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I recently tried Fleur de Sureau et Pêche Bio, a tea blend from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

I love this tea so much! The peach is clear, and yet it does not overpower the elderflower, which is also very noticeable. It’s a perfect balance of flavors.

- Temperature: 95°C
- Time: 2 min (initial steep), followed by consecutive 30s/1min steeps
- Tea Amount: 2.5 g
- Water Volume: A bit less than 80 mL (in my gaiwan)

I went for an initial steep at 95°C for 2 minutes, followed by consecutive 30-second/1-minute steeps. The point here was to see how concentrated the taste could be, and it was worth it. The tea has a very subtle yet distinctive taste, making it a perfect morning brew.

The flavors are clear, with the elderflower and peach both shining through without overpowering each other. It’s a delightful blend that offers a refreshing start to the day.

Flavors: Clear, Elderflower, Peach

- Flavor Complexity: 28/30 – Exceptional blend of flavors, well-balanced.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 18/20 – Performs well even with varying steep times.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 18/20 – Maintains flavor profile through multiple steeps, though slightly fades.
- Overall Enjoyment: 21/30 – Highly enjoyable, though slightly lacking in intensity over time.

- yaro

I recently tried Grand Jasmin Mao Feng, a jasmine tea from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

Preparation:

- Temperature: 165°F / 73°C
- Time: 0 min, 30 sec
- Tea Amount: 5 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

Palais des Thés calls this one subtle and creamy. Let’s see, we steep at 75°C with a steep of 25 seconds.

Slightly bitter, jasmine lacks definition, shocking for this price point.

Bitter, bitter, bitter and gross. It’s not all over the place though; I can see that the jasmine itself is the cause of the bitterness, like drinking ear wax: ew.

Oh wow, this is just bad, bad bad bad. Where’s the creaminess? Where’s the subtlety? I cannot describe how bitter this is; it’s like ear wax with extra ear wax.

Worst jasmine tea I’ve had, and I wish I was kidding.

Flavors: Bitter, Jasmine, Wax

- Flavor Complexity: 5/30 – Lacks depth and is overwhelmingly bitter.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 5/20 – Very sensitive to brewing parameters, easily becomes undrinkable.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 5/20 – Consistently unpleasant across multiple steeps.
- Overall Enjoyment: 5/30 – Not enjoyable at all.

- yaro

I recently tried Grand Yunnan Impérial, a black tea from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

Preparation:

- Temperature: 205°F / 96°C
- Time: 0 min, 15 sec
- Tea Amount: 5 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

After a disappointing initial attempt with a steep time of 45 seconds resulting in strong bitterness, I decided to switch to Gong Fu style brewing to explore the tea’s potential further.

For the first infusion, I steeped the tea for about 10 seconds, aiming to quickly extract the flavor without letting it become bitter.

The second infusion was very relaxing, with the expected bitterness for a black tea. However, it didn’t exhibit any outstanding characteristics beyond being a standard Yunnan black tea.

The third infusion revealed the tea’s potential as the bitterness subsided, leaving a lighter and more enjoyable experience. This infusion was particularly praised.

With the fourth infusion, the bitterness became more pronounced, but no significant difference was noted compared to the third infusion.

In conclusion, Grand Yunnan Impérial proved to be a non-exceptional yet pleasant black tea. It exhibited slightly less bitterness than expected, making it suitable for casual consumption.

- Flavor Complexity: 12/30 – Some enjoyable moments but lacks distinctive or exceptional flavors.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20 – Not particularly forgiving, shorter steeps are more successful.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 15/20 – Variations in experience across infusions, some inconsistency.
- Overall Enjoyment: 13/30 – Pleasant but not memorable or impressive.

- yaro

I recently tried Pu Erh Lin Cang BIO, a tea from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

This is my first pu’er tea, and maybe my last dark pu’er for a while. I’m still new to tea, and this one is a bit challenging for me. While the earthiness wasn’t too strong and I could distinctly sense the typical pu’er aroma, I admit it’s just too out there for me. However, it’s an overall good tea that needs to be tried.

- Temperature: 205°F / 96°C
- Steeping Time: 0 min, 30 sec
- Tea Amount: 4 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 mL

I brewed it with 30-second steeps, using 4g of tea per 100mL of water. The experience was okay, but it didn’t quite match my taste preferences.

The tea has a strong earthy flavor and a viscous texture, which are typical characteristics of pu’er tea. While some may enjoy these qualities, I found them to be too intense for my liking.

Flavors: Earthy, Viscous

- Flavor Complexity: 10/30 – Offers a traditional pu’er flavor but lacks subtlety.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 12/20 – Can become too intense if not brewed carefully.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 15/20 – Maintains a consistent flavor profile across multiple steeps.
- Overall Enjoyment: 10/30 – An acquired taste, but enjoyable for those who appreciate strong, earthy notes.

- yaro

I recently tried Sencha Ariake, a green tea from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

Preparation:

- Temperature: 160°F / 71°C
- Time: 2 min, 0 sec
- Tea Amount: 5 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

I had some pretty negative apprehensions when I was about to try this tea. Like many others, I find most Japanese teas to be too herbal, even vegetably, with that typical astringency found especially in cheaper ones. For Matchas and Senchas, it’s not uncommon to find herbal notes mixed with a strong and direct bitterness that overshadows other subtleties. But this wasn’t one of those cases. In fact, it is one of the only senchas I was able to drink gong fu style — albeit with some consequences.

There are many reasons why Sencha isn’t really compatible with gong fu style. Its finely cut needle-like leaves are hard to block, and Sencha is usually infused for long periods of time. A kyusu thus being the more logical vessel to be used, and more generally, the tea itself doesn’t benefit much from a tea “cleaning” per se since the leaves are already broken. So I’m going to drink that 1st steep anyways.

With all that in mind, I tried a different method. First, I would infuse for 2 minutes at 71°C, then I would make two more 20s steeps, any more would be too bitter. Here’s how it went:

The herbal notes were prominent in the first steep, with minimal bitterness. However, allowing the tea to cool slightly increased its bitterness.

The bitterness overwhelmed the second steep, rendering it almost undrinkable. The vegetable-like taste remained present but overshadowed.

By the third steep, the herbal notes had disappeared entirely, leaving behind a strong bitterness akin to drinking ear wax.

Alright, although it may seem as if I hated this tea, this is truly one of the most surprising ones I’ve tried so far. The first thing that came to my mind when I drank that first steep was “fresh.” It was just fresh and very vegetably, like cucumber water. Just for that first steep, and the shock that it caused, this tea deserves more recognition.

Flavors: Cucumber, Fresh, Herbal, Vegetables

- Flavor Complexity: 18/30 – Good initial complexity, but quickly fades.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 12/20 – Sensitive to steeping times and temperature, can become overly bitter.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 10/20 – Noticeable decline in flavor quality after the first steep.
- Overall Enjoyment: 15/30 – The initial surprise and freshness make it enjoyable, despite the later bitterness.

- yaro

I recently tried Thé des Alizés, a tea blend from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

Preparation:

- Temperature: 170°F / 76°C
- Time: 0 min, 30 sec
- Tea Amount: 5 g
- Water Volume: 4 oz / 120 ml

A very similar profile to their Thé du Louvre. When hot, this tea is much more subtle, but the flavors are extremely superficial, and just like the Thé du Louvre, there’s a slight acidity that lingers in the aftertaste.

Hot, this tea now keeps this acidity. It’s not as bad as Thé du Louvre, but it’s definitely noticeable and I don’t get any of the white peach, kiwi, or watermelon. Although that could be the source of the acidity.

Now the acidity, just like in the Thé du Louvre, has completely destroyed this tea. Nothing to get out of it, unfortunately. What a shame.

The Thé des Alizés fails to deliver the expected flavors of white peach, kiwi, or watermelon. The persistent acidity ruins the overall experience, making this tea blend highly disappointing.

- Flavor Complexity: 8/30 – Very superficial flavors with dominant acidity.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 10/20 – Acidity persists and worsens over infusions.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 7/20 – Consistently disappointing across multiple steeps.
- Overall Enjoyment: 10/30 – Unpleasant due to persistent acidity.

- yaro

- Temperature: 175°F / 79°C
- Time: 3 min, 0 sec
- Tea Amount: 4 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

For this tasting, I experimented with a gaiwan and utilized a somewhat unconventional brewing method: 79°C water temperature, 4g of tea per 100ml of water, steeped for 3 minutes for the initial steep, followed by constant 10-second steeps.

The second steep revealed plenty of jasmine notes upfront, accompanied by a strong clove-like taste and some floral notes. Unfortunately, the experience was marred by an incredibly bitter aftertaste.

As I continued steeping, the floral notes became more pronounced, with the jasmine dominating completely and leaving no room for any other aroma.

Despite the bitterness in the second steep, I found the blend to be quite enjoyable overall. The complexity of flavors, particularly in the second steep, was remarkable and not something encountered in most teas. While the unconventional brewing method may have contributed to the bitterness, I believe that proper gongfu style brewing could yield better results.

- Flavor Complexity: 18/30 – Rich in jasmine and clove notes but overly dominated by jasmine in later steeps.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 10/20 – Requires careful brewing to avoid bitterness.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 12/20 – Maintains a strong flavor profile, but bitterness impacts enjoyment.
- Overall Enjoyment: 15/30 – Enjoyable despite the challenges in brewing, but not exceptional.

- yaro

I recently tried Thé du Hammam, a tea blend from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

- Temperature: 170°F / 76°C
- Time: 3 min, 15 sec
- Tea Amount: 2 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

Thé du Hammam was quite a shocker for me. My experience doesn’t seem to fit what I expected. It’s sweet and subtle, both traits that are important for a tea that describes itself as inspired by oriental hammam’s scents.

Here’s my issue, out of the four elements of the tea, only two seem to be noticeable, with one overpowering the other: the green date (notable in the aftertaste) and the rose (subtle at the front of the taste). The green date is something I never expected in a tea, providing a very refreshing form of sweetness, while the rose adds a nice touch for that Hammam-like taste. However, I didn’t detect any signs of orange flower water or red fruits.

This is a recurring theme in Palais des Thés flavored teas; they tend to be too perfumy, lacking much-needed substance. While some of their recipes hit the mark, this one falls short in delivering a well-balanced flavor profile.

I have tried this tea twice, once in a gaiwan with 30-second steeps at 75°C and 2.5g/100ml, and once in a teapot with 6g/300ml, 75°C, steeped for 3 minutes. Unfortunately, both experiences have been disappointing so far.

I am sad because I deeply wanted to love this tea, but for Palais des Thés teas, I think I’ll just stick to their pure teas.

Flavors: Dates, Rose

- Flavor Complexity: 10/30 – Limited complexity, with dominant but unbalanced flavors.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 10/20 – Sensitive to brewing parameters, easily becomes perfumy.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 8/20 – Fails to maintain a consistent flavor profile.
- Overall Enjoyment: 8/30 – Disappointing and not enjoyable overall.

- yaro

Preparation:

- Temperature: 167°F / 75°C
- Time: 0 min, 20 sec
- Tea Amount: 2 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

This tea is part of the list of the [teas I got this month](https://skoomaden.me/posts/teas-arriving-in-may/).
It was recommended to me by a person I know is as big of a tea enthusiast as I am!
As always, I prepared this tea Gong Fu style, using a gaiwan for steeping and a small transparent cup to see the color accurately.

Now let’s see how Palais Des Thés describes this tea:

From Palais des Thés:

“The fruit of a collaboration between the Louvre Museum and Palais des Thés, the thés du Louvre are fragrant new blends which pay homage to the two faces of the Louvre: the monumental aspect of the palace with its elegant architecture and the poetic charm of the Tuileries Garden.
The Thé du Louvre – Garden Tea is reminiscent of a gentle stroll through the Tuileries Garden, between colourful flowerbeds and shady copses. A gourmet green tea with notes of apple, plum and quince."

I decided to steep the tea for 20 seconds for the first infusion, as I wanted to get a good idea of the tea’s flavor and look, without letting it become too bitter.
Now, this is unusual; first steeps are almost always meant to feed my tea pets and warm up the cups, but this time, I was really curious about this famed tea.

The color was a light yellow. The taste was light, with a slight acidity that was quite unpleasant. The bitterness was also present, but not overwhelming.
It was definitely not as round and sweet as I expected.

Of course, this is the real deal. The second infusion is where the tea really shines, right?

Well, not really. The taste was still quite light, with the same acidity and bitterness as the first infusion.
That acidity I mentioned earlier was still lingering, directly affecting the overall taste of the tea.
As I feared, and as I keep experiencing with Palais Des Thés’ flavored teas, it is more about smelling the tea than tasting it…

Bye-bye (?) acidity, hello sourness.
After this steep, I started seriously asking myself what was wrong with this tea. The acidity was still there, hiding the floral notes, polluting the aftertaste.
Unlike a citrus-y acidity, refreshing and invigorating, this one was more like a bad grape juice, leaving a bad taste in the mouth.

Gone is the acidity, gone is the sourness.

Here, I tried both drinking it hot and letting it cool down a bit.
However, both methods tasted the same.

The taste was now quite light, with a slight bitterness and a slight floral note.
No more of that horrible bad grape juice taste, but also no more of the original flavor.

Crazy how good this tea got after it lost all its flavor, right?

Less flavor, hot water with a hint of nothing and some floral notes.
Honestly, it keeps getting better as it loses its flavor, I really don’t know how to feel about that, but what remains of the acidity reminds me of the reason why I don’t like this tea.

Bear in mind that this is not my first time trying a flavored tea from Palais Des Thés, nor is it my first time being disappointed by one.
I have tried a few of their flavored teas, and I have yet to find one that I really enjoy.
Truth be told, this isn’t my first time trying this tea either, but I wanted to give it another chance by trying it gong fu style.

Palais des Thés, like many other tea companies, has a reputation for making high-quality teas, and I have no doubt that this is true.
Their pure teas are excellent, although their Bai Mu Dan and Grand Jasmin Mao Feng disappointed me greatly.
However, their flavored teas are a different story: Teas that smell like a dream, but taste like perfume. They’re uninteresting, and more often than not, downright disgusting.

I was really hoping that this tea would be different, but it was not.
To be fair, it’s not the worst tea I’ve had from there, far from it, I’d even go as far as to say it’s not a bad tea, it’s just a tea, like an adventure that is only memorable after it’s ended, it’s only good when the session is closing to an end; it’s too bad really.

I couldn’t be happier I was recommended this tea, as it was a great opportunity finally to find the words to describe why I don’t like Palais Des Thés’ flavored teas.

- Flavor Complexity: 12/30 – Limited and unbalanced flavor profile.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 10/20 – Slight improvement with each steep, but overall disappointing.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 8/20 – Inconsistent and unremarkable across steeps.
- Overall Enjoyment: 12/30 – Slightly enjoyable as it loses flavor, but not enough to recommend.

- yaro

I recently discovered a tea curiosity labeled as “White Pu Erh Brick.” The packaging was minimalist, almost bare, with the brick itself resembling a chocolate bar, each “bar” weighing 30g. Intrigued, I spent nearly 20 Euros for a 150g total.

- Temperature: 95°C
- First Steep: 10 sec
- Tea Amount: 30 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

Initially, the concept of a White Pu Erh was… shocking to say the least. It’s definitely quite unconventional. My first infusion revealed a stark peach-colored soup.

The tea’s clarity in appearance paralleled its taste—crisp, rounded, devoid of any bitterness or typical earthy notes expected in traditional Pu Erh. Surprisingly, it possessed the delicate characteristics of white tea but none of the expected Pu Erh flavors. Quite misleading…

This White Pu Erh Brick defied my expectations, offering one of the most fulfilling and stable white tea experiences. It was refreshingly straightforward and lacked the earthiness of a typical Pu Erh, making it an excellent choice for those seeking a pure and gentle tea. It’s vastly superior to the Bai Mu Dan offerings from Palais des Thés, which I will soon review.

The subtlety of the flavor profile ensures that the taste does not linger excessively, making it an ideal companion to meals. Its light yet noticeably caffeinated nature suggests it could serve as an excellent morning tea.

Given the price of about 10 Euros online for 150g, this tea offers exceptional value for money.

Flavors: Clear, Round, Delicate

- Flavor Complexity: 27/30 – Exceptional clarity and subtlety, well-rounded.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 18/20 – Maintains its delicate profile across multiple steeps.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 20/20 – Surprisingly consistent and stable flavor.
- Overall Enjoyment: 25/30 – Highly enjoyable, especially for those seeking a gentle, refreshing tea.

- yaro