This is one of the most popular Dammann Frères blends, it seems – both in terms of ratings and sales. It makes sense – if DF’s overall concept appealed to me, I’d be really excited about this tea, too. Smelling the dry leaf is interesting – at first, it’s a rich, dreamy bouquet with all …
Pistachio Ice Cream – Butiki Teas
Pistachio is my favourite nut; I think I’ve cooked and served and eaten it in every way possible, but this is the first pistachio tea I try. Random fact: the Swedish word for ‘pistachio’ is one of the most commonly misspelled words in the Swedish language. In the bag, this smells like fairly generic nut …
Christmas Tea Vert – Dammann Frères
Again, one of those Dammann teas that exploded with tasting notes after I added it to the database. It’s been a lot of fun reading reviews of teas I acquired completely blindly. In the bag, I get a strong, well-balanced cherry-orange. Definitely a nice combination for a Christmas tea, but, as always, the Dammann Frères …
Cookie – Lupicia
I deserved a treat, and this tea is the ultimate treat. Just smelling it makes me grin like a madwoman. I use the Perfect Measuring Spoon from DT a lot, not so much because it measures very perfectly (because it really doesn’t) but because it has such a pleasant, sleek, ottery roundness to it; just …
Melon White Tea – Lupicia
Lupicia, how are you even… Lupicia, how can you even… Lupicia, how is this even… I can’t even. Just like the melon oolong from the same company (Reviewed here: http://gluttonette.com/?p=463) this is a perfect melon, both in the bag and steeped. It’s light, and smooth, and in every possible way beyond reproach. It lacks the dirty ripeness of …
With Open Eyes – Butiki Teas
I’ve spent the past few days contemplating how Dammann Frères’ violet, ginger, rose and citrus are good, but just not the ones for me. And here I am again, but with Butiki. This is a great, natural strawberry. In the bag, it smells so ripe, like those near-moldy strawberries you’ve kept around lust a little …
Bali – Dammann Frères
If Bali smells like this, I need to go there (I need to go there, anyway, but still). This is what scented island-life travel ads would smell like – floral, fruity and with a dash of something boozy. The florals, however, amount mostly to a distinct rose flavour in the cup, drowning out the fruit …
Mango Lassi – Butiki Teas
This one confuses me – I like my flavored rooibos well enough, but this is like drinking straight-up rooibos. It smells like rooibos in the bag, it smells like rooibos in the cup, and it tastes like rooibos in the cup. Any hint of anything else, mango or otherwise, is simply absent. I can’t really …
Soleil Vert – Dammann Frères
This smells so very richly citrusy in the bag, it reminds me of the Malaco Fox lemon toffee candy I used to love as a kid. It’s a little too much, though, and it comes off as too artificial to me. Citrus is hard to get right, and the scents often land too close to …
Happiness – Lupicia
I was so sure I’d reviewed this that I’d put it in the cupboard. The shame. It might have been because it’s not a favourite – this is one that leaves me fairly indifferent. In the bag, the dry leaf smells very boozy, but not a ripe, fruitrotty, autumnal booziness like Marco Polo (vert) from Mariage Frères, …