Dammann Frères

Cold Brew!

So, I set this tea up to cold brew in the fridge before I started showing symptoms/feeling sick and by the time it was ready to be strained I was deep into feeling like trash. It took my so long to build up the mental and phsyical energy to strain this, and then when I did I was so congested that I really couldn’t taste much else other than the sourness and tartness of the hibiscus. Mind you that this is a very hibiscus forward tea even under normal circumstances, but I just totally lost any nuance to the other flavours that might have been present…

I still drank all of it though because cold drinks were something I was strongly craving while sick – probably because my fever was so high and I just felt constantly like a furnace. So hot! So, at the very least, this cold brew wasn’t a waste because it gave me some temporary relief from that sensation of being over heated.

Cold Brew!

This was today’s cold brew which I drank after I got home from work today. I definitely went a little heavy on the leaf, so this was a POTENT infusion – and that’s maybe saying something because there’s so much hibiscus in this blend that it’s hard for it to be anything but aggressively tart. The lychee is very, very mild – just a sort of hint of something juicy and floral in the top notes before that’s swiftly drowned out by the combination of hibiscus and lime.

I like the lime notes a lot, I just wish I could taste them a little more clearly. In fact, my biggest take away from this brew is that it’s good but it would be better if everything but the lychee was at minimum like 20% less strong.

Similar to the cold brew I had not too long ago, I do feel like this lacks the clarity of flavour I would want from a lychee tea. In fact it’s very hibiscus forward and, though it has a bright citrus-y top note that could be lime, that flavour dominates everything else. It’s fine tasting but I just think so disappointing giving the potential for how light, juicy and bright a lychee and lime blend could have been.

Cold Brew!

I guess this is supposed to be Lychee and Lime? At least, I think it is. My French is not very good even after three years of living in Montreal. It tasted nice and citrus-y with a lot of bright and tangy hibiscus notes, and a slight floral undertone. I suppose the floral was the lychee. I didn’t really feel like there was a lot of clarity to any of the flavours though; certainly not in the same way I’ve felt from some of DF’s other fruit blends.

For now I think I’m holding off on judgement until I’ve gotten to explore this one a few other times.

Sipdown! (87 | 184)

Another one from Courtney! ❤

I didn’t like this one quite as much as I expected to. It smells amazing, but somehow it doesn’t translate as well into the taste. I think it’s because the base is very earthy, while the fruity flavors are more light, so they end up being somewhat overpowered. For me, the peach is the most identifiable note, and there’s a slight creaminess to it. I think there’s a bit of tart, underripe strawberry? But it could also be the tartness of passion fruit, it’s difficult to tell. But the more I sip, the more I think strawberry, and there’s even a slight hint of candy.

Anyway, a bit disappointed in this one. Overall the flavor is quite muddy and the base has too strong of an earthy note to it. I definitely prefer their green teas for bright fruity flavors.

Steeped this up last night and it was very good while it was fresh and hot. Aromatic but still crisp and vegetal with notes of cinnamon to go alongside a bit of a more spicy leaning herbaceous basil body. As it cooled it definitely got both bitter and astringent though, and I found myself regretting not having drank the last third of the mug quicker.

Geek Steep S3E8 – The Flash

Oh hey, two months since I last posted any Geek Steep tasting notes and now I have FIVE episodes of backlog to do – so what better night to catch up than, like, six hours out from a flight? LOL.

Anyway, this is what I drank during out recording of the episode. There was no greater reasoning to my selection, as there sometimes is. I just looked at the tin and thought that this was exactly what I wanted in that moment. Very basil forward with a hint of cinnamon. It’s so herby forward, and the switch up from fruit/sweet profile was perfect for that day’s mood.

So, I think this cup was a lot closer to what I wanted my first one to be. It was very basil forward and that taste made for a deliciously crisp and refreshing cuppa that reminded me a lot of my grandma’s herd garden growing up – but also a bit Thai in influence as well. The cinnamon was lighter this go round, and more concentrated towards the finish and I thought it complimented the natural clove notes that were present within the basil itself. Very, very different but wouldn’t have it any other way!

I was surprised to see that DF was carrying a basil tea. That feels almost a little too out there for a brand as traditional as DF, but I’m a simple tea drinker. I see basil. I buy basil. Out of everything in my recent order, I thought the dry leaf of this tea smelled the best. Really aromatic, strong fresh basil with that almost anise-y spice to it!

There’s cinnamon in this tea too and I find that a little weird with basil. However, it’s such a particular type of cinnamon and a particular type of basil and I think because of that it kind of works!? Like, there’s a very Thai-influence to the flavour profile. I want more basil, but I think I’m probably way more accepting of a strong herbaceous flavour in tea that the average person is – so this is probably a pretty perfect strength to be commercially suited. I love that the slight spice/anise I was getting in the smell comes through in taste too, though!

Sipdown (1815)!

I recently placed a Dammann Freres order and this was one of the free sachet samples that was included. It was actually probably a really good sample pick because it’s something I definitely would not have selected for myself. I brewed it today and was pleasantly surprised, as well! Like most of DF’s blends, it’s not a heavily flavoured or sweet tea – but I did find it very aromatic and actually quite juicy for this particular style of tea blending. The most obvious note was a beautiful fresh orange that danced in the top notes and maintained in the body to a slightly milder extent. It was followed by a more floral and complex undertone of bergamot. Both citrus flavours, so obviously still very complimentary – but just a bit more “mature” tasting and less bright.

Would I buy this one? No, probably not – I don’t think I’d reach for it often enough. However, it was a very pleasant surprise and I’m glad I tried it because it was very fresh and pleasant.

I steeped this one up hot this afternoon and it’s akin to liquified raspberries. Very tasty, but I’m struggling to find any passionfruit. I’ll have to cold steep this one soon as I vaguely remember getting more passionfruit that way.

I enjoyed this steeped for 3 minutes with a splash of soy milk. This is a strong malty breakfast tea that takes milk well. I ordered this one as a potential replacement for A.C. Perch Kenya, but Kenya has a ‘cleaner’ taste overall and does slightly edge this one out.

Another sample found during my tea reorganization. I thought I might like this one best, but I really feel like it just left me confused. Some reviews say it was too sweet, but I didn’t find it that sweet, and I don’t add sugar or anything to my hot tea.

The blueberry is nice, and I found the chestnut rather strong, just nothing close to the overwhelming taste of one or two other chestnut teas I tried. (I’m looking at you, Adagio Chestnut.) I didn’t get the maple much. The blueberry and chestnut were shifting and eclipsing each other throughout the cup, thus my confusion.

Not one I am likely to order, but I enjoyed this cup. It’s probably just me.

Looking at tea-sippers review this morning, I nodded my head and said, “Same, same. All my teas are pretty visible so there aren’t any I have forgotten. How will I fulfill this prompt?”

Then I started moving a small bookcase we are repurposing and a chest full of tea and….guess what I found? TEA I HAD FORGOTTEN!

Granted it was only two samples that came with a gift on Mother’s Day, but I had completely forgotten they existed!

I was super excited at first because I knew banane was banana and I have never had a banana tea and so many of you are wild about them. But then I saw reviews that said, “Where’s the banana?” And I must concur.

The tea is lovely and has great blueberry flavor, but I didn’t taste banana. There was a moment, eyes closed, thinking hard, searching the flavor, where I THOUGHT that maybe, just maybe, the ghost of a banana floated by, but I wasn’t sure.

So it was a great tea and I am glad I had it to enjoy with my lunch, but I don’t think I can say I have really tried a banana tea yet.

DF Advent — Day 19

The green tea is fresher than the 100g bag I bought several years ago. A tea that would pair well with a damp spring day while sitting in the warm sun. White wine-like in character.

Another 100g gone mostly to iced tea; this is only my second cup hot.

This tea is clearly flavored to play on the character of Chinese sencha. Forward note of winey-catpissy black currant joined with a cool, subtle note of CHowards violet candies (I wouldn’t say this is a floral tea). These mix well with a touch of bitter almond and the toasty, pastry-like note of the Chinese sencha. I do think about macarons. There is also a bright and tangy quality like a glass of white wine. That sunniness combined with the grassy, slightly bitter and earthy quality of the green tea really connects with the black currant and violet in a way that conjures the feeling of having tea in a garden. This is a pleasant, delicately flavored experience in a cup.

The majority of the 100g was made as pitchers of thirst-quenching iced tea. Flavorful and just Dammann Freres in style.

I had only 1 serving of this prepared hot. Difficult to describe because the blending of flavors is so subtle, but it definitely tastes like summer fruits on a black tea base with a perfect level of bergamot. Is the pitanga responsible for the tangy fresh strawberry-cherry taste?

It’s a good tea but I’d really like the lotus to stand out. The rose feels like an afterthought.

Hot: This has a jammy strawberry taste with almost no hibiscus tartness when hot. It’s quite lovely and I always end up finishing my cup without even realising it.

Chilled: This one has a scent almost like those strawberry Campino candies (does anyone remember those?). The taste is much more hibiscus mixed with strawberry. The hibiscus is definitely toned down and I don’t really get any tartness. The overall flavour is quite nice.

This was part of my Mother’s Day gift from Superanna! Many thanks!

I am using this as my final May prompt for a tea with surprising (or was it unusual?) ingredients, because Japanese black is rare to me as is a tea being smoked over maple!

This tea is one of Dammann Freres’ Grand Cru line. I found only one other Japanese smoked black on Steepster and that was from tealyra, and it is smoked over cherry or sakura chips instead of maple.

I have had Dammann Freres’ L.S. Crocodile which is much smokier than this one, but this is still smokey enough for those who like that. I do!

Superanna and Ashman typically do not like smoke and I don’t even recall them getting past the smell to try it, but Superanna wanted to try this one. She liked it! (Ashman was taking a woodworking class from Roy Underhill and made me a Roubo bookstand which I have been VERY EXCITED about, so he wasn’t here to try it,)

I am thrilled that she liked it! I don’t know that I would have guessed right away that it was a Japanese black instead of a Chinese black tea as I have only had one or two other Japanese black teas and they were not smokey. You can definitely tell it is unique, though. This smoke was more campfire than smoked meat in aroma, and the tea was a little more drying than a Chinese base to me, which makes it go that much better with food. Yesterday we had it with Godiva chocolates that were part of my gift, and this morning I had it again with breakfast.

This came right on time, because I was nearly out of smoked lapsang!

This one was a sample that came from Derk.
It’s a unique combination of flavors and the combination of basil, lime, and cinnamon is really nice on the smooth green tea base. It’s very balanced like so many of the Dammann Freres teas I’ve tried and I thought I’d already reviewed it otherwise I would have paid more attention.

March 2022 Sipdown Challenge – A French tea

Been making mostly ambient-brewed pitchers of this tea. Today was the first time I prepared it hot.

A medium-oxidized black, the tea itself is juicy and glassy with a mild sparkling astringency and woody taste. I really want to know if Dammann Frères selects for these qualities in brewed leaf or if it’s an added ‘natural flavoring’ that creates this glassy-juicy effect consistently for me with many of their teas. I love it.

If there is a cocoa note inherent to this leaf, it is very subtle. The bergamot takes center stage but it is not bold or brash. The finger lime floats the peppery notes of the bergamot very well and in a lively way, where the pepper also meets with rose and wafts out of the cup. I like rose that is spicy rather than perfumey and this tea’s representation of rose is just that. Fuuug, this is some balanced tea.

EDIT Looks like the new recipe has no bergamot peel or oil but uses lemon peel. I’m befuddled. It tastes just like bergamot. Maybe my bag was from the old recipe.

Ambient-brewed pitchers are fantastically refreshing. According to friend Jacques, when added to a glass of scotch, not only does the cool tea unbutton the scotch as a bit of water would, it adds something mysterious.

thanks again for this one Crowkettle one i would have picked up myself and now i don’t have to. Really do enjoy DF and MF teas even when they’re not black teas haha. the flavouring is always subtle but spot on.