THEODOR

Congratulations to this tea on scoring over 90 on my rating scale! This is truly an achievement as this has NEVER occurred to any spiced tea beforehand. I ordered this tea because it was Christmas, but I have to admit that I approached it with skepticism. Based on its list of ingredients – Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Bitter Orange, Orange rind shavings – I was expecting the liquid version of fruit cake. The problem was: I had never liked fruit cake!

Surprisingly, instead of being a drinkable fruit cake, this tea was more like a fruit cake accompanied by a cup of green tea – the spiciness and extreme sweetness of fruit cake that I feared was toned down by the soft green tea, while the flavour of green tea was enhanced by the gentle notes of spices and orange. “Complementary” was the keyword. I must add that the tea had a mesmerizing floral fragrance, which was very sweet and bright (smelled like osmanthus to me!). There’s marigold on the list of ingredients but I just didn’t think marigold could have such a lovely aroma :P Anyway, this was a very nice tea and I was happy that my Christmas holiday had ended with a pot of this :)

Tried this at a patisserie. Hanami literally means “flower viewing”. It’s what the Japanese do in spring: partying with friends and family under blooming sakura trees. So, I was expecting a beautiful, sakura-scented tea. The dry leaves did have the aroma of sakura, which was lovely even though I knew it came from flavouring. Yet sadly this didn’t translate into the liquor… the tea was very light and the sakura flavour was weak. I almost forgot I was drinking tea after a while. :( Disappointing!

I tried this tea in the bagged form as it was part of a set of THE O DOR teas that I had purchased. When I opened the outer plastic bag, the first thing I smelled was bergamot – which while I like a hint of it, I’m not a huge fan of overall (I leave the strong Earl Grey drinking to my husband – Gteppel – who likes Earl Grey the stronger the better). Then there was a slight aroma of sweet vanilla and florals that I couldn’t put my finger on (the box says marigold and jasmine).

After 4 minutes of brewing (I usually like THE O DOR teas brewed up to their upper suggested time), the bergamot aroma was substantially subdued and the vanilla in the tea came out much more.

Upon tasting, the bergamot was definitely still there, but was as subdued as the aroma suggested. Soft but slightly sweet vanilla rounds out the flavour and the finish of the tea leaves just the slightest hint of jasmine. I didn’t find this tea bitter at all (though it does have a dry tannic quality), I’m not sure if that’s because I brewed the tea longer than previous reviewers or because of some other reason. If you’re looking for a softly bergamot-flavored tea, then this would be a great introduction to that family of flavored teas for sure. It most definitely would also hold up to cream and a neutral flavoured sweetener (sugar).

Overall, this is a delicious tea and I would stock it in my cupboard, but it’s no longer being carried locally, so would have to be shipped in from France (though I may still look into that option if it’s not crazy expensive). Until then, I’ll savour the bags I have left!

I tried this tea in the bagged form as it was part of a set of THE O DOR teas that I had purchased. Upon opening the bag, I was surprised at the sweet cherry and vanilla aromas – it almost smelled like a baked cherry and vanilla coffee cake. Delicious!

I brewed the tea for 4 minutes and 30 seconds (THE O DOR recommends 4 to 5 minutes) and grapefruit notes of the tea came through much more strongly in the aroma (but not overwhelmingly so).

The cherry and vanilla flavour were still there upon tasting, but much mellower than expected. The tea was also much less sweet than the original aroma led me to believe it would be. There’s also a bit of strawberry taste (though very slight) and overall, the tea is a mellow, soft and easily drinkable black tea. I definitely think this tea could hold up to a bit of sweetener (I’m thinking something neutral in flavour, not a honey) and milk/cream, but I think a bit of lemon would cause the soft fruit nuances would be lost.

Though I really liked this tea, I’m the type of person where if I’m going to drink a flavoured tea (which I do often), I want there to be a bit more flavour. So while I’ll definitely finish the bags that I have, I don’t think I’ll purchase again.

I tried this tea in the bagged form as it was part of a set of THE O DOR teas that I had purchased. When I opened the bag, the aroma of bergamot permeated my nose, while hints of sweetness from fig and cherry were also apparent. Visually, there were pieces of what looked to be fruit mixed in the black tea in the bag (THE O DOR uses silk bags, so you are able to visually inspect what’s in the bag).

After four minutes (THE O DOR recommends 4 to 5 minutes), the colour was that of a deep amber liquor and the overwhelming bergamot aroma was mellowed. Instead, the fruity aroma of the tea shone through much more.

Upon the first taste, the bergamot was the forefront flavour, but soon the delicious fruitiness of fig and cherry came through as well as the slightest hint of lotus and jasmine. Looking at the label, I think the citrus elements of the tea help to cut through the bergamot, as instead of being heavy, there’s a freshness to the tea that I definitely didn’t expect. If you like tea with a bit of sugar or lemon, I think the tea could hold up to these, but I think with milk/cream some of the nuances of the tea may be lost.

As I’m not a big Earl Grey fan (I’ll leave those to my husband) I wasn’t expecting to like this tea at all, but I have to admit, not only is it delicious, I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you’re not a huge Earl Grey fan or would like to wade into the waters that are bergamot teas, this may be a great introduction to see if you like it as there’s enough other flavours going on that you if you decide you don’t like bergamot, you’d most likely still enjoy this tea. Unfortunately THE O DOR teas are no longer being carried locally, but I may just have to bite the bullet and reorder this one online once I’m finished the bags that came in the set.

Ah Darjeelings – my favorite teas!

The aroma from the loose leaf tea was overwhelmingly grassy, which surprised me a bit as I usually associate grassiness with green tea. There’s also a bit of earthiness to the aroma of the tea as well, but it is very subtle.

After brewing for 3 minutes, I took a look at the tea and it looked lighter than I usually like my Darjeeling, so I brewed for an additional 2 minutes (to the suggested upper limit of 5 minutes). Once steeped, the tea took on a lovely amber quality, while the aroma was still slightly grassy, but had taken on a soft floral nose as well.

Upon tasting the grassiness was definitely much more muted than I expected it to be based on the aroma and there was also a slight earthiness, along with mellow floral notes. There is a slightly astringent finish to the tea, but I feel that only adds to the tea. Overall, I feel that this would be a great introductory Darjeeling because it’s quite a mellow, drinkable tea – no overwhelming florals here. I’ll definitely finish off this tin, but I’m not sure if I’ll purchase again because it’s not really the profile that I look for in a Darjeeling – I like them a tad more floral and earthy, with a touch less grassiness.

I tried this tea in the bagged form as it was part of a set of The O Dor teas that I had purchased. When I opened the bag, the aroma was overwhelmingly a delicious caramelized vanilla with a touch of berry. I brewed it for 4 minutes, then tasted.

Once brewed, the caramelized vanilla aroma mellowed a bit and the berry smell comes through much more. The flavouring of the tea was much more mellow on the vanilla and berry characteristics then I thought it would be, instead the black and green tea blend comes through. As well, based on aroma, I thought the tea would be sweeter than it actually is – I found it only slightly sweet.

There definitely is a slight berry finish as AJ previously reviewed, but there’s no discernible vanilla finish. I expected there to be a bit of a dry, tannic finish due to the vanilla and berry sweetness being much less than expected, but there wasn’t. If you drink your tea with a bit of cream/milk and/or sugar, I definitely think this tea could stand up to those and perhaps even enhance the flavour a bit.

I find that this would be a great everyday tea for me as it would most likely hold up to any way that I felt like drinking it (plain, with sugar, with milk, etc). However, that being said, even though I love drinking unflavoured teas (and actually prefer those), I’m a little disappointed that the berry and vanilla do not come through more. Due to that, as well as the expensiveness of THE O DOR teas and it no longer being carried locally, I’ll probably not repurchase.

I was making this tea for my husband, so I figured I’d do a quick review.

The description from THE O DOR of this tea describes the tea as reminiscent of French macarons and I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with this. There is a distinct sweet almond (very much like fine macarons) aroma once you open the tin and that made this macaron lover salivate. There’s also a underlying note of berries – mostly strawberry – as well.

I brewed for the recommended 3 minutes and tasted. Brewed, the aroma had slight grassy notes, with just a hint of the sweet almond still discernible. The tea definitely had the slightly grassy taste that green teas often have, but it was not overwhelming at all. Upon tasting, the sweet almond and slight berry flavour is apparent in the finish, but not the forefront for sure.

I also made this tea iced and the profile of the iced tea was very similar to that of the hot; the only real difference is the almond flavouring came through a bit more and wasn’t quite as sweet as it was when hot (it took on more of a bitter almond profile). Unfortunately I also couldn’t taste any of the berry either.

Overall it’s a lovely tea, but I think I’d try to find something with more berry flavouring (the almond tends to overwhelm the berry) and less grassiness (it seems like the almond was there to almost try and mask the grassiness).

After a local tea shop was clearing out all of their THE O DOR teas, I ended up buying a tin of the Je m’appelle Dorothee at a greatly reduced price. As I often drink hibiscus-based teas, I figured I would enjoy this tea.

The loose tea smelled amazing – I definitely smelled the pineapple and cherry notes and the aroma had a natural sweetness that tickled the nose. My tin had lots of dried cherries, currants and pineapple bits (and the odd banana chip) – in fact, I’d say it was probably about 40% fruit based on visual inspection. I’ve found with the herbal THE O DOR teas you have to steep to the maximum amount (or more) of the suggested time, so I infused the tea for 8 minutes.

As I’m used to hibiscus-based teas (I often drink hibiscus tea straight), I didn’t find the hibiscus in this tea overwhelming. If you’re not used to this type of tea, or you don’t enjoy this type, the hibiscus could definitely be overwhelming. Often I find hibiscus teas to have a harsh citrus tartness to them that can cause your mouth to pucker, but in this tea, it was more muted than in others that I’ve had. The slight pineapple and cherry flavours round out the tea, giving it a richness that I haven’t found in other hibiscus-based teas, as well as a bit of natural sweetness. Due to the natural acidity of the tea, there’s a slightly dry aftertaste.

As I usually drink hibiscus teas iced, I definitely wanted to try this tea iced. The aroma of the tea is very muted iced, but the flavour is still there. The natural sweetness was more pronounced in the iced version of this tea, which was great because it helped to mute some of the natural acidity of the tea. I also found that iced, Je m’appelle Dorothee has a bit of a citric aftertaste (my guess is if you drink this type of tea sweetened, the citric aftertaste would most likely not be noticeable).

While I really enjoyed this tea and will definitely finish the tin (drinking both hot and iced), I doubt I’ll purchase it again due to high price of THE O DOR teas and it no longer being carried locally.

I tried this tea in the sachet (not loose) form and when opening the package, the smell of berries was incredibly alluring. I steeped for 5 minutes and unfortunately that lovely smell of berries was barely noticeable. The taste was slightly citrusy (though not mouth puckering so) but also quite grassy with a very slight hint of mint (barely noticeable).

On a whim, I kept the tea bags in the water and after an additional several minutes, the berry aroma was a bit more pronounced, though not in the flavour of the tea unfortunately. The flavours are much more pronounced and developed after a longer steeping time, so I recommend steeping for longer than the recommended 4-6 minutes – perhaps about 8 minutes, though it does take on a herbaceous quality with the longer steeping time. There’s a bit of a floral aftertaste that I’m still deciding on if I like it or not. I did like it much better on the second tasting, however, overall I’m not a big fan of this tea unfortunately.

Iced, this tea is much more citrusy, the grassy floral tones are gone and the slight berry flavour is more pronounced – I enjoyed it much more iced than hot. I tried the iced with a bit of honey and it mellowed out the floral tones and made it much more enjoyable. (Rated lower as I’ll have to ice and doctor the tea with honey in order to finish the box).

Edited to add: After several tastings, I’ve had to lower my original rating of 50 to 30. I just can’t finish this tea at all – luckily I’ve found if I brew it with some plain green tea for iced tea for my husband, he likes the flavor profile (half green/half Tilleul Fruits Rouges).

I have been madly and deeply in love with rooibos lately. Since the first time I tried rooibos, its delightful, natural sweetness has been lingering in my mind. And this cup of Une Autre Idée was a perfect answer to my persistent craving! The comforting taste of rooibos and the flavours of ripe tropical fruits (most notably pineapple and peach) made me think I was having vacation on some small Mediterranean island… I could almost see palm trees and the blue sea! I absolutely enjoyed this tea. It is now on my shopping list! :)

I am happy to be back to the Steepster community! As I mentioned in my newly updated bio, I am now practising mindfulness as a way of living. I need to practise mindful meditation every day and I decide to meditate with tea :) My tea log here is going to my mindfulness journal. If you see me update often, that means I am practising regularly!

Ok back to business – tea! I have just realized that I had tried this tea some years ago at a patisserie. At that time I could taste rose in the tea but this time I can’t! Perhaps because my tea bag happens to contain few petals. This is a fresh, light green tea with the flavour of berries. Imagine having a raspberry mousse cake with a cup of green tea – and getting it all in a single cup. I love the berry flavour, it is artificial but does not smell or taste artificial. :P

Green tea served at the optimal temperature (80 degree Celsius – not too hot so immediately drinkable) is my favourite beverage in a cool morning. :D

I had this tea just now in a patisserie, so I didn’t know how they had steeped it. The dry leaves were wonderfully fragrant – a sweet blend of fruity and floral notes!! But the liquor was less amazing. The green tea was very refreshing, and the rose flavour was pleasant too. It’s a lovely tea but… where were the fruits?? They seemed to have vanished! I imagine that the fruity flavours, if present, might take the tea to another level. Quite a pity huh. After reading the notes by other reviewers, it appears that the liquor served to me might not be an accurate reflection of the tea. Would write another note if I have the chance to taste it again later!

Finished off this sample. I’d consider getting some.

Sweet nut cream vanilla fruit. Very similar to Marco Polo, but not strawberry like that one seems to suggest—more drop fruit, I think.

The taste, so far, isn’t anything alike, though. Bright and fruity, with a vanilla sweetness.

Getting distracted by music. ♪ Down at the edge, round by the corner, close to the end, down by a river. Seasons will pass you by, I get up, I get down. ♫

There’s something nutty in here too, I think. Hazelnut? I don’t know. Hmm.

ohhh my goodness..!!! this is a wonderful tea, I live in Mexico so spicy foods are not new for me, but the Bollywood Chaï it´s just amazing, it has the perfect touch

Finishing off this. Mostly tea dust by the end of it. The last cup is usually the sweetest; I steeped this at two minutes and it came out very smooth compared to usually. First sip vanilla sweetness, later sips bringing in the jasmine and bergamot. Base tastes more black than green this time around, but it was mostly black fannings at the bottom of the tin.

I’ve made this a few times since my first post, although I headed a bit of advice from the other notes on this tea and now steep it just under two minutes.

I picked this up originally hopping to find something akin to Tealicious’ 1001 Nights (not that there’s anything stopping me from picking up more of that—I just wanted to branch out a little). The jasmine in that blend is a pleasant background note, unlike in this one. It’s not bad, but it’s certainly quite a bit more powerful, which for a person like me (who is not the greatest fan of flowery flavourings and scentings) is a bit much.

Two minutes, though—it really brings it down, and allows much more room for the vanilla to come through. And it’s a pleasantly strong vanilla. I still don’t get much from the teas themselves—some green bitterness for brewing this with boiling water, but that’s it. That bitterness is mixed with the sort of… sharpness? You usually get from the bergamot (sharpness isn’t the right word… I suppose bitterness; think the similarities bergamot has with grapefruit), but the fruit isn’t present enough to make you think (or even vaguely remember) earl grey. No earl grey thoughts at all from this tea.

The bitterness does get a bit stronger as it cools, which mixes unpleasantly with the sharp jasmine. Perhaps a cooler steeping temperature next time, although I’m sure that will take away from the additives. It’s odd that it can be bitter and sharp but so creamy and sweet at the same time. The vanilla in this really is delicious.

Enjoying this in my tea Libre. Yes, definitely DON’T steep it for more than three minutes, because the jasmine just takes over. Hints of jasmine I like. It can mix well. It’s pleasant. Lots of jasmine makes me squick.

The jasmine’s still fairly strong with three minutes. Vanilla is a definite second. If it could just overpower the jasmine life would be grand, because I like lots of vanilla. The bergamot… I taste hints of it from here to there, and it mixes somewhat oddly with the jasmine. Very nicely with the vanilla! Overall though, it’s more evident in the smell.

I’m actually at school, and this is now my second steep. So my timing probably isn’t perfect… Most likely a bit over three minutes. I’ve got the school’s hot water system temperature down, though. Will have to try two minutes next time, I think… But I’m sipping the second steep while working on my co-op application (which I will follow with some needed calculus homework).

When I sipped this in the store (they had it out as a sample) it was a good, strong vanilla with just a hint of jasmine. I should ask them what their perfect brewing temperature and time was… Hmm. There is a bit of bitterness from the green tea, so I’m definitely going to consider lowering the temperature next time.

I wasn’t paying attention when I steeped this and did five minutes in boiling water, despite the fact that it contains green tea. So there is a chance I oversteeped it.

However, my tongue is still recovering from me burning it yesterday, so if I did, I don’t know how well I’ll be able to taste it.

The leaves smelt of bergamot most strongly, and flowers more secondly.

Brewed, jasmine is coming through. First sip is floral and bergamoty, although muddled—stupid tongue. Yes… definitely a strong floral in there. I think I smell something sweeter, but that seems to be all I’m getting from the vanilla.

Got this at the Urban Tea Merchant yesterday. I pretty much swore off ever getting tinned tea there, because they’re thirty dollars while the same amount of tea in a sealed bag is half that. However! They were having a sale on all of their old tea tins (they have new ones) and Christmas teas (I thought about it, but it looks like they went the usual Christmas Spice way). Plus, you apparently get a few cents off if you bring in an O Dor tin for a refill.

For a full recount of the shenanigans that went down at the shop, one’ll have to read my updated Place review. And believe me, stuff went down. Not particularly good stuff, but I still love the shop itself.

Tea’s cooled, but with that, the taste as become mild… I’m going to go ahead and blame my tongue again. I’m really not picking up any notes of the black or green teas used. I think I’m getting an astringency from somewhere, but hm. Yes, I think it might be from the green. I’ll have to bring my steeping down a bit next time.

This is a lot like Red Zinger. The hibiscus is overwhelming. It’s a pretty dry tea, but I like tea with caffeine. If you like the hibuscus/rosehip taste, you might love this.

Mais c’est pas pour moi!

You like pastries but you are afraid of the calories ? This tea is made for you ! Sans complexe tastes meringue lemon pie. I guess you won’t resist after smelling it ! In mouth, the tea is good but it doesn’t taste meringue pie enough in my opinion.

No artificial flavoring.

Sipdown no. 2 of 2022 (no. 652 total).

This made a surprisingly delicious cold brew — I worried that the cold would make the vegetable notes come out and I’d feel like I was drinking cold vegetable soup with notes of tea, but fortunately that didn’t happen.

Instead, the cold brought out the spicy, peppery note. Which, as I write it, sounds unpleasant, but somehow wasn’t.

I saw a The O Dor store when I was in Paris last March, but I didn’t go in. I was afraid I’d buy more tea and I’m still terribly overloaded with old tea that I need to clear out as I’m contemplating beginning a house remodel — and every little bit I can get out of the house between now and then will help.

And now for something completely different.

When I placed my The O Dor order a while back this one seemed too strange to pass up. And it is indeed very, very strange.

First off, the smell out of the tin is the smell of latex house paint. Seriously, I kid you not. Given the list of ingredients, I was expecting to see bits of vegetables in here. I’m not seeing that upon opening the tin, but there are some really large flower petals, much bigger than I’ve seen in other blends. One is so long that initially, I mistook it for a red pepper.

This steeps to a dark reddish brown color. It still has a bit of paint to the smell after steeping, but its now has something else which is sort of like lentils. I wonder if those are in here, maybe they’re the legumes. There’s a peppery note, too.

The flavor, thankfully, is not at all paint like. But it is very hard to describe. It has a savory spice note, a hint of rosemary maybe. It reminds me of the spice mixtures in Italian restaurants that give the olive oil you dip your bread in its flavor. That same type of mixture sometimes tops specialty breads. I’m not able to identify the currant, but I am able to get a mixed vegetable note that is sort of like a hint of ratatouille. There is a sweetness in the aftertaste that’s kind of surprising given the savory quality of the tea.

This is a really unique tea, and something I need to sit with for a while. I give it points for its ingenuity in bringing together flavors not usually used in black tea mixes. I’ve had similar flavors in teas before (the savory spices) but they were always in herbal blends. I’m not really sure how to rate it. On the one hand I’m kind of charmed by the whole idea of it. On the other, it’s not something I see myself drinking frequently, and I’m not sure how likely it is to be a reorder now that I’ve satisfied my curiosity.