95
drank Je t'Aime by THEODOR
303 tasting notes

Oh, okay, wow. So I’m having quite the The O Dor sample party today, courtesy of Ysaurella, cteresa and the EU swap box. Before yesterday, I was a The O Dor virgin, but things are getting pretty depraved pretty fast over here.

All these preconceived notions of what I’m going to like are so often completely turned on their heads when I try out a brand new company. I thought Lupicia’s blacks would be insufferable (but it turns out they’re just as amazing as their greens and oolongs) and I thought Butiki’s flavoured teas would be right up my alley (turns out I prefer the plain ones) and I thought I’d like Damman Frères far more than Comptoir des Thés et des Epices (a million times no).

And here I was, convinced this tea would be just average, and that Celebration would have to be the most desirable in the entire The O Dor kingdom.

As it turns out, I realized chocolate teas don’t really do it for me, even if there’s hazelnut and vanilla involved… and that this tea is gorgeous. Seriously, the last time I had a tea experience like this was with Lupicia’s Cookie. (And you all know how I feel about Cookie.)

I did a double take smelling the sample, because it was so rich and lovely. I always talk about the wild card, that inexplicable something, and there it was, in the dry tea already. And this teal is solid and reliable, because that something stays there all the way, both scent wise and flavour wise. There’s a perfect, creamy intermingling of coconut and pistachio, with an aftertaste that is all smooth vanilla with this slight floral hint that literally makes me smile.

My mnemonic analogy (there always seems to be one hard-wired into some part of my brain, after all) emanates from memories of love, suitably. When you’ve been in love, and you’ve loved, and you think you’ve got it all figured out, and then you meet that goddamn person who just turns everything upside down and shows you what all those stupid songs and books and movies were really about.

Je T’aime – the evolution of love, in a tea cup.

(You will be my special coconut and pistachio tea forever.)

[Sample from the second round of the EU Travelling Box, spring 2014.]

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 30 sec
__Morgana__

I have a bunch of The O Dor and this is making me want to break them out.

Sil

this makes me miss the du loup…

Anna

Do it, Morgana, I want to read your notes.

Oh, Sil, you and your wolfbrew. Cherchez le loup!

Ysaurella

I had a sample of this one thanks to cteresa. Unfortunately I didn’t love it as such as I thought but need to give a second try.You brew it hoter than I did and it may do the difference

Anna

Then again, you get more mileage out of Celebration. I brewed them more or less the same, but this one seems less sensitive, somehow.

Terri HarpLady

I don’t think I’ve tried any, or very many, or The O Dor’s teas. Now I want to.

Ysaurella

we can arrange this easily Terri, just let me know

Sil

..uh i think you should send teas to terri…through me…yeaaaah..that’s it. ;)

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Comments

__Morgana__

I have a bunch of The O Dor and this is making me want to break them out.

Sil

this makes me miss the du loup…

Anna

Do it, Morgana, I want to read your notes.

Oh, Sil, you and your wolfbrew. Cherchez le loup!

Ysaurella

I had a sample of this one thanks to cteresa. Unfortunately I didn’t love it as such as I thought but need to give a second try.You brew it hoter than I did and it may do the difference

Anna

Then again, you get more mileage out of Celebration. I brewed them more or less the same, but this one seems less sensitive, somehow.

Terri HarpLady

I don’t think I’ve tried any, or very many, or The O Dor’s teas. Now I want to.

Ysaurella

we can arrange this easily Terri, just let me know

Sil

..uh i think you should send teas to terri…through me…yeaaaah..that’s it. ;)

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Profile

Bio

I’m going to try all the teas.

Then I will choose a lucky few perfect specimens, and we will live happily together in my tea cupboard.

Forever.

* *

2015

This will be a year of in-betweenness and logistics. Where to put the teas. How to arrange the teas. Which teas to replenish – which ones to say goodbye to.

Still doing Project Green.
Still doing Project Jasmine.
Still doing Project Peach.

Dr. Tea is the name, I’m ahead of my game
still, steeping my leafs, still f*ck with the temps
still not loving Assam (uh-huh)
still rock my Bosch kettle with its high-pitched shriek
still got love for the greens, repping Lupicia
still the cup steams, still doing my thang
since I left, ain’t too much changed, still

(With apologies to Mr. Young.)

2014

This year, all bets are off. I am going to drink both peppermint and chamomile and possibly suffer a little. But it’s okay – it’s for science.

I’m doing Project Jasmine, Project Peach and Project Unflavoured Green.

In terms of flavoured teas, Lupicia and Mariage Frères have become my massive favourites, and I have learned that Dammann Frères/Fauchon/Hédiard and Butiki aren’t really for me.

The O Dor, Adagio and Comptoir des thés et des épices are all on this year’s I’d like to get to know you better list.

2013

Getting back into tea drinking last fall, I was all about rooibos. This past spring has been all green tea, all the time, with some white additions over the summer. Currently attempting a slow, autumnal graduation to black teas. Oolongs are always appropriate.

The constant for me, flavour wise, is the strong presence of fruity and floral notes. Vanilla is lush, as long as it’s not artificial. Peach, berries, mango. Cornflower, rose, lavender.

No peppermint.

No chamomile.

No cinnamon.

Ever.

* *

My ratings don’t reflect the ‘What does this tea do for me?’ standard, but rather my own ‘What would I do for this tea?’ scale.

100-90
My absolute favourites. Teas I would travel for – or, in any case, pay exuberant postage for, because they simply have to be in my cupboard. Generally multi-faceted teas with complex scents and flavours. Teas with personality. Tricky teas.

89-80
Teas I wouldn’t hesitate to buy again if and when I came across them. Tea purchases I would surreptitiously weave into a travel itinerary (Oh! A Lupicia store! Here?! My word!).

79-70
Teas I enjoyed, but don’t necessarily need to make any kind of effort to buy again.

69-0
Varying degrees of disinterest and contempt.

Location

Rome, Italy

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