Oolong Châtaigne

Sounds delicious! I will have to check this one out.

Someone shared a packet with me a long time ago, and even after years, it was still delicious. Fresh, it must be stellar.

Ooo, this sounds amazing!

Agreed, this sounds lovely! It seems like the Dammann Frères advent has some nice teas this year.

Yeah, I’m a fan of this tea and the Dammann Frères advent. I find them extremely consistent despite not particularly loving their “Christmas” blends :P

A lot of the French teas you’re writing about sound like things I’d enjoy. I’m also having advent FOMO from everyone’s notes! :)

Even though I have advents, I feel a bit of FOMO about some of the other selections I see lol (the B&B and the green tea-centric ones. Ahhh)!

I heartily recommend the Dammann Frères ones if you’ve never tried their teas before; I’ve always found it to be a good way to sample what they carry.

The Mariage Frères one though… that company carries some amazing teas that rarely, if ever, seem to make their way into the advents. Instead, MF usually over-highlights their “In Love” or “Rainbow” teabag series. I keep going for it because flavoured oolong and floral teas still feature a lot and, once in a blue moon, a unique tea will make its way in there.

After the holiday season, I should send out samples of some of the MF teas (I can’t promise anyone will like them as much as me, but they’re usually interesting).

Dammann Frères does such a nice advent! I’m always a bit sad when I don’t get it ha ha. I’ve still never tried the Mariage Frères one, every time I see someone else doing it, it seems like a weird selection of teas, like all butterfly pea flower or something. I wish they would do a more classic selection, as I would like to try some of their core teas…

Crowkettle, many of the Dammann teas sound nice, and I’d actually be happy to get only a single teabag given the size of my tea museum.

I’ve wanted to try Mariage Frères for a while, but they provide absolutely no info about their shipping other than that it’s via DHL or something and the Canadian resellers have very high markups. And I agree, I’ve seen some weird teas in their advents.

Shipping to Canada is another issue. I already pay exorbitant amounts to ship my fancy unflavoured teas, and I’m not sure I could justify spending a lot on something I’m not sure I’d enjoy (and they always seem to come in 100 g packages, too!).

Maybe we could do a swap in the new year if you like unflavoured tea. I have a lot of oolong at the moment. :)

Yeah, unless you or a friend can visit a physical store, or are withing their free shipping range, Mariage Frères is pretty expensive and inaccesible. I’m in Canada too, and buying their advent (plus extra teas) is such self-indulgent splurge that I can barely justify it, honestly (Christmas gift to self). Even though it’s not consistently wonderful, I do believe that the advent has helped me form a better idea of what I do like, and what to look for, in their teas though. This in turn makes me feel more comfortable taking a chance on 100g…

The more I see of the blue pea-flower oolong the more I don’t understand it as a choice. It’s mentally jarring to drink a nut, brioche, or chocolate flavoured tea that some shade of murky blue/green/grey. Luckily, the special colour disappears on the second or third steep, which is personally when I think their oolong blends tend to peak. XD

Yes, I love unflavoured tea, especially the greener spectrum! Whenever I buy oolong for myself it tends not to last long. :)

Christmas gifts to yourself are sometimes the best gifts because you know what you like. :) I’ve definitely splurged on tea gifts to myself this year as well.

I didn’t realize MF had a free shipping threshold. I’m guessing it’s pretty high.

I’d be happy to message you next year if you have some French teas you’d like to trade for some greener oolongs!

I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! I’d be happy to send more because I’m not as much of a fan. :)

Well feel free to pawn some off on me the next time we swap. ;)

Loved this one.

Oh my gosh, didn’t even realize how close it would be to Brazillionaire!

It’s super Brazillionaire-y! I might have to get some and just put raisins in, hahahaha!

Perfect! I was thinking I need more of this one when I’m out too.

I might also need to do a Harney & Sons order. I was browsing old tasting notes and TOKYO OH MY GOD.

Hahah I know. I’ve now browsed the websites for: H&S, Lupicia, S&V, Steam Tea, Granville Island Tea, more DF, and more Bird & Blend (this is where I ordered the advent plus extra teas and they haven’t even arrived in the post yet). Someone stop me!

Hahahaha, but there’s nothing else to but stay home and drink tea! Especially now that it’s getting colder and darker out there.

So true! I mean, there’s no way I’ll order from all those companies, but it’s good to know the options. Do let me know if you’re placing any orders though and maybe I can throw things in and we can split shipping. :)

Oh, definitely! I also noticed Davids has Vanilla Orchid labeled as a ‘last chance’ tea, so I might need to get some of that before it’s apparently gone for good… which would break my heart.

Oh no! I feel like I’ve come across other vanilla-y oolongs that may be tasty. I was actually really intrigued by Bird & Blend’s Peppermint Cream (and I usually shy away from most minty teas)

That peppermint cream sounds INCREDIBLE, that’s basically combining my two favorite teas, hahaha! You will have to let me know how the other teas are so I know what to order from there along with that one.

D’awww that sounds like such a lovely evening!

P.S. – I love your cupboards!

Thanks! ❤

Christmas already?!? This does sound really good, and I was just thinking about what kind of tea to make once I finish my cold brew… which is less enjoyable with the blustery snow going on out there. I might prepare myself a cup of this!

75 minutes! Whoa that’s dedication!