My first “gourmet” flavored tea was by Dammann Freres, and it felt like a whole new wonderful world had been opened up to me. It astonished me that they could put so many flavors into a single tea without them competing and turning it into a pure mush in which one flavor could not be distinguished from another. I remember seeing “biscuit” flavor listed and thinking, “Hah! How can you make tea really taste like biscuit? It probably just tastes like vanilla!” And then I sipped and my eyes widened and I said, “OOOOOOOOH! It tastes like biscuit!”
Not flour-y buttered biscuits from the good old Southern USA, but a lightly sweet European biscuit. They NAILED it. Oh, delightful pastry, how I love thee!
That first tea had lots of different flavors, but this one boasts of just biscuit and four red fruits. They have achieved marvelous balance with this tea, as the sweetish biscuit flavor rises hand in hand with the fruit flavors in a perfect blending. I detect mostly strawberry, not tart but not candy sweet.
The biscuit flavor keeps it feeling like a decadent grown-up tea and not a candy tea for a children’s tea time. The base has nice heft. I steeped it just below boiling and at about three minutes. (I have found that I prefer those parameters for almost all black French teas.) I definitely made nommy noises. We all cried, “Encore!” when the pot was finished.
The good news is that the second steep was just as good as the first. Bravo, Dammann.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Damann Freres
Description
A blend of black teas with the delicious scents of red fruits, combining the aromas of cherry, strawberry, raspberry and red currant for an irresistibly fruity tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Berry Maple Waffles from Naked Teas Galore. . .
Everything about the name of this tea made my mouth water. Berries? Yes! Maple? Oh boy! Waffles! GET IN MAH BELLY!
The directions call for steeping it for three to five minutes and I kept it on the light side at three and a half because I saw the word in the ingredients that makes me cringe a little. Okay, sometimes I cringe a lot. Hibiscus.
There can’t be much hibiscus in here though, because even a minuscule amount can turn a tea bright red instantly, and this really doesn’t have a pink hue. Between the hibiscus, cranberries, and blueberries, this is a little tart if you are drinking it solo. I bet some milk would smooth it out a little but it is a really sweet tasting blend and for me sugar would be a bit much with it. To each his own.
With pastry and cookies, however, the tartness subsided and took a back seat, making it much more enjoyable. I smell maple flavoring in the dry leaf but I don’t get a lot of it in the taste.
It is great to see more and more available in organic options! If you like tart berry flavor without the wang of artificial flavors, this might be right up your alley.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Naked Teas Galore
Description
Cup Characteristics: Loaded with berries & maple flavour with a hint of cream.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!