Houjicha Poire Vanille

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 14

I love this as a concept so much. Also smells delicious, even through my stuffed up sinuses. However, I wish it was more toasty and less grassy in profile (maybe that’s the congestion talking). I had it along with cold buckwheat noodles though, and that was a fine pairing! I’d love to try a sample of this again under better conditions.

Dammann Frères Advent Day 17 (17-February 2021)

A immediately said it tasted like coffee. I definitely got the hojicha, vanilla, and pear flavours and they work really well together. I would consider ordering this one for our cupboard.

Advent 17.

Short notes, the muscle relaxer had kicked in and sleep was soon to come.

Vanilla, toasty, sweet in a natural way. Mostly caramel with wood-grass of the roasted green tea. Pear is very subtle, fruity rather than floral the taste of a bosc pear. Very pleasant and well rounded. Dessert.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 17 (from November backlog)

Yay, this is another one that I really wanted to try! Double advent jackpot today! Dry, the sachet has a strong and somewhat tart fruity scent.

I quite like it. The added flavoring is somewhat subtle, which is lovely because it lets the yummy houjicha shine. This tastes like a somewhat lighter roast to me, as I get some of the fresh grassiness of the green tea along with the yummy roasty notes. The pear specifically is very light, though I do taste it as a crisp and refreshing note, especially at the end of the sip. The vanilla is somewhat custardy. I wish they hadn’t added the gingerbread here, as their gingerbread flavor always reminds me of bubblegum, luckily it’s quite light so doesn’t detract too much. It would’ve perhaps been nicer with just a soft and sweet cinnamon note instead.

Very enjoyable, though the bubblegum gingerbread makes it questionable as to whether I would order this… It’s a shame, because I really love the other flavors here.

2020 Advent Calendar – Day 17 – Well, I don’t really know how I feel about this one! Unfortunately I oversteeped it so that might be the issue, but boy, this one is very roasted! It’s not at all a taste that I would reach for, but I enjoyed my cup. And if someone loved roasted flavors, I would think they would like it a lot. It’s smooth and lightly fruity. The vanilla is very light and I couldn’t pick out the pear necessarily but there was a sweetness there so that could be it. Mostly it’s reminiscent of a piece of toasted bread with a very thin layer of a subtle sweet spread. It’s well done. It’s just not my thing. But I wonder if after a few tries, it’s the kind of taste that grows on you.

TTB. I love hojicha, and feel like it’s so under-utilized in flavored blends. The idea of a vanilla pear hojicha sounded absolutely mouthwatering. This is an absolutely lovely hojicha- roast and comforting. The vanilla is very subtle, and I’m not picking up on any pear.

STTB Tea

This is from last week, but I forgot to write a tasting note.

I enjoy houjicha a lot, but I’m not always in the mood for it. The other day was a cloudy and rainy autumn day [stupid changing seasons >:( ] and I wanted something toasty (And roasty!). This blend has some subtle vanilla, however I found the fruity flavours were overshadowed by the base. I still enjoyed it, I just didn’t taste any pear. The base is very roasty (like whole grain bread or over baked pizza dough)…or like a houjicha. Minerals (like how burnt marshmallow charcoal is a touch bitter and minerally) come out the longer you savour the mouthfull of it.

Added a splash of coconut milk to this one once it was steeped up. Sipped on it while cooking and it was pleasant and cozy, but mostly just because hojicha is pleasant and cozy. That lovely distinct nuttiness was super present but the pear and vanilla were decidedly not…