drank Noël à Paris by Dammann Frères
1711 tasting notes

Skipping around the remaining teas from my advent calendar. This one sounded good, cherry, almond and ginger! The dry tea smells promising! Cherry and almond scents are sometimes hard to decipher, but I find the two rather distinct in this tea with the cherry dominating. It is a syrupy cherry smell. When brewed the scent is still present, but faded. I’m finding it difficult to be patient enough to let it cool before sipping. First few sips… I’m finding it has a very flat taste to it, like cherry juice soaked into cardboard. Is that the ginger? Adding sugar makes the cherry stand out more, but I’m also getting a dry mouth feeling from it too. I was really hoping to fall in love with a tea or two from DF, but I think this brand is just not for me.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Tuscanteal

LOL! Cherry soaked in cardboard!!

Dustin

I feel pretty cruel describing tea that way, but sometimes it is the only way to describe what I’m tasting!

Anna

So I guess there are now TWO people in the world who don’t love DF. We should have a (very small) club.

Tuscanteal

Don’t, that’s what makes it great. Very honest :)

Dinosara

Anna, there are some others (cteresa I think would join your club!). I am however in the other (very small) club of people who don’t love MF. Sometimes I feel like the only one!

Tuscanteal

I’ve never tried DF, but I adore MF… they were my first loose leaf tea company!!! Pricey but delicious!

Anna

Aww. Sara, the last dinosaur!

Dustin

A very small club has that exclusive feel about it. Pretty soon everyone is going to be begging to join our club and we can give them the “I don’t think so” look and not let them in to keep up the hype! Mwah-ha-ha-ha!

There is a fine line between honesty and being an a-hole. I try to stay on the honest side, but sometimes I take a quick leap over the line. ;)

I like MF alright so far, but they haven’t wowed me the way other French companies have like La Palais de Thes and Nina’s. Still, I’m finding most French tea to be surprisingly smooth even if the flavor tastes like packing peanuts.

Anna

It’s a product, you paid for it, it’s a huge tea merchant that turns over who knows how much money, and it’s very unlikely that anyone who could have their feelings hurt by your honest impressions of their tea would ever read one of these reviews.

I have to say, I find it really helpful when people write their honest opinions about these teas, even if they’re negative, because then you feel like less of a lunatic when you also find the product underwhelming.

Have you tried Le Palais des Thés’ pear tea? I am so into that.

Dustin

There are some smaller companies here that read the reviews of their teas that might be bummed by someone slamming something they worked hard on, but I think you are right about the big companies.

I haven’t tried their pear tea! There are only 4 or so teas of theirs that I have had so far, but they have all been very lovely.

Anna

Exactly, I agree – it’s important to take into account the huge challenges smaller companies face and what a privilege it is to have so many of them actively participating on Steepster.

The pear is one of those teas I’m sort of hoarding, because I worry I’ll run out. Thankfully, my friend is moving to Oslo soon, and there are two (?!) stores there. Le Palais des Thés have stores in the strangest places.

Dustin

I got to visit a Le Palais store this summer when I was in Dublin for a month. I hadn’t heard of the brand before, but I was thrilled to find it! It looks like the only stores they have in the states are in New York which is pretty far away for me.
That is great that you will have a friend able to send you tea! If I knew of more teas that I liked of theirs I’d start looking into who I knew who lived in New York and could do the same for me!

Anna

I know, Dublin! I mean, who has stores in Dublin, Oslo and Tel Aviv? Either it’s completely random, or a brilliant, strategic marketing move. (Hoping for the latter.) Their unflavoured teas are supposedly not-so-high-quality and very overpriced, but I haven’t tried them myself.

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Comments

Tuscanteal

LOL! Cherry soaked in cardboard!!

Dustin

I feel pretty cruel describing tea that way, but sometimes it is the only way to describe what I’m tasting!

Anna

So I guess there are now TWO people in the world who don’t love DF. We should have a (very small) club.

Tuscanteal

Don’t, that’s what makes it great. Very honest :)

Dinosara

Anna, there are some others (cteresa I think would join your club!). I am however in the other (very small) club of people who don’t love MF. Sometimes I feel like the only one!

Tuscanteal

I’ve never tried DF, but I adore MF… they were my first loose leaf tea company!!! Pricey but delicious!

Anna

Aww. Sara, the last dinosaur!

Dustin

A very small club has that exclusive feel about it. Pretty soon everyone is going to be begging to join our club and we can give them the “I don’t think so” look and not let them in to keep up the hype! Mwah-ha-ha-ha!

There is a fine line between honesty and being an a-hole. I try to stay on the honest side, but sometimes I take a quick leap over the line. ;)

I like MF alright so far, but they haven’t wowed me the way other French companies have like La Palais de Thes and Nina’s. Still, I’m finding most French tea to be surprisingly smooth even if the flavor tastes like packing peanuts.

Anna

It’s a product, you paid for it, it’s a huge tea merchant that turns over who knows how much money, and it’s very unlikely that anyone who could have their feelings hurt by your honest impressions of their tea would ever read one of these reviews.

I have to say, I find it really helpful when people write their honest opinions about these teas, even if they’re negative, because then you feel like less of a lunatic when you also find the product underwhelming.

Have you tried Le Palais des Thés’ pear tea? I am so into that.

Dustin

There are some smaller companies here that read the reviews of their teas that might be bummed by someone slamming something they worked hard on, but I think you are right about the big companies.

I haven’t tried their pear tea! There are only 4 or so teas of theirs that I have had so far, but they have all been very lovely.

Anna

Exactly, I agree – it’s important to take into account the huge challenges smaller companies face and what a privilege it is to have so many of them actively participating on Steepster.

The pear is one of those teas I’m sort of hoarding, because I worry I’ll run out. Thankfully, my friend is moving to Oslo soon, and there are two (?!) stores there. Le Palais des Thés have stores in the strangest places.

Dustin

I got to visit a Le Palais store this summer when I was in Dublin for a month. I hadn’t heard of the brand before, but I was thrilled to find it! It looks like the only stores they have in the states are in New York which is pretty far away for me.
That is great that you will have a friend able to send you tea! If I knew of more teas that I liked of theirs I’d start looking into who I knew who lived in New York and could do the same for me!

Anna

I know, Dublin! I mean, who has stores in Dublin, Oslo and Tel Aviv? Either it’s completely random, or a brilliant, strategic marketing move. (Hoping for the latter.) Their unflavoured teas are supposedly not-so-high-quality and very overpriced, but I haven’t tried them myself.

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My name is Dustin and I like tea.

I’m an added flavor kind of tea fan, but have had a growing appreciation for plain. I want my tea to remind me of cookies and cakes with coconut and almond slices with a hint of chocolate drizzled on top. I want dancing ponies and flying monkeys shooting off fireworks! And no hibiscus. Hibiscus is the devil.

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