Noël en Provence

Merry Christmas! Or something. It was snowing today, does that count?

This marks the start of a long line of Dammann teas that I ordered through Instant-Thé in 50g quantities. What a great way to try a ton of DF teas and decide which ones are reorders for me. Although I do enjoy this one a lot, I don’t think it’s a reorder. Mainly because I like it for it’s figginess, and I have others that I love more for their figginess. But this is a lovely fig-berry jam flavor, with a hint of florals. I do appreciate that the lavendar isn’t overwhelming.

thank goodness the lavander in this is almost non existant. i was a little worried but shouldn’t have been. This is a delightful strawberry, fig tea. It reminds me a lot of strawbery jam – real strawberry jam with that mouthful of deliciousness you get when you lick the spoon. mmmm glad i have enough for another cup of this later!

Day 16!

I quite like rooibos de Provence, so I was expecting this one to be similar, but it isn’t really. In saying that, every company, I am sure, will have a slightly different blend.

This one is definitely a more smokey tea base, the smoke is subtle but present. I feel that this black base is a bit more bold than some of the other Dammann teas I have tried but it is not bitter or astringent or overpowering. I am getting notes of ripe strawberries and the cornflower petals. Not so much fig but the liquor feels quite thick and I equate that with how a fig tastes. It tastes and feels creamy as well. I do not get any lavender at all. Which is ok becuase I am not a huge lavender fan but I would have liked just a bit more lavender flavour for the Provence feel. There was a taste I was having a hard time putting a name to, but after reading the description, it is the honey.

I have no idea what # of sipdown I’m on, but this is another one from the *Sil*box. This is a juicy jammy cup of fruitiness, with a building tartness. I was a little worried about the lavender, & although it’s there, it’s pretty mild.

Another very appreciative THANK YOU to Doulton for making this tasting possible!

One thing about these teas from Dammann Freres – at least the ones I’ve had so far – they all smell amazing! This one is no exception. The dry leaf possesses a very fruity aroma, yum! I can smell the strawberry and the fig! I can also smell subtle hints of the lavender.

But… the brewed liquor smells even better! It doesn’t happen as often as I’d like it to, where the brewed tea smells as good or even better than the dry leaf. It’s so nice when I happen onto an exception!

The taste – lavender is much more pronounced in the flavor than it is in the aroma. The black tea base is very pleasant – smooth, brisk, and pleasantly astringent. The strawberry and lavender together creates a very unusual – but enjoyable – flavor. The fig is also very nice. Not particularly strong but it is delicious.

So far, this is my favorite tea that I’ve tasted from Dammann Freres!

I am continuing tasting my new Dammann Frères teas.

I have been very curious about this one since a long time, mainly because of the mix of provencal flowers and a typical fruit from mediteranean areas : fig.
I am a sucker too for teas containing honey and this is the case of this one.

The dry leaves smell honey and fig mainly and are really beautiful with the blue flowers (cornflower mainly and a little lavender) and yellow flowers (sunflower)

I am not disapointed at all : the flavours come so lovely on the very smooth and mellow tea base : honey for sure and fig on the top, strawberry comes on a supportive but really present role.

I was a little afraid to find an heavy lavender essential oil taste but it isn’t the case, the lavender taste is quite absent, I suspect DF only added some flowers to the blend and that’s it.It is perfect to me but if you are looking for a lavender tea, you may be a little disapointed.

Cooling, it becomes even sweeter and smoothier.

This is another delightful DF tea from the Doulton order….

As Liberteas mentioned in her notes, the dried and brewed tea are both fragrant. And like most flavored French teas, these make a wonderful afternoon treat especially with a dash of sugar and milk. With a combination of honey, strawberry, fig, and lavendar, who could resist this perfumed concoction? I primarily tasted strawberry and honey and fig. The lavendar was hardly detectable. But as with most French blends, no flavor stands out strongly but seem to blend in magical ways….

This was the last tea with a description that sounds intriguing on the back of the advent calendar. I enjoyed the experience of the calendar and the chance to explore a new brand of tea, but I do wish they had put more of their regular or best seller teas instead of special holiday blends full of varying degrees of citrus.
This has the scent of a nice black base. At first it seemed cherry scented, but now I think I can pick out fig instead if I work really hard at it. A few sips in and the individual flavors just fade and I get a nice but indistinguishable cup. Nice but unimpressive.

yes, glad the lavender is barely there. i’m not a lavender person but this tea is yummy.
lesson learned! happily.

This is one of the many blends that my friend Cameron sent me in our first swap (thank you, Cameron!) Before our swap, I didn’t know that Dammann Freres existed but I haven’t explored many tea companies other than my go-tos. First off, I love the smell of this blend. The scent alone is so comforting and welcoming that I’d steep it just to smell it. Taste-wise, I love this blend! I love figs, Italian Christmas wouldn’t exist without something with figs in it so this blend reminds me of home. I love the subtle fruitiness and sweetness of this blend, I preferred it without any additions.