Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy:
Company Description:
A blend of non smoked teas from China and Ceylon with fig, strawberry and honey, cornflower and sunflower petals, lavender granulates.
Taster’s Review:
This tea smells amazing. It possesses a very fruity bouquet: I can smell both the strawberry and the fig, with the strawberry fragrance being the most prominent. The aroma also captures the essence of the lavender in this blend, creating a lovely melange of fruit and flower that is simply a delight to experience.
And that’s just the dry leaf! The aroma of the brewed tea is even more enchanting than the dry leaf. Some of the notes of the black tea emerge as the tea brews, giving off a warm, biscuit-y scent, and when introduced with the fragrances of fruit and flower, it becomes truly irresistible!
But as I’ve said before, it’s the flavor that really matters most, and this tea delivers on flavor too. The flavor of the lavender is very pleasantly pronounced. It is very floral in taste, but somehow, the lavender in this tea tastes quite unlike any other lavender tea (or even just lavender), that I’ve encountered from here in the United States. The lavender from France is magnificent!
A pleasant sweetness washes over the palate with this tea also courtesy of the honey. The honey is not super strong, and therefore is not overly sweet, but, it is just enough to help bring out the sweetness of the fruit and flower of this blend. In contrast, there is a slight sharpness to the tea which I accredit to the sunflower petals. It makes for a unique experience for the palate.
The strawberry is also well-defined in this blend. And I don’t know if I’ve ever tasted strawberry and lavender together in a tea before… but, here, in this cup… it’s divine! The fig is also there, it is somewhat softer than the other flavors, but definitely adds its own flair to the cup. The black tea base is a very enjoyable, non-aggressive black tea, with a slight “baked bread” kind of quality to it that compliments the other flavors in this tea so well. Delicious!
This is a tea that would be quite delicious served iced, but, I think I prefer it hot. Because of the honey present in the blend, no sweetener is necessary with this tea – it has quite a lovely sweetness on its own. However, I did try it with just a sprinkling (about 1/4 of a teaspoon) of raw sugar, and found that this encouraged some of the softer flavors to reveal themselves – especially that of the fig.
A very bright, flavorful tea that would be enjoyable any time of day – another winner from Dammann Frères!
Great review!