Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 12
Two flavoured Darjeeling blends in one advent! And here I thought flavouring a Darjeeling was against whatever goes for tea propriety (I’m joking but I also can’t recall coming across any tea blender who dared to flavour one).
The deep grape hues are maybe a tricky pairing for peach; the combo leaves the impression of a mulled fruity red wine or a pruned purple plum, rather than peach itself. When the peach is ascendant, the combined sweet, floral, and sour notes of the Darjeeling creates a portrait of a hip Bellini or… Fuzzy Peaches (hurrah). Also, bittersweet children’s grape-flavoured cough syrup (boo.. at least it’s not an overt association). It’s a neat blend but, as a huge fan of violets and a lesser fan of peach-flavoured teas, I think “Aviateur” is the better scented/flavoured Darjeeling of the two.
I’m going to go for a second steep later because, like oolong, I think that’s where a lot of Darjeeling teas hit their stride. Edit second steep was softer, but my Mom actually loved the first steep – which changed beautifully as it cooled.
Flavors: Astringent, Candy, Floral, Fruity, Grapes, Muscatel, Nectar, Peach, Red Wine, Sour, Stonefruit, Sweet, Tangy, Vegetal
