Dammann Frères

Sipdown! (12 | 85)

Another one from Courtney!

So I tried steeping it a bit less for this second pot, because the first time I didn’t find much bergamot here. But the shorter steep doesn’t seem to have helped much.

The rooibos here is nice, it has a biscuity sort of quality and doesn’t taste medicinal at all. And there’s just a little hint of bergamot, but I would like a lot more.

So pleasant enough to drink, but not something I would order for myself.

Dammann Frères Advent Day 6 (6-February 2021)

This smells just like Market Spice! I miss having Market Spice in my cupboard at all times.

I love the spicy sweetness of this tea, with hints of the orange bursting through. True to DF style, it’s more subtle than other MS teas I’ve had, but very enjoyable. Another tea I’d order in the future.

Dammann Frères Advent Day 5 (5-February 2021)

We were both so excited about this, but the ginger ruins it. I wish it was just lime and passionfruit, because it would be amazing, but the ginger overpowers everything.

Dammann Frères Advent Day 4 (4-February 2021)

I really enjoyed the dry scent, like a sweet almond cookie, which translated to the steeped scent as well. The chocolate flavour is the same as Mon Petit Chocolat. The chocolate flavour is more prominent and the almond highlights. A loved it too!

Edit March 2023: Now that I’ve made it through 100g of this, I think I’d rather a sample in the future to see if another 100g is needed.

Sipdown! (4 | 77)

I finished all of my subscription teas, and that section of my countertop organizer was conspicuously empty. So I decided to fill it with my remaining swap samples from Courtney and work on finishing them off!

Without looking at the description, I thought this was a rhubarb and cream sort of tea. I wasn’t that far off I suppose, but actually it’s red fruits with vanilla and toffee. Maybe it’s the combination with the rooibos that’s making me think of B&B’s Rhubarb + Custard.

Anyway! It’s perfectly tasty, though I could use just a bit more flavoring and I don’t really get toffee at all. It’s fairly rooibos-forward, which isn’t a big issue for me, but I know it could be for other people. It’s not one that I would buy because of the similarity to Rhubarb + Custard, but it was enjoyable to try. Thanks, Courtney!

Dammann Frères Advent Day 3 (3-February 2021)

The apple is clearly there, yet not overpowering. I really enjoy how the base and apple mellow each other out. The sweetness of the apple adds to this cup in a great way. I’m not sure if I get a lot of the other flavours, but I’m enjoying this tea as it is. This tea has a little floral in the scent, but it doesn’t translate into the flavour. The floral scent makes me think of DF’s Noël en Provence.

A is really enjoying this one too. I would consider ordering this one!

Dammann Frères Advent Day 2 (2-February 2021)

This smells like those dried blueberries added into instant porridge both dry and steeped. The taste has hints of blueberry with a distinct oolong base. There’s a slight mineral taste. I’m not sure where the banana is?

Dammann Frères Advent Day 1 (1-February 2021)

We are doing another advent for A’s birthday month!

This smells very marzipan-y but cut through with a tart cherry as well. Both of these flavours come through, but I would say this is more cherry with hints of marzipan. The cherry is very realistic. The cherry isn’t fresh, but more like a dried cherry that was once fresh. I can taste the most subtle hints of ginger spiciness and heat as the tea cools, but I’m going to try to drink it while it’s still hot so the ginger stays relatively hidden.

Sipdown! (71)

Another one from Courtney!

This is a fairly tasty one. I love dark fruit-flavored black teas, especially with blueberry. And this has a nice dark, syrupy-sweet berry flavor to it with a lot of rich jamminess.

I will say, the blackcurrant is definitely the strongest one here and it comes off a little bit candylike? It reminds me of these powdery sort of cassis candies that I’ve tried before. I do enjoy blackcurrant, but I find it nicer when there’s some tartness to it, like in blackcurrant jam.

So I wish there was more blueberry and blackberry here. But still enjoyable! Still searching for the perfect blueberry black tea… ;)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKrbLFpAQO2/

2021 sipdown no. 25

This smells very cherry-like. Almost on the edge of medicinal, but not quite. The cherry flavour here is quite lovely. It’s not exactly in the background, but also doesn’t overpower the base. It seems quite balanced. I wouldn’t turn down another cuppa of this, but I don’t know if I’d get through 100g on my own very quickly.

Thanks for the share Cameron :)

Sipdown! (50)

I really like the concept of this one, I just feel like it comes out tasting a bit bland?

I can definitely taste the buckwheat, which goes very well with the oxidized, slightly roasty oolong. There’s a bit of woody yet creamy vanilla that’s light but pleasant. But I’m not really getting the clementine at all in this cup, and I really feel like this tea needs more clementine in general.

Or at least it needs more of something. More vanilla would be delicious too! Thanks Courtney for the swap sample! :D

Another swap tea from Courtney! So excited to get to try so many Dammann teas! :D

I didn’t really look at this one before trying it. I remember that it’s an oolong, and it was also obvious from the leaves. It seems very oxidized, and maybe a tiny bit roasty? It definitely doesn’t have strong roasty notes.

This is an interesting one… At first I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The oolong tastes of autumn leaves and not a whole lot else. The flavoring is quite subtle, like a lot of their teas… There’s definitely a creaminess that could be vanilla, and a little hint of orange near the end of the sip. The buckwheat is a bit difficult to distinguish from the base tea, and to me is most obvious in the aftertaste. I don’t really get caramel here, which is meant to be the “main” flavor?

What a combination! It reminds me a bit of a bran muffin from the combination of the oolong and the buckwheat. I would have like a bit more from the clementine I think, as I could barely taste it. But it certainly went down easily, the pot was empty before I knew it! Luckily I have 1-2 more tries.

I enjoyed this one, but am not quite sure what to make of it yet…

Sipdown! (44)

Finishing off this swap sample from Courtney!

This one is a bit muddled for me, and doesn’t really taste like the description. I don’t really get chocolate? Not that I mind, as I don’t really like chocolate teas generally. I am getting cream and nuts, and perhaps a bit of apricot. No clementine this time around, but I am tasting the base tea a bit more, and am getting some nice honey notes from it.

Overall, not one I would order, as it’s fairly nondescript in flavor. But it was fun to try, thanks Courtney!

I got the loveliest swap package from Courtney today! And she included a surprise jam gift! I guess this officially makes me the crazy jam lady, LOL!

I pulled this one out at random to try while I was making breakfast for dinner. Like a lot of Dammann’s tea, it’s quite subtly flavored. I didn’t look up the ingredients beforehand, and was guessing orange with some cream and nuts and maybe apricot? I was sort of close, it’s chocolate and hazelnut with orange! So I think the cream note I’m picking up on must be the chocolate. It reminds me a bit of their Noël à Vienne, which is chocolate, apricot, vanilla I think? The base is their usual one – very smooth, lightly woody, just a tinge earthy.

It’s pleasant! Probably not one I would order, just because I find it a bit muddled and chocolate teas are never my favorite anyway. But it’s fun to try, thanks Courtney!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKAEozbAEpE/

additional notes: I tried this one again, but no, I’m throwing out the few teaspoons remaining. It tastes like a jumble of jelly bean flavors, including licorice. Not worth it. I just wanted to give it another chance after the bad steep session last time. This one ages terribly.

From the group order a while ago!  I haven’t written  a note for this yet, and probably shouldn’t. It’s stored in a decent pouch but the flavors seem like if you took a bunch of odd duck flavored teas and mixed them together?  Yeah, this tea is old but it shouldn’t be THIS bad.  It just tastes like a muddled mix of flavored teas.  So don’t take this note as a representation of this tea especially fresh, but do note that it doesn’t age well.  Usually if it takes me this long to write a note for a tea, it means it wasn’t noteworthy to begin with though.   It was gross.  I didn’t even steep up a second cup, and that is RARE.  I will still give it a generous rating…
Steep #1 // 1 1/4 teaspoons for full mug // 35 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep

2021 sipdown no. 4

This was a sample sent in our DF order.

There a whole cardamom pods here and the tea overall is very Christmas-spicy. Even as a tisane, it’s very “full” feeling. The red peppercorns are a nice touch to add spiciness and heat. As I continued drinking this one, I started to get a queasy stomach. I looked over the ingredients, but can’t figure out what may have caused it.

2021 sipdown no. 3

This one is tasty, but not order-worthy tasty. I think H&S does this one well, but even so, a cinnamon tea isn’t one I generally reach for, though I wouldn’t turn down a sample. I’m happy I had the opportunity to try this one!

This one both dry and steeped has the scent of H&S Hot Cinnamon Spice, which I haven’t had in years, but I remember really enjoying. Like liquid cinnamon hearts!

The flavour itself isn’t quite as strong, and there’s seem to be a background hint of ginger. I didn’t finish this all while hot, but happy to report the cold flavour was the same liquid cinnamon heart goodness.

This smells just like black jujubes! This one is so interesting, in a good way. A sweetness hits you right at the start of the sip, then gives way to liquorice. The sweetness isn’t cloying. The liquorice almost ‘bites’ at the tongue. It is very reminiscent of liquorice.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!  I’m wishing everyone a better 2021.  This tea was sent over by AJRimmer (thank you!) and I thought I should try it today.  Somehow this doesn’t seem as special to me as some of their Noel blends.  I’m really only tasting cherry here.  I would love to notice more pineapple flavor but I don’t.  Sadly this isn’t screaming “Christmas level special” to me. I would have loved if they dumped fruitcake all over this blend.  Ah well, I love to sample anything I can! 
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

DF Advent — Day 9

I enjoyed Christmas Tea Vert the first time I had it several years ago. Back then, I noted that it tasted strongly of bubblegum (I actually enjoyed that!). This year it wasn’t playing that way, which doesn’t bother me, but I feel that this year’s iteration probably tastes more true to the desired outcome. It was a mix of softly blended cinnamon, almond, vanilla, apple skins and orange oil on a dry grass-toasty Chinese sencha base. Real easy-going tea for my palate. Wouldn’t mind having this around next year.

Advent 24, 2 of 2 :)

I had to close two big projects for customers and tie up all the loose ends before I could leave for the day. Both guys didn’t end up contacting me until 2 hours before the end of my shift, so I had to hustle to get everything done. I came home surprisingly exhausted.

The tea. I could smell bubblegum in the dry leaf and was confused because this doesn’t contain any of the gingerbread flavoring that I thought was the culprit for this impression in other Dammann Frères teas. The base scent was very fruity, with apple and orange but somehow also like fruit punch. The bitter almond came out as a marzipan note, with cinnamon and ginger accents softened by vanilla.

Steeped up, this is a pretty delicately flavored green tea with a gentle, spicy-sweet and fruity aroma. The base green tea is thick and a bit brisk with a grassy-dry grass tone. On the sip, I can taste almond followed by soft and sweet cinnamon and mild ginger. The taste overall is interesting. It reminds me a bit of fruity-mineral sauvignon blanc or a white sangria. But I can also taste the well integrated mild spices. The swallow leaves a soft cinnamon-vanilla whipped butter with almond. It calls to mind, dare I say — I don’t want to dissapoint — churros. The aftertaste lingers lightly with a very natural and gentle apple-cinnamon flavor.