Galice

Thank you so much cteresa for sharing some of this tea with me !
I should say right now : I like it but I prefer Nosy Bey from Dammann Frères.

Aroms of these two teas are really similar but different in the same time.Orchard peaches are just sublime in both blends.

First the scent of the dry leaf of Mélange de Galice is not as impressive as the Nosy Bey one : but it may be because the sample traveled a little by post mail.

Then, the vanilla seemed less present than in Nosy Bey.
The tea base is smooth and mellow, I really appreciate it.Everything is sweet in this Mélange de Galice and to me it is exactly what a peach & vanilla tea needs.

Cooling, the vanilla is more prominent.
The after taste is just sumptuous.

Nosy Bey, Mélange de Galice you are decadent teas ! I love that !!!

Geographical relativism is a bitch. I think my mental image, associations of Galicia, the region are pretty different than from a Parisian´s associations. For me it´s “up north”, “lá para cima”, morrinha and fog, cold summers, even colder waters than Moledo beach (brrrr), great shellfish, almond tarts, stone buildings and rias. That vibe for me is definitely northern and very atlantic. I would not associate it with peaches and vanilla nor with the sin of laziness exactly ((Thé-o-Dor associates most of their teas, whether black, green, infusion or unflavoured origins tea with a particular sin or quality. This is Laziness tea.) But I love Galicia, I was in the mood for a peach black tea, so hence the purchase.

I brewed this “wrong” and it turned out to be perfect after all. I accidentally dumped barely warm water on the tea pot already filled with a generous amount of dry leaf. Instead of trashing it at once I decided to see if it would be rescued and filled the rest of the pot with free boiling water and let it steep longer. By my calculations the water must have been 70-75 C at most, and I must have left it at least 6 minutes. It was a happy accident, I think it brew perfectly! Only quibble is that it cooled rapidly, the last of the tea was colder than I would prefer.

And this is just as advertised: real exhuberant peach flavour, with noticeable vanilla with an almondy, nutty quality underneath which I associate with Bourbon Vanilla in particular, and with just the right amount of body. The loose tea is filled with yellow petals, I don´t know if sunflowers or marigolds, can not really detect any influence from their presence. As the tea cools there is a strange change in flavour, it´s the Bourbon vanilla which is predominant, and the peach becames just the supporting role.

This is a great tea to be drinking in winter while wishing for summer! I will play around with different temperatures for it.

First teapot brewed with the sample sent by CTeresa. Thanks a lot, that was a good hit!
The smell of the dry leaves was very fruity appealing – definitely peachy.
I must confess I did not follow the instructions she had given me (80-85° for 5mn) as I did not feel like waiting long enough for the boiled water to cool to that temperature. And then I forgot to take it off after 3-4 mn and left it a whole 5 or 6.
It nevertheless turned perfect. The brew is very clear and nice to look at. The smell divine. And the flavors: very peach, though the vanilla left a very pleasant aftertaste and feeling all inside the mouth.
And I like that the tea base though delicate is not absent or tasteless as it can sometimes seem with some other blends.
I cannot compare with Nosy Bey that I have never tried but this sure is a win. I’ll try it again and compare it with both Boléro from Mariages and possibly Alfonso from TWG which both seem slightly similar in the “sweet and mellow fruit overload” department.

Okay – now this is the official sipdown

I had some left in the Breville from yesterday so I resteeped the tea leaves with some added water and the left overs for 8 mins at boiling. Maybe a little tacky but I like to think its more thrifty.

I’m going to miss this tea, doing this didn’t even wreck it. Good-bye friend! Until we meet again (or I have the courage to bear the shipping charges.)

A received a sample of this from Cteresa, thank you very much!.

Although this is arguably the best peach flavored black tea I’ve ever had, it still isn’t a favorite for me.

The black tea base is mellow and rather neutral. On the first steep the peach dominates nearly entirely. The vanilla notes stay firmly in the background, way back… The first steep is a bit too fresh peachy fruity to my taste. On the second steep the peach fades a bit so that the vanilla becomes more prominent. Due to that I actually like the second steep better (and that’s a first for me :-)).

Apparently peaches aren’t that much my thing or rather I prefer berries & vanilla to peaches & vanilla. As I do like peaches in itself, I think I’ll be looking to peaches in a more tropical setting next.

I got a sample of this tea from T (thank you again!). What can I say that she hasn’t said already? Almost nothing, so I’ll just say that I loved the peach and that I agree that it is lovely tea for cold winter days (and damn it, it is COLD here tonight!).
On a side note: my mother’s comment: “It’s too sweet”. Yeah, I’m still baffled by that too… maybe the peach?

Sipdown

This was a delicious peach and vanilla blend from a tea company that I will miss! I hope they do make a comeback! Their announcement looked as though they might one day.

It is difficult to taste an artificial peach these days and not think of my grandma, well more specifically the scent in my grandma’s bathroom. It’s the only place she used it and It. Was. Strong. The black base is nice and adds a move mellow tone to the peachy notes but the melancholy behind the notes is a bit too much for me to completely enjoy it. Though I do imagine this would be good with a spot of cream… Interesting. I added oat milk. It’s reminiscent of peach cobbler.

This tastes much better as it cools. The flavor is subtle. To be honest I wouldn’t be able to guess what flavor this is supposed to be, but I saw some flowers in the dry leaf, so I guess I can see some floral leanings. The black tea is high quality, and I’m having a nice time despite the flavor that’s a bit more subtle than I usually prefer. Thanks to the TTB for the chance to try this! Oh apparently this is supposed to be peach…I guess I can see that?

Advent calendar day 3
I thought this tasted a bit citrusy on the first steep and then muted peach on the second steep. I’m enjoying the second steep more than the first. Not something I would gravitate towards for a purchase, but perfect for a cup in an advent!