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Anna drank Soleil Vert by Dammann Frères

303 tasting notes

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 household cleaning products (I never buy lemon, it’s one of the worst things ever) or over-the-top flavoured candy (the rules for candy are different, though).

In the cup, it is – just as I have come to expect from DF – much more subtle and bland, but the artificial note remains. I guess, as in the case of the ginger and the violet, some of DF’s flavourings just aren’t for me.

[From my epic Instant-Thé order to Rome, October 2013.]

Preparation

195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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6 comments

caile
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lol at candy rules! :-)

Anna
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But it’s TRUE!!!

caile
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haha yes, yes it is! I love candy but probably mostly have peppermints – the English mints without the candy coating – and keep a jar of them at home and a tin in my purse that I refill..

Anna
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Mostly peppermints! Welcome to the dark side – this is the by-the-pound candy section of your average Swedish grocery store: http://girlunmapped.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/img_5607.jpg

Anna
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(By the way, top row in the middle – the lemon candies I was talking about!)

caile
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Oh my goodness – that’s the average Swedish grocery store aisle!! I may have to give up the peppermints! Yep, those lemon candies look good.. if one can find them nestled amongst the millions of others! ;-)

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Comments

caile
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lol at candy rules! :-)

Anna
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But it’s TRUE!!!

caile
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haha yes, yes it is! I love candy but probably mostly have peppermints – the English mints without the candy coating – and keep a jar of them at home and a tin in my purse that I refill..

Anna
Delete

Mostly peppermints! Welcome to the dark side – this is the by-the-pound candy section of your average Swedish grocery store: http://girlunmapped.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/img_5607.jpg

Anna
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(By the way, top row in the middle – the lemon candies I was talking about!)

caile
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Bio

I’m going to try all the teas.

Then I will choose a lucky few perfect specimens, and we will live happily together in my tea cupboard.

Forever.

* *

2015

This will be a year of in-betweenness and logistics. Where to put the teas. How to arrange the teas. Which teas to replenish – which ones to say goodbye to.

Still doing Project Green.
Still doing Project Jasmine.
Still doing Project Peach.

Dr. Tea is the name, I’m ahead of my game
still, steeping my leafs, still f*ck with the temps
still not loving Assam (uh-huh)
still rock my Bosch kettle with its high-pitched shriek
still got love for the greens, repping Lupicia
still the cup steams, still doing my thang
since I left, ain’t too much changed, still

(With apologies to Mr. Young.)

2014

This year, all bets are off. I am going to drink both peppermint and chamomile and possibly suffer a little. But it’s okay – it’s for science.

I’m doing Project Jasmine, Project Peach and Project Unflavoured Green.

In terms of flavoured teas, Lupicia and Mariage Frères have become my massive favourites, and I have learned that Dammann Frères/Fauchon/Hédiard and Butiki aren’t really for me.

The O Dor, Adagio and Comptoir des thés et des épices are all on this year’s I’d like to get to know you better list.

2013

Getting back into tea drinking last fall, I was all about rooibos. This past spring has been all green tea, all the time, with some white additions over the summer. Currently attempting a slow, autumnal graduation to black teas. Oolongs are always appropriate.

The constant for me, flavour wise, is the strong presence of fruity and floral notes. Vanilla is lush, as long as it’s not artificial. Peach, berries, mango. Cornflower, rose, lavender.

No peppermint.

No chamomile.

No cinnamon.

Ever.

* *

My ratings don’t reflect the ‘What does this tea do for me?’ standard, but rather my own ‘What would I do for this tea?’ scale.

100-90
My absolute favourites. Teas I would travel for – or, in any case, pay exuberant postage for, because they simply have to be in my cupboard. Generally multi-faceted teas with complex scents and flavours. Teas with personality. Tricky teas.

89-80
Teas I wouldn’t hesitate to buy again if and when I came across them. Tea purchases I would surreptitiously weave into a travel itinerary (Oh! A Lupicia store! Here?! My word!).

79-70
Teas I enjoyed, but don’t necessarily need to make any kind of effort to buy again.

69-0
Varying degrees of disinterest and contempt.