Bourbon from Dammann Freres

Even though I still drink coffee in the morning to get myself going before work, with the arrival of the cold weather (finally!) I have been reaching for more tea. It’s so nice to pick a tea and sip on it throughout the afternoon and evening. This one sounded warming and sweet, just what I needed this evening when a sugar craving hit.

Sipping… I love that the black tea base is mellow, while also providing a bold base for the added flavors. The vanilla comes out as the sip spreads across your tongue. It reminds me quite a bit of Lucky Charms marshmallows with that pure, sugary sweet flavor. I think the caramel comes out at the tail end, but is almost overshadowed by the vanilla. They blend really well together and really make this cup a delicious treat. The caramel isn’t terribly complex, but brings to mind gooey, sticky strands hugging vanilla beans.

If you’re looking for a simple black tea with the addition of vanilla and caramel, I highly recommend this one. It’s a lovely dessert tea that is great on its own, but might even take milk and sugar well, too. I think it would partner well with a slice of cake or pie.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres
Description

A blend of black teas scented with the aromas of vanilla and caramel. Ideal for lovers of warm, gourmet teas.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company click here.

 

Rose de Mai Oolong from Dammann Freres

rose-de-maiTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy: Dammann Freres (However it’s not currently listed)

Tea Description:

“Rose de Mai” is a subtle blend of the vegetal notes of a spring oolong tea, to those fresh, bright and dazzling of a 1st press rose essential oil extracted from a rose of exception. A well-balanced tea for lovers of resolutely flowery notes.

Learn more about this tea on Steepster.

Taster’s Review:

Since I haven’t done one in a while, I decided that I’d do a blind tasting with this blend! Obviously it’s got rose in it, but I wanted to see what I noticed by drinking my cold brew prior to do any reading on it. I actually had some interesting results this time around:

My immediate observation was that this was a highly floral from the rose but also from the natural floral notes of the greener oolong base; specifically I thought I picked up notes of both orchid and sweet jasmine. There were a few sips where the intensity of all the floral elements felt a little overwhelming and I definitely think those wary of floral teas in general will find this too much, but overall I think they were all pretty well balanced/in check.

The big surprised was that throughout the entire cold brew I kept tasting the same juicy fruit note that I thought tasted pretty obviously of lychee. I was quite surprised when I finally did look up the tea ingredients only to see that there’s no added lychee flavouring. For me, that flavour was unmistakably present. I suppose, since lychee is quite a floral fruit, all of the other floral components of this tea could have contributed to the flavour, though.

Regardless, I thought this was a really pleasant cold brew; quite refreshing and thankfully with flavours other than a flat, monotone rose note. I’d definitely revisit this one, perhaps trying it hot instead of cold brewed.

Lapsang Souchong Crocodile Black from Dammann Freres

lapsang-souchong-crocodileTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: Dammann Freres

Tea Description:

A black tea with a more smoky flavour than that of its Chinese counterparts. A great smoked tea from the Island of Formosa ; merits discovering.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

The ‘Crocodile’ in the name of this tea is certainly intimidating; I picture it snapping at you when you take a sip. Almost like getting whiplash from the intense smoke I suspect I’ll be tasting. The smell of the dry leaf certainly seems to support my theory; however some very quick research seems to indicate the name comes more from the fact this is a Formosa Lapsang Souchong, and less because it’s gonna bite me.

This is actually really good though it’s a little less naturally sweet than some of the other Lapsang Souchong blends I’ve been enjoying lately. It’s got a very brisk black base, and the smoky notes are indeed biting, but in a way that stimulates taste rather than assaults it. Maybe it’s because it’s summer and finally BBQ season but I’m picking up flavor notes that resemble the smell of burning hamburgers on a grill. The finish reminds me a little bit of molasses or those ‘tar candies’ that are sometimes given out around Halloween.

I enjoyed this one best when it was lukewarm; but the entire cuppa was pleasant. I don’t think I could call it any better or worse than another Lapsang Souchong though. It’s certainly very smoky; so if you like your Lapsang light I’d veer away from this blend.

Mangue égyptienne Black Tea from Dammann Freres

mangue-egyptienneTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Dammann Freres

Tea Description:

A blend of black teas with sun ripened mango flavour lends to a warm and fruity infusion. Bits of fruits complete the aesthetic appeal.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This last week seems to have been unintentionally themed around mango teas; it honestly feels like I’ve had more of them now than I have had in the last two or three months. That’s probably because I’m a picky person when it comes to mango, but because it’s such a summer flavor there’s a surplus of mango teas around which equates to more that I’m easily swayed into wanting to try out.

This one was done as a cold brew; it had a very natural and realistic mango flavour. I personally find that the actual fruit mango has a very pine like and sappy flavour. I know I’m not the only person to have observed this; and it seems to be commonly observed with unripe mangoes but even ripe ones have this flavour to me. However most teas with mango as an ingredient don’t seem to convey this flavour and as someone who always tastes it when they eat the fruit it makes me feel like something is missing. Thankfully, I did taste is here! While I loved it the vast majority of people might not given than mango ‘isn’t supposed to taste like pine’.

There were also floral notes here, probably from the black base and I thought that added a nice depth to the flavour as well. While the fruit might not have had a robust, juicy flavour like I expected that didn’t stop this from feeling complete. I am, however, wary of how other people would feel about this; like mentioned it has that “undesirable” pine taste. It worked well for me, though.

Nosy Bey Black Tea from Dammann Freres

NosyBeyTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Dammann Freres

Tea Description:

Black tea flavoured with vanilla and bush peach. Embellished with pieces of pineapple and sprinkled with flower petals. A successful fusion from sunbathed orchards and vanilla tropical scents.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

One of my favorite flavors in tea used to be peach. When starting my disturbing obsession with tea, I started out with Celestial Seasoning’s Peach Blossom Green Tea. I moved on to other peachy teas, and I think down the road I just had one too many bad peach flavorings that I have been totally turned off by it. I was able to snag a little bit of this in a crazy huge group order hosted by a generous member of Steepster. I heard good things about this tea, and I wanted to give peach a chance!

The scent alone of this tea is pretty magical. The notes of vanilla and peach invade my senses and take over my brain. The rose petals and chunks of pineapple are a bit of a head scratcher, I can’t seem to see the reason for it.

Brewing this up, it produces a strong black tea base with a good supporting cast of  smooth and creamy vanilla and bright fruity peach. Incidentally, that combination tastes exactly like peaches and cream instant oatmeal. Which does not sound like a compliment, but there was an entire year in life where I ate nothing for breakfast except off brand peaches and cream instant oatmeal. Man, that stuff is so good… I still crave it sometimes.

This tea brews up nicely, and the flavor stick its out in the resteepings. I have yet to have tried this tea iced, but I can tell it would be a winner!