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.
Green Tea Sauvignon from Vintage Tea Works
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Vintage Tea Works
Tea Description:
Inspired by Sauvignon Blanc, we blended natural
ingredients to create a green tea blend that is medium bodied, with a
burst of fresh grapefruit offering a racy hit of crisp acidity. (2.0oz. / 56.7g – about 20 cups)About Sauvignon Blanc – Sauvignon Blanc is high acid, medium bodied, white wine that makes a wonderful food pairing wine. Sauvignon Blanc’s aromas and flavors are often compared to fruits like grapefruit, gooseberries and green apples combined with an undertone of a grassy, vegetal nature.
Tea and Food Pairings – Pair our Green Tea Sauvignon with Asian inspired cuisine, cheeses or salads. Try it on ice for refreshment anytime.
Ingredients – Green tea, organic grapefruit peel, calendula marigold flower petals, natural flavorings..
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have recently ordered three teas from Vintage Tea Works, but this was not one of them. I was drawn to three of their other teas but this will go on my list for future orders! I am lucky to be able to sample this selection due to the generosity of my SororiTea Sister Anne.
I used to be quite the wine drinker before health concerns capped off my more indulgent days. I suppose some would have considered me a wine snob. Yet this, this is a tea, and a very fine tea at that!
Vintage Tea Works has found the perfect unison of wine and tea in this blend. They have made it noticeable that this is not a wine yet wine like enough that those who appreciate a good wine will be able to pick up the notes, the flavors, the balance, and nuances of what a fine wine would offer. What I am trying to say is that you do not have to be wine lover to love this tea, yet if you are, you will love it all the more!
The first thing I notice upon sipping is that there is a marked floral and fruity flavor which is well balanced and well blended. The sweetness of the tea is noticeable as well yet becomes more pronounced as the tea cools slightly. So if comparing to a wine this would be on the side of the more tropical Sauvignon types. Comparing to a tea it is also quite tropical in its flavor with notes of grassy flavors in the aftertaste followed by a slight buttery note but that note is very subtle. Granted there is not much, if any difference between wine tasting and tea tasting.
When I was selecting the three teas from Vintage Tea Works that I wanted to try I of course went with my favorite wine types and I grabbed the pu-erh because I love pu-erh and really wanted to see what they did with that blend. The main reason, however, that I did not select this particular tea was due to the grapefruit element. At the time that I placed my order I was not feeling that I wanted a grapefruit flavor. Now that I am drinking this tea though I have to say I am not picking up much if any of an actual grapefruit flavor. I feel that the grapefruit in this blend adds more to the palate cleansing effect more than the flavor itself. Like a wine however, or a masterfully blended tea, you really can’t judge the final outcome by the ingredients as stand alone elements. I guess I just needed Vintage Tea Works to come around to remind me of that.
I love the use of Calendula in this tea. Calendula is one of my favorite herbs. Granted it is also a flower but it is technically an herbaceous plant. I have used this herb in my home remedy blends for decades. Calendula lends an interesting floral yet savory note to the tea.
This tea also is quite excellent chilled which makes it versatile for summer or winter enjoyment.
When you swish the tea around in your mouth you pick up the fruit notes, then the sweetness, but as you swallow you get this green clean taste that is reminiscent of summer fields and marigolds which the Calendula plant is in the family of. The grapefruit notes as I said are barely noticeable but I get those mostly long after the swallow, about 30 seconds to 1 minute later, which serves almost as a drying effect and reminder to take another sip.
I do wish I had grabbed this tea as well in my order but now I have something to save up for and look forward to.
Marigold Lemon Tulsi Blend from The Tao of Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Tisane Description:
Tulsi with hints of lemony flavor makes a great combination. We chose 100% organic Australian Lemon Myrtle for the blend because it had the perfect strength to balance the brew. Complemented with the fragrant sweetness of calendula flowers.
Caffeine free.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh, what a pleasant cup. So gentle and relaxing … perfect for later in the evening (which it happens to be right now), it seems to instill a sense of serenity – I can feel the stress of the day melting away as I sip this.
It has a slight medicinal taste, but I don’t find it to be medicinal in an off-putting way. I think a better word to describe it would be herbaceous, although there are those who would say that herbaceous and medicinal are quite similar descriptive words. I don’t think so, though I can see how some might construe them as similar.
The slightly peppery, slightly minty tones of the tulsi meld beautifully with the light citrus-y tones of the lemon myrtle. I don’t usually notice too much flavor from marigold petals, but because the overall character of this tisane is rather subtle the sweet floral tones do present themselves in the flavor here.
A very enjoyable, naturally caffeine-free cup – perfect for those evenings when you want to unwind. This tea will calm your spirit and mind, and even help relieve your tension.
Very nice.
Two Dragons and a Pearl from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
When you brew Two Dragons, two arms of jasmine and globe amaranth petals will slowly expand upwards cupping a single marigold flower – and so it is given the name of Two Dragons and a Pearl. Thanks to the jasmine and amaranth, this tea has a wonderful sweet, flowery aroma and taste. The taste is long-lasting and will survive 2 or 3 infusions.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is the third and final tea from my Steepster Select box from February: Year of the Dragon. It is a very slow-to-open blooming tea from Teavivre. It’s fun to watch it slowly unfurl to reveal the beautiful flowery display tucked inside the handcrafted bulb.
The instructions suggest using boiling water and 2 minutes steep time. However, I couldn’t bear to pour boiling water over these bulbs, I was afraid I’d burn them. Instead, I heated the water to 185°F, and steeped for 2 1/2 minutes. Only a few leaves opened away from the bulb, so, I infused it a second time, adding 1 minute onto the steep time. With the second infusion, the bulb expanded more, revealing hints of the colors of the display, but, still did not open fully. 
It wasn’t until the third and final infusion that the bulb fully opened, revealing a beautiful orange flower at the base of the leaves, and jasmine “arms” that reach up to hold a gorgeous red flower. The photo to the right doesn’t begin to do justice to how lovely this bloom really is.
The tea from the first infusion was a very gentle flavored tea, with notes of jasmine and hints of fresh grass and hay. It was delicious, but I do think it could have improved with a longer steep time. Perhaps a hotter water would have produced more flavor as well, but again, having scorched more than my share of green and white teas in my past, this is something I do not wish to repeat.
The second infusion provided a much more flavorful cup. The flavor is sweet and floral, and the tea tastes fresh and even a little creamy. Very smooth, with no notable astringency or bitterness. The third infusion was a little less flavorful, but still was quite enjoyable … and even though the flavor had waned a little, the splendor of the bulb finally opening fully made it worth the effort to steep it a third time.
Another lovely tea experience from Teavivre. I’ve come to expect greatness from them, and they’ve yet to fail!
Lady Luck from WhiteAugust Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pouchong
Where to Buy: WhiteAugust Tea Company
Product Description:
Purely seductive. Pouchong oolong, lemon myrtle, marigolds and just a touch of vanilla, give rise to this smooth slightly creamy liquor.
Taster’s Review:
While brewing this tea, I couldn’t help but notice the aroma. The vanilla scent is really quite powerful. It smells so sweet and delicious.
But, I am glad that the vanilla doesn’t present as strong a flavor as it does a fragrance in this blend. Don’t get me wrong, the vanilla flavor IS there, but, it doesn’t overwhelm the cup. It is delicate enough to allow the nuances of the Pouchong to express themselves.
The vanilla tones are sweet and creamy, and they seem to unite seamlessly with the soft, velvet-y flavor of the Pouchong. There is just a hint of citrus-y flavor from the lemon myrtle – much less than I was expecting. That’s not to say it should be stronger … it is what it is … but, I guess when I read the description I was expecting a more prominent citrus tone. As it is, though, I think that the subtle hints of citrus in this cup are very pleasant, providing a nice contrast to the sweetness of the vanilla and Pouchong.
Overall, I find this to be a very smooth-tasting tea. There is very little astringency and no bitterness to it. It is a delicate tea; it is not too heavy or overbearing. It is a nice choice for later in the day, but it’s also sweet enough to be a dessert-type tea as well.