Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Le Palais des Thés
Tea Description:
Thé des Lords is a wonderful Earl Grey with a pronounced bergamot scent, enhanced with safflower petals. Of all the Earl Grey teas, this one has the strongest bergamot flavor.
Earl Grey is one of the best-loved English teas. It was first created when Charles Grey, 2nd Earl of Falloden and Foreign Secretary of Britain, received an old recipe from a Mandarin Chinese that called for flavoring tea with bergamot.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’d like to start this review off with a bit of a disclaimer. What I am about to say is in no way intended to offend any of our readers or any other tea drinker. I’m just going to off on a bit of a rant now, but please don’t take any of it personally, as it’s not intended as a personal attack on anyone.
With that said… here goes:
Do you know that there are people out there who do not like Earl Grey tea. How can this be? I don’t get it. When people say to me “I don’t like Earl Grey.” It almost sounds to me like they are saying “I don’t like tea.” Now, granted, every palate is as individual as the person who possesses it, and therefore every person has different likes and dislikes – and that is a good thing. If we all liked the same thing, how boring a world it would be.
However, Earl Grey to me is almost synonymous with Tea itself, and there are just so many Earl Grey offerings out there (it would seem that every tea company has at least one… and for those who don’t, why don’t you?) I just don’t understand how people can dismiss Earl Grey so easily.
Yes bergamot is often mishandled when it comes to flavoring tea, and the end result is a tea that either just doesn’t have enough bergamot, or it has too much bergamot and it ends up tasting soapy or perfume-y. Then again, the quality of the bergamot is just as important as how it’s blended, because a poor quality bergamot can lead to the aforementioned soapy taste just as easily as too much bergamot added to a tea can.
And while I have enjoyed most of the Earl Grey teas that I’ve come across, there are some that I simply DID NOT like. One that comes to mind immediately is one that I drank within the last few months with my meal while dining out. Perhaps what I should say is I attempted to drink this Earl Grey, but I barely could get down the first sip of it. It was terrible. No amount of any addition – honey, sugar, milk, cream – could possibly mask this terrible flavor. I don’t usually like to ask a waitress to take something back, but in this case, I had to. I simply could not drink this tea.
And a bad experience like the one I just mentioned could be the reason why people so easily dismiss Earl Grey. There are bad ones out there. But, I really would like for people to allow themselves the opportunity to experience some good Earl Grey teas, because there are quite a few out there to be experienced!
This Thé des Lords from Le Palais des Thés definitely qualifies as one of the good ones!
It is really good. The bergamot here is perfectly executed, offering a sweet yet tangy citrus flavor that is very clearly focused. It is good and strong, but not too strong. I also taste the lovely tea underneath the flavoring. It doesn’t taste too sweet, it doesn’t taste too tangy, and it does not taste like perfume. It has a slight tongue-tingly sensation that I attribute to the citrus-y taste of this.
A delicious Earl Grey tea, one I’d recommend to those fond of Earl Grey teas. This is excellent!
Thé du Hammam from Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Description:
One of our most popular teas, this fruity blend is inspired by a Turkish recipe using green teas that evokes the characteristic fragrances used to perfume a hammam: roses, green dates, berries and orange flower water. Sprinkled with flower petals in the pure Eastern tradition, its extraordinary fragrance comes from a subtle combination of Chinese green tea and rich, fruity aromas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After reading the above description, I found myself somewhat lost, as I had no idea what a hammam was. And thinking that this was not only a good opportunity for me to learn something new, but that perhaps a few of my readers also might not know what a hammam is, I decided to look it up. According to Wikipedia, a hammam is a traditional Turkish bath in which warm air is used to promote perspiration, after which bathers are brought to an even hotter room before splashing themselves with cool water, and then they are bathed.
And while the idea of “bath water” doesn’t really sound like a delicious tea, this blend allows you to toss the bathwater and simply enjoy the essences of the perfumed Turkish bath. The sweet notes of date dominate this cup, while lovely hints of floral tones weave their way in and out of the sip.
The green tea has a light, fresh kind of flavor that is delicately vegetative. It has a somewhat buttery quality to it, offering a creamy texture and taste that harmonizes quite deliciously with the flavoring. The date flavor is what I find particularly enchanting about this tea. I’ve had a few date flavored teas, but I do not remember any that have managed to express this flavor better than I taste with this tea. This tastes like a sweet, juicy date – and it is really delicious!
Of the teas that I’ve tried from Le Palais Des Thés (and I’ve still a few left to try from the gift set), this one is my favorite! I like it a lot!
Fleur de Geisha from Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Description:
Inspired by the Japanese Hanami tradition of cherry blossom viewing, Fleur de Geisha is a refined Japanese green tea, delicately flavored with cherry blossom.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Without having read the description of this tea and knowing only that it was a green tea, I brewed it and served it hot. The aroma of the dry leaf was very cherry-like with beautiful floral background notes, making me think that this was a cherry blossom tea. A spring-time favorite, I couldn’t have “blindly” chosen a better tea to enjoy this afternoon. (By “blindly” I mean this: as Le Palais Des Thés is a company based in France and the labels on this gift set are all in French, I didn’t know which tea I was choosing, only that “vert” meant that it would be a green tea)
The brewed tea maintains much of its cherry-like fragrance. The flavor is delicate, especially when served hot. As the tea cools, the flavor intensifies. Served hot, the tea has a very soft balance between cherry blossom notes and hints of sweet cherry flavor mingling with a fresh, sweet vegetative tone. It is very sweet and evokes thoughts of the beautiful cherry blossom trees.
Once the tea has cooled, the cherry flavor becomes much stronger, while some of the floral tones diminish somewhat. The flavor of the green tea remains very sweet and lush, balancing out the sweet cherry flavor with a hint of vegetation.
While I personally prefer this tea hot, I can see how this would be a big hit as an iced tea … especially for those who enjoy cherry fruit notes over those of the cherry blossom. I do like cherry, but I think I like better being able to taste those delicate cherry blossom notes that seem to subside as the tea cools.
A beautiful spring-time treat!
Thé des Amants from Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Description:
Rich and sensual, Thé des Amants is a heady, fragrant blend of black tea, apple, almond, cinnamon and vanilla, spiced up with a hint of ginger.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been mesmerized by the aroma of this tea since I first opened the little cylinder tin. It smells very autumnal, with its lovely cinnamon and apple notes, and hints of vanilla and almond. The fragrance is so deliciously comforting that I find myself continuously lifting my mug to my nose just to inhale this delightful scent.
This is a pleasant tea. I would classify this as medium-bodied, and a little lighter … thinner? … than I expected given its powerful aroma. It is quite tasty, but I find that I enjoy the fragrance more. I think this blend would benefit greatly from a stronger black tea base, one that could withstand the strength of the cinnamon notes.
What I do like is that the flavors are all there. The most dominate flavor is the cinnamon, but despite its power over the black tea base, I don’t think the cinnamon is too strong. The apple flavor is more subtle, but it melds nicely with the cinnamon, which seems to bring out some of the sweet apple-y tones. The ginger is surprisingly soft here, and I say surprisingly because ginger has a way of being very strong even when its not intended to be. I taste the ginger as a hint of pepper toward the end of the sip, a peppery note that lingers into the aftertaste along with the spicy tones of the cinnamon.
The almond and vanilla are very soft here, and didn’t really expose themselves much until I reached about mid-cup. I taste light creamy undertones and a sweet, nutty background from these flavors, and they add a nice dimension to the overall cup. I taste an occasional hint of orange with this blend … which sometimes I think I’m imagining because the overall “holiday” like flavor of this cup seems to inspire tea blenders to create orange-spice blends, and perhaps it’s just flavor association because of that.
A very pleasant cup, quite nice as an afternoon tea after lunch, as it satisfied that desire for me to indulge in something sweet.
Thé des Alizés from Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Description:
A green tea enlivened by flower petals and delicately scented with pieces of white peach, kiwi and watermelon. The green tea and the juicy freshness of the fruit are wonderfully balanced. Can be drunk hot or iced.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was very excited to try this tea … it was the first that I’ve tried from this company, and I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Le Palais Des Thés that I wanted to experience their teas for myself!
And I am happy to report that this tea has certainly lived up to the reputation that this company has built for itself. This is splendid!
The green tea is the most prominent flavor and that pleases me. I am glad to find that Le Palais Des Thés does not overdo it on the flavoring! The green tea tastes refreshing! Sweet, lightly grassy, and smooth, with a soft mouthfeel. Very little astringency … just silky, sweet flavor that glides over the palate from start to finish.
The flavors of kiwi, watermelon and white peach meld together deliciously, providing a flavor that is mouth-watering and sweet … but it is a natural kind of sweetness, not a cloying, candy sweet flavor. The overall cup is light, fruity and vitalizing.
I enjoyed this hot, and as good as it is, I can’t help but think that this would be STUNNING as an iced tea … and with that warm weather approaching, this would be a good one to have on hand when you want to impress your guests with a gourmet iced green tea.