Demmers Teehaus

I have to say, I’m not really tasting the blackcurrant.

There’s a small hint of it in there, somewhere. At least the aroma is full and very blackcurrant-y. I’m definitely tasting the tea over whatever flavoring is supposed to be here. Perhaps I steeped it for too long – 2-4 was the recommended. I did 3. Perhaps I steeped too little.

It’s still a pretty nice tea! A while after taking a sip, you start to taste the blackcurrant. I just wish it was present in the sip itself.

It smells just like apple pie! It’s uncanny, yet delicious at the same time.

The taste, however, is a lot more subdued. It’s a bit of an abrupt change. You can definitely taste the tea (this is a blend of two green teas and two black teas, but I mostly taste the black) more than the flavorings (flavored with apple bits, cinnamon and “aromas”). I’m not quite sure what to think of this, but it’s really good if you don’t like overpowering sweetness. I can imagine this going very well with something sweet (like – dare I say it? – apple pie).

This is an excellent tea for the price (I paid only 3€ for 100 grams), although I do believe that it’s only really available during the winter. Shame.

Thanks to Meghann for letting me try this one!
I have been studying Japanese all day. I have to take two tests tomorrow, because I was away at a conference on Friday, and missed one. Actually, it’s one test and a midterm. So cramming away I am. My head hurts, and I am tired of vocab, so this tea, despite having 山本 (yamamoto) in the name, sounded refreshing.
Indeed, this would be brilliant iced. It’s citrusy, in a pale and pleasant way, and definitely tastes of sencha. I think even my ‘flavored tea is a waste of tea’ husband wouldn’t mind a little citrus with his sencha.

This is supposed to be part of Demmers’ “Tea tasters selection”, but this doesn’t really win me over. I do understand the name, taste reminds one strongly about bees, but that’s about it. This wulong has an interesting, honey-like sweetnes, and that’s it.

Finishing up the rest of the sample of this from my Secret Santa, Adham. I like how different this Earl Grey is from the norm. The jasmine in this blend really makes it stick out. I’m happy I had the opportunity to try this tea.

This one interested me in the store because it included lemon peel among the ingredients – something I haven’t often seen compared to the much more ubiquitous orange peel. It also features a wide variety of tasty spices which I hope come out in the flavor. It certainly smells spicy and citrusy at the same time, like lemon peels coated in ginger-cinnamon dust. There are lots of spice pieces to be seen mixed in with the rooibos too, so I’m hoping this will be a strongly flavored chai. For the first time though I’ll make it tea-style rather than chai style and see how that comes out.

The two main flavors are lemon and ginger, which I think go well together. The other spices are there more as a texture than a taste – they add body and warmth to the two main elements. With milk and sugar, it’s a very tasty chai but still a bit mild – I will definitely have to try it chai-style at some point.

Tried this with remand sugar and wow was this fantastic. I love how the fruit flavors came out with the additions. Yum. This finished up the sample from secret Santa Adham. I am going to miss this one.

Another tea from Adham. This is the tea that I hit my nose first when I opened the package of teas. Wow, is the cherry fragrant in this one! The almond is a great combination with this, but doesn’t make it taste amaretto, like I thought it might. The leaves look like a mixture of brown skinny leaves (ceylon?) and then there are greener large wide leaves that must be the china part of the blend? Once I saw the wet leaves I thought maybe I had steeped this wrong, and thought it might be a black/green blend…still not really sure, but it tastes just wonderful brewed as a black tea. I love how fruity and floral this blend is. I wish I had some black cherry preserves and a scone to enjoy with this. Or maybe a bear claw from work to bring out the almond flavor…delicious! I really am enjoying this tea.

Finishing up the sample from Adham. I enjoy the brisk, assertive flavor of this tea. I tried a little sugar with it, and personally enjoy it better without. It does hold up to milk well. I think I prefer it plain, the spicy vanilla flavor is stronger that way.

Another tea sample from the Secret Santa package Adham sent. The package the teas came in smells so wonderful. I’m not sure if it is the combined fragrance of the teas, or if one of the teas is really overpowering the rest.

These dry leaves smell spicy, not in a caliente way, but as in chai spices. There is a vanilla sweetness to the leaves as well.

I brewed this at 3 minutes after reading Adham’s note that it brews quite brisk. Seeing how dark the infusion became after hitting the 3 minute mark impressed and scared me a little. Tasting this tea I definitely get the strong malty notes of assam. Wow, this is a full bodied tea. I’m glad to have chosen this to drink this morning, I need the pick me up. I’m glad the vanilla is in this tea, it makes it a bit different from other teas.

I love the murky green color this is when brewed. Almost a neon happy smily face. This tasted delightful with my leftover orange chicken with rice. There was so much ginger flavor in my orange chicken I needed the citrus of this tea to calm it down. Much enjoyed.

I received a package of this tea from Adham as a Secret Santa swap present. Thanks Ricky for putting together Secret Santa!

The leaves are a deep green in color, a medium length sencha leaf and mixed with pieces of citrus peel, lemongrass and flowery blossoms. The pouch smells fantastic, clean and vibrant. I sniffed the pouch as I was waiting for the tea to brew up.

The brewed tea is a pale yellow infusion. The citrus peel and lemongrass definitely show through in the taste but still allow the flavor of the sencha to come through. I could see this being a tea I drink daily, as it isn’t too fragrant or flavored, it is just right.

I’m really beginning to like green teas, I haven’t ventured to try many unflavored greens, but really enjoy these flavored blends.

Thanks again Adham for sending me this tea!

Another one picked up last week – it interested me because it brings together rose and vanilla, a mix I wouldn’t have otherwise thought about. It also lists a rather vague “fruit aroma” in the ingredients list, so I’m not sure what that will do. The dry leaf is dark and smells very fragrant – rose for sure, not much vanilla, but a generous helping of fruitiness too. And as I look at the leaf closely, I can see the rose petals and bits that look a lot like little dried squares of orange peel. This could be interesting!

It really smells good as it steeps, and comes out a medium brown liquor. The flavor profile is floral, very aromatic from the rose petals, with a little bit of juiciness from whatever fruit aromas they’ve used. Very little astringency or bitterness, even without any additives. Once I put a bit of sugar in, it becomes softer and not so perfumed, and with half and half it’s dialed back even more. If I’m going to put additives in a tea, I almost always put both sugar and some sort of dairy product, but I think this is one tea where I’d put sugar only so that I don’t dull the flavors too much. The vanilla never put up much of a fight against the other notes in this tea – too bad! I would have enjoyed more of that flavor.

Had a big pot of this today to celebrate finishing out a busy week at work. The sweet spiciness is welcome, and offers a great balance of warm winter flavors. This is one I have to drink with milk and sugar – it really feels like a treat that way!

Couldn’t resist this one, as I love the traditional Christmastime baked goods from German-speaking Europe known as Lebkuchen, and I wanted to build up my non-caffeine collection as well. It also interested me because it includes sandalwood, a scent I like but not something I’ve ever seen in tea before. The dry leaf smells warm and spicy, and very yummy.

Wanting to wring a decent amount of flavor out of it, I steeped it for seven minutes and got a nice deep reddish brown liquor that smelled strongly of cinnamon with the sweetness of almonds lurking in the background. I know this will cry out for additives, but I’ll try it first without – strong indeed in the cinnamon department! Quick, some half/half and sugar…now that’s lovely. The almond comes into its own now; boy does that nut know how to play well with dairy products! Post-additive, cinnamon and almond are still the stars of the show, with cardamom showing up as a lingering aftertaste. Not clear on where the sandalwood may be, but I’m happy to try this again another time to try and find out!

Bam! This is definitely shake-you-by-the shoulders tea. The name translates to “East Frisian Sunday Tea”, and all I can say is that those East Frisians really know how to make a strong cuppa. This particular example has vanilla pieces in it, so the smell of the dry leaf is a wonderful mix of malty tea leaves and warm vanilla.

Although I usually steep black teas for four minutes, I’m going to hold this one at three minutes for this first tasting, just to be on the safe side. It comes out a dark, clear brown with a really enticing sweet and spicy aroma. In drinking the first bit without additives, it’s like the two sides of the tea are both shouting – “I’m black tea! Taste ME!!” and “I’m vanilla! Taste ME!!” which for me means it’s time to calm them down a bit with some half and half and sugar.

Ahh, that’s better. Now it’s much silkier, but the black tea and vanilla flavors are both still very much there. The creaminess has also opened up a hint of coconut. Great way to wake up the palate!

Ah, that’s much better than the Flavia mistake earlier this morning – I needed something to cleanse my palate after that. I put a little extra half/half and sugar in it, so now it tastes like warm cherry pie a la mode with a hint of almond extract in it. Gooood….

Another recent acquisition from Demmers – at this time of year, I couldn’t resist a tea called “Winter Dream”, and the ingredients (almond, wild cherry, lemon) sounded great. It’s a very festive looking tea too, with lots of colorful little flower petals strewn throughout. The smell on opening the pack was wonderful – strong on the cherry, but the almond and citrus were definitely present too.

I know I’ll eventually want to add milk and sugar to this one, but I’ll start the tasting with it straight up. Nice! Those three flavors go really well together; cherry is still out front, but almond is washing all over the background, while lemon hits a consistent high note throughout the swallow. There’s medium astringency, not too much.

With the additives the flavor profile is quite different. Now the almond is up front, with the cherry in the middle as a fruity note and lemon flitting around lightly in the back. Perfect tea for the season. Wish I had a little cherry-almond tart from our local bakery to go with this, that would be an excellent pairing!

Last bit of a sample I got from them recently – I was in the mood for something sweet and buttery but still robust to start the day. It’s a good, solid coconut flavored black tea, not overwhelming in its complexity but very enjoyable with milk and sugar.

I forgot that I had a little sample pack of coconut tea thrown in when I went shopping at Demmer’s a couple months ago, so it’s time to give this one a go. It’s dark leaf mixed with lots of little coconut bits, and definitely displays that distinctive and sweet aroma.

Five minutes of steeping and I’ve got a medium-dark liquor with a present but not overpowering coconut scent. I know I’m going to like this one better with cream and sugar, but I’ve got to try the first few sips straight up. The black tea base is malty and strong enough to stand up to the coconut, and the coconut itself is sweet without being toasty. Comparing it to Tea Frog’s Coconut Pouchong here, which has a great buttery texture to it and little bit of toastiness. Demmer’s coconut is milder and sweeter, and not as deeply flavored. With cream and sugar it’s much more like a dessert tea, sweet and rich, but still not super strong on the coconut flavor.

These leaves are so fragrant of Irish Cream! Thanks to Adham I had a wonderfully scented mailbox this afternoon which included a package with this tea.

The aroma transfers over to the scent of the brewed tea, such a decadent treat before dinner! The brewed tea has such a strong base tea flavor, and quite impeccable astringency for a sweet scented tea. It reminds me more of an Irish whiskey than a Bailey’s Irish Cream. This seems to work in it’s favor though.

This would make an excellent morning tea, as it is such a strong, rich flavor, it would hold up to any of my breakfast teas. Thanks again Adham for sending a sample of this to me!

Always a sucker for vanilla, I had to try Demmer’s variation on the theme. The scent of the dry leaf is rich with vanilla and also has a fruity note to it reminiscent of cherry. I don’t see many pieces of vanilla bean in there, so I think the scent is probably from the addition of vanilla extract.

It steeps up to a clear medium orange-brown color with a much milder aroma compared to the dry leaf. The first sip is nice; I can taste the vanilla warmth and roundness in the back of my throat, and am still getting a cherry taste as well as some astringency from the Ceylon base. I typically doctor vanilla tea with cream and sugar, so I’ll try that on this now.

The tea has now settled into a medium full vanilla groove. Definitely there, but not overwhelming in complexity or body. Perfectly acceptable and drinkable, but no substitute for Mariage Freres Vanille des Iles or Black Orchid.