Fauchon

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Recent Tasting Notes

100
drank L'Automne by Fauchon
1500 tasting notes

Holy moly. Just as I thought this tea was perfect as-is, I added Truvia to it.

The first few sips of the second mug (that sat a while), are more orange, less chocolate. About halfway through the cup it got back to the dry 100% cocoa-y vibe, and so I decided, “Why not? I’ll add some sweetener and see how it tastes.”

Well now, it’s like candy. I’m a greedy gal who wants to gulp it down in one sip. That’s right, like rich, decadent, very dark, orange chocolate, minus any cream, although it is quite buttery. The orange is most prominent now, with the dry cocoa following. Oh, wait. Do I dare add cream?

Maybe next time. This is just plain awesomesauce, and I want to cup to last forever.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec

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100
drank L'Automne by Fauchon
1500 tasting notes

Opening this tin makes me think of oranges. Pure, freshly squeezed oranges. It’s divine and lovely, and I inhaled quite a bit before putting 1 tsp. per 8 oz of water into my Breville.

Amazingly, this actually smells like those chocolate oranges I find everywhere in Canada over the holidays. They look like an orange, and you whack them against a table or something for them to “break” into slices… and then you take off the foil and eat the orange-flavored chocolate yumminess. As Fauchon specializes in baked delicacies, this is what I imagine what their chocolate orange would smell like. Heaven.

The first sip really surprised me. I took another few to confirm. This tastes EXACTLY like caocao nibs – the unsweetened globs of goodness I usually put in my cereal for depth and crunch. The mouthfeel is the same (dry and cocoa-y), the texture is similar (thick) and it’s quite shocking to me how similar it is. The orange follows almost as if it’s a child lollygagging behind; it’s there, but only if you’re paying attention.

This is my first 100 rating on Steepster, and now my favorite tea. Next cup, I’ll try it with some Truvia to see how it changes. Right now, I’m just going to inhale and enjoy this dry, almost tart, caocao orange flavor.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec
JustJames

this review makes me happy…. happy enough to brave winner’s tomorrow. lol. (very rare)

MissB

Awesome! The more I drink this, the more complex it gets, and the more I like it. The second mug was more orangey, less chocolate for the first few sips, and now it’s got that dry, 100% chocolate feel again. I found it inexpensive, too; $12.99 for the tin, and it was filled to almost full.

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82

The scent of this tea is of white tea, lemongrass and a hint of something creamy. Usually I don’t pick out the individual ingredients just by the scent, but this one puts it right in front of your nose!

Sipping… this tea is so straight-forward… it’s as if every element from the scent has been enhanced and translated right into the flavor. Lemongrass is the most prominent note for me, closely followed by the white tea. I wish there were more of the cream/vanilla, but it hides in the background and isn’t completely missing.

I like this tea, but have to be in the mood for it. It’s not a blend that I can drink anytime, but it’s not one that I would avoid either.

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i think… that perhaps fauchon and i don’t get along. Dinosara sent this one my way, and i really thought i would like it but the floral taste is too much for me. I don’t get much in the way of vanilla, though it is there for me a bit. Instead it feels very much like i’m back in my grandmother’s bathroom smelling her floral hand creams. Only that’s what it tastes like to me. bah. Oh well, can’t win them all, and if you like rose, you’d probably really like this tea.

Dinosara

Haha yes, this one is a rosey one. There are others (that I don’t have now) that are less floral that you would probably like more.

Sil

i like trying ALL THE TEA! so it was still fun, and it means there’s a little left over for the gals out here :)

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drank Raspberry Macaron by Fauchon
15019 tasting notes

sipdown! i had some of this hot brewed earlier today and then cold steeped the rest. Let’s talk about how that was a bad idea. Don’t do it. I was hoping it would let the flavours come out a bit more…no such luck. Ah well, at least i enjoyed the hot steepings of this one, and i’m really glad to have crossed this off my list! thanks a bunch dinosara!

Dinosara

Haha good to know!

Sil

yeah,…stick to uber low HOT water temp

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drank Raspberry Macaron by Fauchon
15019 tasting notes

I may have steeped this one at too high a temperature, but i still have some more to play with so that’s all good. This is another one from dinosara and it’s an interesting one. I’m not sure how i feel about it. I didn’t get much in the way of macaron from this, but i did get the raspberry flavouring, though it was more artificial than being close to real raspberries. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but i’m glad i have a little more to play with.

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72

this was an interesting darjeeling for me this morning – not my favourite sort of darjeeling but i did like that it was different. this has more floral notes than i prefer but there’s also a taste running through that i do like. Happy to have the chance to try this one.

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51

sipdown on this one (225) i don’t like it. pretty sure it’s the oolong base that just ruins it for me. it’s not one of those tasty oolongs i am ok with..instead it’s got this weird ick factor going on when mixed with the orange and almond. yep..oh well, glad i got to try it since this is one i would have expected to have liked!

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51

not a sipdown! I tried this one in because i wanted a bit of flavour, without having to look through samples that i didn’t set out last night lol. Overall, so far, i’m underwhelmed. I think i need to overleaf this a bit. Mostly it tasted like a green oolong. As it cooled, more of the orange started to come through but the almond side of this is missing. Luckily i have enough to make another cup in the nearish future to see if i can get it right and have a tastier cup!

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88

Thanks to RogersCK for a sample of this! I love how creamy and lemon-y this tastes. Despite its delicateness, this blend holds it own without any problem whatsoever. I can definitely envision curling up with cup of this and watching snow fall softly outside. Mmmm… yes, winter suddenly sounds much more appealing.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
keychange

I love, love any tea that makes an impending winter actually seem pleasant.

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85
drank Melange Fauchon by Fauchon
408 tasting notes

How refined, how elegant this tea is ! It’s fantastic.
I am having it after my congou keemum by Butiki Teas and I loved it so much I wasn’t expecting too much of this second tea to drink just behind.

This is THE most famous tea of Fauchon. I choose this one because I loved how its smell not because of its fame.
Brewing it and tasting it now I am particularly impressed by the way the aromas are coming on the same time: together and distinctively.
None of the aromas, vanilla lavender and citrus, are overpowering.
The 3 are working so well together, waaaa, the person who created this combination is just a genious.
The day begins on a lovely note : I had 2 teas, totally different, I really really loved for so different reasons.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Sil

So many teas that you have readily available madam. I’m so envious!

Ysaurella

hehehe but you have sooooo many available easily from your side of the Atlantic : for some I am jealous (Butiki Teas) or other very less (David’s). I may be able next month to send you some you want to try, let me know if you are interested :)

Sil

I am always interested in a swap with my european friends! I’ll try to clean out my cupboard a little of all of the samples in it before then. :)

Terri HarpLady

What she said!

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100
drank Red Fruits & Honey by Fauchon
6 tasting notes

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Another Sipdown from my box of teas from NofarS!
I enjoyed this Darjeeling while I was teaching this afternoon, after all the errand running, but before the stove repair & cleaning. It has as light fruitiness, along with a floral aspect to it. A nice afternoon tea.

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87

Getting through lots of my cupboard today! This one (#62) is one I kind of wish was an unroasted TGY, instead of roasted. It’s pretty tasty, but I still prefer unroasted. Just the smell is not that appealing to me; it smells toasty and roasted and a bit woody. But the flavor is better, with more orange flavor and nuttiness. I also wish for more almond flavor. I wonder how this would be as a cold brew?

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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87

This has been popping up on people’s dashboards a lot lately since it’s one of the ones currently at TJ Maxx group stores. Seeing it inspired me to pull my tin out, which I bought about a year ago in Paris when this first was released.

I am definitely still a fan of this one, and I probably like it more now than I did when I got it because my fondness for traditionally roasted tieguanyins has increased. The toasty, freshly-baked bread flavors that come out in that really complement the almond here, and the orange provides a nice bright counterpart. Kind of like almond orange sweet bread, which sounds like a bread I would like to make. I especially like this one as it cools down.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Cameron B.

It’s an epidemic! Hah. I like this one a lot too, and we should all make almond-orange sweet bread. Yum!

Stephanie

I go back to check TJMAXX tonight, thanks for reminding me ;)

Cameron B.

Good luck, Stephanie! :D

MzPriss

@Steph PMing you

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87

It’s been a while. I’ve been crazy busy with no time for tea (gasp!), which is sad. I also haven’t been reading tasting notes, so do let me know if I’ve missed anything (I won’t have time to go back through them all, you lot are prolific!).

Continuing my cupboard chronology? I bet you forgot about it! I’m still mid-French tea boom, though, so I’m more than happy to keep going.

Ahh, Paris. Since I first purchased and tasted this tea I have grown a lot fonder of traditional TGYs and their roasty toasty notes. So while it was surprising to me that I enjoyed this one as much as I did when I first tried it, this time is no shock. Delish! Unlike many Fauchon teas, I find the flavoring on this one to be more subtle. Light citrusy orange blossom, and a rich almond that comes out more in the aftertaste but lingers like you just ate some marzipan. Definite yum.

Also I realized that I have just been boiling all of my TGYs now. I used to think that they needed lower temps, like 195°F, since they were green oolongs and delicate or something, but not true! I find it harder to mess up an oolong than a black tea these days.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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87

This one was high on my list to pick up at Fauchon, and even though the matching confiture was sold out, the tea was still around. I love almond, orange is pretty great, and it’s an oolong.

They had a small jar of the dry leaf sitting out at the store and it looked kind of like a traditional tieguanyin base… hand curled leaf balls, but dark, olive green color. Turns out I was correct. There was also some unexplained large-diameter stick in my infuser, but whatever. I am normally not huge on traditional (roasted) TGY, but I think it can work really well in some blends, and this seems to be one.

The roasty flavor is a nice complement to the sweet almond. I wouldn’t call this particularly citrusy, but the orange adds a slight brightness and slight sweetness to the blend I think. It’s kind of like a slightly orangey almond cookie, complete with oven-baking. Oh, maybe even more like orange blossom almond cookies, which I love. Anyway, the afteraste is awesome, as it is very almondy, like I just drank some amaretto. I am happy with this one for sure.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Indigobloom

oooh a new company I haven’t heard of! yay! :P

Sil

IB…that’s because you’ve been living under a rock far away from steep steer lately :p

This one sounds delicious dinosara

Dinosara

Haha IB, it’s probably one to not get too invested in… A French company that doesn’t ship outside of Europe. Annoying because they have a bunch of delicious teas!

Ysaurella

This sounds really nice, I should go to fauchon to look at their teas. Thanks Dinosara for tasting it

Sil

Just means we need to plan another swap with ysaurella to have more tasty tasty French teas lol

Indigobloom

Sil, yeah, I need to get some tea “sun” :P

Ysaurella

@ Sil yes no probs and with pleasure asap I’ll get new teas. At the moment it’s so hot here I just drink my teas iced and don’t buy any new !

Sil

Ysaurella – I understand that! I hate the heat!

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78
drank Raspberry Macaron by Fauchon
2201 tasting notes

I have battled with this tea ever since I brought it back from Paris. Darjeeling! * shakes fist * We are not friends. But maybe we can call an uneasy truce. This time I steeped this tea like it was a green tea, and there is only the barest hints of bitterness on my palate. Most of the flavor is a slightly perfumy raspberry and rose, with the light almond of a macaron underneath. I’m still not in love with this tea, but maybe with a slightly shorter steep time I can actually enjoy it enough to finish it!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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78
drank Raspberry Macaron by Fauchon
2201 tasting notes

I was thinking about this the other day and wondering how it would come out as a cold brew. I’m not fond of darjeelings hot but maybe I would like them ok cold?

The first word I would use to describe this one is powerful. Extremely floral, almost perfumy, with a fruity and almondy undercurrent. I accidentally let this one go longer than I planned, which could be factoring into this, but I also think I will use half the leaf I usually do in the future. I diluted it a great deal and it became more pleasant. I still don’t totally love this one, but I do like the darjeeling much more as a cold brew than I do hot (although I still have to try it at a cooler steep temp). It’s also one of those cold brews that grew on me and I liked it a lot more as I drank more of it.

Preparation
Iced

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78
drank Raspberry Macaron by Fauchon
2201 tasting notes

Trying this again. Even though this tea says that it’s 100% black tea on the website, some of the leaf chunks in my infuser were somewhat greenish, so I steeped it at a slightly lower temp. Not that I think that there is green tea in this, but rather maybe a milder black that needs a lower temp, perhaps a darjeeling?

This tea smells a lot like a macaron… it has a light, baked, cookie-ish aroma, along with raspberry and rose. In short, it smells awesome. The taste still has a very faint sharp bitter note, though. It is definitely lighter than before, so perhaps I just need to go lower in temp even, but it’s odd because it’s kind of unlike a usual oversteeped bitter note. It’s also one of those frustrating things where you can tell the rest of the flavors are awesome, but the base tea seems to be mucking it up. Sigh.

Oh and apparently I can’t read because the base is a darjeeling and it says on the website. I guess this goes to show that, no, I still don’t like darjeelings, even flavored ones. Well maybe if I play around with the steeping parameters I can get it to work for me.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Anna

(I’m in the process of trying to figure out exactly how I feel about darjeelings, and this is really helpful.)

Stephanie

Yum, that sounds like a tasty tea.

Jason

Dinosara: Did you rate this tea and then remove the rating? Trying to figure out if something is happening to people’s ratings….

Dinosara

No, I never rated this one. I did rate and then try to adjust the rating of this one: http://steepster.com/dinosara/posts/184616
But although it initially looks like the rating change has been saved, when I reload the page it defaults to the previous rating (79).

Anna

(But the rating is saved & updated under your ‘Tea ratings’ tab, right? That’s how it works for me.)

Dinosara

Scratch that, even if I change it under the Tea Ratings page, it still shows up as the old rating on the tasting note.

Dinosara

Ok, weirdly enough the rating is showing up as it should (80) on the tea’s page and on the ratings page, but not on my tealog: http://steepster.com/dinosara and the note itself, where it still says 79

Anna

Exactly – that’s how it is for me, too. (FF & Chrome, cache/cookies cleaned out.) Sorry to hijack your review, by the way – I’ll delete this when we’re in post-(te)apocalyptic mode.

momo

Now I’m even sadder this wasn’t a part of that vente privee sale, it’s my favorite fruit, my favorite French pastry/cookie, AND Darjeeling?! Maybe try 180 or so on the temperature.

Jason

Hmm, have to look into those issues. Sorry to be off topic here.

Ysaurella

oh another one I need to look at at Fauchon !

Dinosara

Ysaurella – I really wish I had picked up their new “Naissance” tea… it sounds really good too!

Ysaurella

I see http://www.fauchon.com/fr/naissance.html
it looks like a tea corresponding to my tastes.I’ll have a look at the fauchon shop Place de la Madeleine. Did you go to Hédiard as well (in front, on the other side of the place)? their teas are nice too but a little less expensive

Tina

This tea sounds so interesting and tasty. I’ve been looking at Fauchon teas the whole week and a really looking forward to buy a few teas next time I’m in Paris.

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78
drank Raspberry Macaron by Fauchon
2201 tasting notes

For some reason I thought this would be a good idea to have this afternoon before I figured out if my water pitcher was producing good water or not. This is another one that seems like it had a lot of potential, but possibly tainted by the water. It had a weird bitter note that was very sharp and I’m not certain wasn’t leftover soap aroma from the pitcher. Sigh. But this had nice almond, raspberry and rose notes, and smelled amazing. Will try again, and I have plenty of this one!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
momo

Ahhh I can’t wait to hear more about this one!

Anna

I’m so excited about this one, too. I’m ashamed to admit I actually don’t own any Fauchon teas… (It’s especially ridiculous considering I used to work just next to the main shop in Place de la Madeleine.) …but after reading all your Fauchon notes, I realize I need to rectify this ASAP.

Dinosara

momo, I will definitely be trying it again soon!

Anna, I hadn’t tried any until recently when I got some samples from another steepsterite. I wasn’t expecting to be impressed but I really enjoyed them! I was just in Paris so I picked up some of their teas because they don’t ship to the US on their online store!

Anna

Ugh, now I have to go check how they ship within Europe. Damn you and your delectable tea cupboard.

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OK….honestly, I probably shouldn’t be sampling this right now.
I can’t smell anything. My taste buds aren’t really working very good, but I really wanted to try for something that might be sweet & here it is. This was recieved in a trade from NofarS. There is enough left for me to try it agian, so hopefully I’ll give a better review later.

Appearance-wise, it is a chocolate colored tea, in small clumps that kind of resembles shu. There are pieces of almond & orange peel mixed in as well. And I added stevia, because I couldn’t taste anything.
And it helped…a little. I have a little bit of a sweet taste in my mouth, with the sensation of Shu, overlaid with the bright sensation of orange juice. In between sips these things swell up just a little, so that I’m either slightly tasting them, or imagining it based on the sensations.

Terri HarpLady

I just read the info on the tea, & I’m a little off base, but do you expect? :)

Dinosara

I brought some of this back from Paris but haven’t tried it yet. But yeah, definitely not a shu. :D

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88
drank Rose & Litchi by Fauchon
2201 tasting notes

This tea (#63) I am having now, and hot. It’s similar to Bali, although Bali has a few other things in the blend I think. Rose and Lychee are just a perfect pair to me. I’ve been making my own rose-lychee black iced tea blend with my Harney teas, and it is quite tasty. I should probably think about drinking this one as a cold brew on occasion too, since it is probably awesome as one.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Terri HarpLady

That one sounds lovely!

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