Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Decaffeinated Black
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres
Tea Description:
Coming from the ‘Little Cristal’ collection, Cola is a decaffeinated black tea with a cola flavor that children have so dear.
At tea time, a flavored tea to enjoy the “Five O’clock” like grown people.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Prior to trying this blend, I’ve had exactly three cola flavoured teas: Cola Matcha from Red Leaf Tea, Cherry Cola & Cake from Della Terra Teas, and DAVIDsTEA’s Cherry Cola black tea. I remember that so specifically because all of them were super memorable experiences, and not for a good reason. In fact, DT’s Cherry Cola blend may actually be the worst black tea I’ve ever had. Cola just seems to be something that doesn’t apply well to tea, so I’m going into this tasting with extreme reservation and fairly low expectations.
I probably wouldn’t have purchased this one at all if it weren’t for the fact I got some in a group order, and therefore got to pick up a small size of it. It also helps it’s from Dammann Freres – I’ve yet to really find a “flop” from them, though there have been a few blends that just didn’t click because of personal taste. I have faith that if any company can pull off a cola tea they’re likely to be the ones to do it.
I’m cold brewing this – I just personally think that cola flavor kind of only works cold. I’ve had hot coke before (it was a dare) and it didn’t go over well. I have to say, the dry leaf of this smells pretty wonderful. It definitely conveys the smell of coke without any of the chemical/artificial qualities that I’ve experienced with every other coke tea. I don’t know how they do it! There’s even a whiff of vanilla to the smell as well!
I’ll come right out and say it; this is easily the best cola tea I’ve had. Simply put, it tastes like those shimmery silver cola ball candies that are basically pure sugar – though not as cloying as you’d imagine. There’s a really nice freshness to the tea and more natural notes as well like very mild citrus and possibly also pear. It’s ‘fancy’ cola ball candy! Definitely no sweetened needed with this one though; it’s just barely treading the line between natural sweet and ‘cavity’ sweet. I like that the base is also pretty strong, but not overly brisk. The fact it’s decaffeinated is a huge plus – as a generalization black tea is my favourite type and being limited with how much I can drink at night without the jitters is definitely a concern of mine; this will fit seamlessly into my evening routine.
I can totally see why this is marketed towards children as well; it’s something familiar flavor-wise, definitely sweet enough on its own, obviously healthier than actually giving a child a bottle of Coke, and what parent is going to complain about the lack of caffeine!?
My opinion on cola teas has been completely changed; and I’m already imagining interesting ways to try this one: tea soda, as a latte (because ‘floats’), and possibly even hot…
Caramel au beurre Oolong Tea from Dammann Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres
Tea Description:
Natural velvety notes of an oolong tea here combined with those sweet and savory of a caramel aroma. A subtle balance between vegetal notes and the greedy notes of toffee that many will taste with treat in a delicious and gourmet cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Caramel au beurre sale from Dammann Freres is quite a fragrant tea. It smells like a caramel lovers heaven. I count myself as a fanatic of the caramelized sugar crowd, so consider me on cloud nine. The tightly rolled dark green nuggets of oolong goodness looked almost like a dark roast in the package, which got me worried. I am not a huge fan of dark roasted oolongs. But brewing this up in my gaiwan, the hot water turned these nuggets of pure magic into bright green leaves, almost exploding out of the cup.
This tea is, in short, like drinking liquid gold. I am, of course, assuming that gold tastes like the best, creamiest, richest, homemade caramel you have ever tasted. The tea soup is thick and smooth. The oolong base is well-paired with the flavors of the rich caramel. The smooth floral notes of rose and lilac sing out with the sweetness of the caramel. And don’t even get me started about the aroma. It’s so good it would knock the whole town of Werther, Germany off it’s feet. (In case you did not know, Werther is the name of the town in Germany where the Werther’s caramel hard candies were named after.)
The French do a great job with flavored teas. They are gaining quite a following throughout the world. Even countries that have been producing their own classical teas have been exploding with growth in these areas. These tea boutiques provide the aesthetic that looks like wealth. Drinking French tea in an English style teapot is a fashion accessory the same way a Burberry coat and a Coach handbag displays wealth. While I do not own either, I am happy to sip my fancy French tea from my chipped gaiwan. Whenever I feel the need to be fancy, I will put on my pop-bead pearls and sips this tea daintily!
Jardin Bleu from Dammann Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres
Tea Description:
This blend of black teas from China and Ceylon; flavoured with rhubarb and wild strawberry and scattered with cornflower and sunflower petals gives a fruity note to the infusion. It can be savoured iced too. Brewing time : 4 to 5 minutes
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Jardin Bleu from Dammann Freres is fruity but light, not overpowering with artificial flavors. Quite smooth, and a wonderful strawberry flavor with a tangy zest. Second steep is also delicious!
The aroma is scrumptious! It smells exactly of sweet juicy strawberries and tart rhubarb. Yet it is not puckering tart at all.
Jardin Bleu also has the perfect touch of sweetness, no additives necessary, although a splash of milk does make it develop into a creamy dessert tea!
I am very thankful to have received a generous sample from a Steepster friend.
There is a resemblance to bubble gum both in the flavor and aroma of this tea, even more so when it cools, but its just so wonderful to sip on as an afternoon tea.
Jardin Bleu reminds me of a “ladies” tea and I can imagine sitting around a big linen clothed table with an assortment of fine china filled with yummy tarts, cakes, and scones sipping politely – although I would be the one with sugar paste all over my face dribbling tea on my fancy dress.
Noël à Londres from Dammann Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres
Tea Description:
Blend of black teas from China and Ceylon, marigold petals, cinnamon, vanilla, apple, almond, ginger essential oil.
A rich cup, perfect on a crisp frosty day.
Recommended brewing time : 4 to 5 minutes
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is by no means the best tea I have sampled from Dammann Freres as of late, but that is only because I was lucky enough to do a swap with a lovely Steepster from Paris! I can not begin to tell you how yummy the box smelled when I opened it! Oodles and bunches of teas from Paris which combined into smelling like something from a fancy french confectionary! I was in heaven! Needless to say I have sampled a few so far but this is the one that I grabbed when I had time to do a review. There are others from Dammann Freres I have enjoyed far more but this one does not disappoint.
Sometimes I feel it is good to review one of my less favorite teas from a company because I figure if one of my less favorite is still worth purchasing, still tastes good, then as a whole the tea line itself is quality.
Now I have to confess, I do not have much, if any prior experience with the Dammann Freres tea line. As a matter of fact, before this trade I do not believe I have ever had any tea from them.
This tea offers a warm and welcoming cinnamon aroma but the flavor is not over bearing which is nice. The strong flavor of cinnamon could easily take over but it does not. There is s sweet almond candy flavor, but again is not overwhelming.
The black base is nice and bold enough to be noteworthy through a myriad of flavors.
The ginger is light, which is good for me as I am fairly sensitive to ginger flavor and generally do not like too much ginger in a tea.
I find the vanilla note a little difficult to detect but it is there and more pronounced after the tea has time to cool for a while, it seems to present itself more if you swish the tea in the mouth. It does mix well however with the other notes.
While I am not sure that Dammann Freres totally hit the mark with this one, again my baseline is in comparison to only a few others from their company. I must say a couple of the others I have sampled from them were so amazing that it is difficult for them to live up to their own tea selection when considering this specific tea. I guess we can’t fault them for that!
I do notice that none of their flavor notes seem artificial and I noticed that in the tea description they mention ginger essential oil! Some of you who know me know I adore essential oils and find them to be the best method for flavoring anything! Therefore Dammann Freres gets props from me for that!
I am looking forward to reviewing other teas from them, and can’t wait to review a couple of my favorites! This, its good, but so far isn’t going to make it to my personal favorites list, then again I am not a huge fan of this flavor profile so please take that into consideration when placing your own order.
Noël à Vienne from Dammann Frères
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Dammann Frères
Company Description:
A blend of non smoked teas from China and Ceylon with chocolate, apricot and vanilla, fruit bits and orange peels.
Taster’s Review:
Noël à Vienne – translation – Christmas is coming!
Wow! You know, every time I taste a tea from Dammann Frères – I can’t help but fall in love with it and proclaim it my new favorite from this company. Their teas are just spectacular, and I’ve yet to find one that I’ve not absolutely loved!
The black tea used in this blend has a brisk, deep flavor to it that reminds me a bit of freshly baked cookies. It is not a strong “cookie” essence – but when it is combined with the apricot, chocolate and vanilla flavors of this blend, it really seems to come alive and remind me quite a bit of the apricot cookies my grandmother used to bake.
There is no one real strong flavor in this tea for me, they all seem to come together in a harmonious, seamless flavor that tastes and even smells a bit like Christmas. Not the peppermint candy kind of Christmas, but the gathering of family around a warm hearth and eating fresh baked cookies kind of Christmas.
This is the kind of tea that evokes happy memories. This is that kind of tea.
