Okay, so you remember that Thé d’amandine (Comptoir des thés et des épices) review that prompted my Steepster friend Y, our resident fairy godmother of Theodor tea samples to offer some up in the first place? Well, I do.
I’ve been so curious about this one – I mean, a comment such as, “Tribute by Theodor is cleary THE galette des rois tea” makes it impossible to resist, after all. And yes, this is one of those cases where – if I’d had this one first – I would have been head over heels, placing an order within the week. But now I have two very positive experiences with other almondy teas, one of them a staple in my cupboard (Pleine Lune) and the other one (Thé d’amandine) a tea I’ve vowed to re-review more generously, seeing as I was so fed up with French greens when I tried it.
This is a black tea, though, and as such more closely comparable to Pleine Lune. Quite unfairly, seeing as the MF tea is one that makes me want to put a leash on and kneel before my master. Tribute strikes me as less complex in taste, with a mouthfeel that comes off as a little watery to me, compared to the creamy smoothness of PL.
In the case of Thé d’amandine, it had the added bonus of being a green tea, and as such lighter and more accessible. It also brought some element of surprise to the table, through the addition of that distant, near-spectral cherry presence.
Tribute, however, doesn’t leave much of an impression on me.
I’m very torn here – on the one hand I feel like it’s close to sacrilege to rate this less than the seemingly obligatory 80+, but on the other, I’m really grateful for knowing exactly what I’m looking for. That knowledge, however, would be impossible if not for all this tea sampling – thank you so much, Y! I’ve had such a good time with these samples, and you really are the sweetest for helping me explore my feelings for the ravishing Monsieur Théodor.
[Sample from Y at Steepster, spring 2014.]
90 C, 3 min 30