Granola d'Hiver

The city is in near lockdown again with hospitals filling at amazing rates.

I live very close to a major street that cuts through the city and there is silence. The three construction sites are quiet. Even some of the usually troublesome neighbours are silent because they are away.

Grateful for the quiet, but it is so odd. Eerie even.

Approached my advent calendar for something new today. A bit late, but I celebrate by the Julian calendar anyway, so technically, I am still in my Christmas season.

More info here if you are bewildered about that: https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/whats-the-story-orthodox-christmas

About this tea now.

Mild, black, slightly sweet. The maple doesn’t come across as maple to me, just slightly sweetens the cup. Grainy, bready. Malty. Delicious and comforting.

I probably chose this because I had buckwheat stuffed cabbage rolls for lunch and there was an echo of buckwheat in my brain.

I need more of this in my life. Both this tea and the cabbage rolls.

And it’s a sipdown!

Sipdown 3 of 2022.

Dammann Frères Advent 2021 – Day 4

I needed a simple black tea like this tonight. It’s mainly buckwheat (nutty, malt), with a whiff of maple; the combo gives the impression of Nutella or similar. There’s pecan, rice, goji, and grape flavour but I find they either contribute to the sweet syrup or nutty malt aspects. It’s a comfy if simple tea. The aroma wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for some nice coffee beans.

Taken with milk

Dammann Frères Advent Day 14 (14-February 2021)

We did a massive purge declutter yesterday and I drank this tea during, but honestly didn’t catch any in depth notes.

The tea was really good, very popcorn-like with a hint of sweetness. Very true to form, but I don’t know that I’m a huge popcorn tea fan. Nonetheless, another enjoyable cuppa from DF!

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 14 (from November backlog)

Wow, I like this one. I admit, the name is rather strange – “Winter Granola” lol. There’s also a summer version that sounds delicious.

Anyway, this is sort of like a genmaicha with a black base. Although it tastes very popcorn-y compared to genmaicha, which is generally more toasty for me. This blend has a lovely rich and buttery flavor to it. I’m definitely not getting grape, which is listed as the main flavor? But pecan, maple, and buckwheat – yes, yes, YES! Sorry, was having an Herbal Essences moment there.

Ahem anyway, this is definitely going on the reorder list! I would love to see the summer equivalent in this calendar, but obviously that would be a bit out of season… :P

Advent 14.

I skipped one. Something about spitting profanities and crying from back muscle spasms. The Epsom salt bath helped to a small degree. The muscle relaxers prescribed don’t seem to be doing much beyond dulling my mental state and, with a bit of wine, helping me take cat naps. Ineffective: Icy Hot lidocaine patches, sipping hot magnesium citrate. Tiger Balm serves as a momentary distraction. Heating pad allows me to lie on my back to sleep. Lesson learned: after 9 months of not lifting weights (thanks COVID), do not attempt to do pull-ups. Do not hammer in the top section of a garage door seal at a weird angle on a ladder. Do not cut limbs from a neighbors tree at weird angles on a ladder. Stretch long and stretch often.

The tea’s good. It feels nostalgic. Woody, brisk, glassy and thick base black tea with a hint of baked bread supports the flavors. I get something grapey-dried berry and gentle sweetness mixed with hazelnut liqueur, espresso grinds and puffed rice. The swallow is somewhat dark-bittersweet like toasted buckwheat mixed with pecans roasted a touch too long and candied in maple syrup. It was a nice mid-morning tea and I get where they’re going with the granola profile. Simply well done.

#adventageddon Day 10 – 2/5

Feeling under the weather today, so I’m thankful to see so many soothing mint teas and cozier genmaicha/toasted rice type profiles in today’s adventageddon selections!!

Started the day with Granola d’Hiver, which was soft and smooth with a toasty rice or popcorn type note and a little underlying sweetness mixed with a gentle, malty black base! I think I would normally want more punch to the flavor, but today I was thankful for something soft!

This morning I wrote my second exam out of 4. That means we are half way through my week from hell (4 exams in one week is not fun). This particular exam was a bit terrible since it was for Legal Ethics which are seemingly straightforward. Except the prof based the entire exam around one case we learned and half of the exam was about a youtube video no one in the class knew we had to watch. Thankfully we are all in the same boat so the curve will save us but that is a shitty way to be in an exam. Oh well, time to move on…

As for the tea, I quite like it. It is different than what I would usually reach for but it screams winter. I am getting a lot of black tea base that I don’t really love with fruitier flavors but it pairs nicely with the popcorn (that’s why I enjoy the Dammann popcorn tea). The combination of the two make for a breadiness and a nuttiness that does evoke granola a bit. The goji berries also gives it a touch of berry/sweet that adds another level on top of the popcorn and berries. It’s nice and definitely fitting for this chilly day.

Advent day 10! I found my thoughts to be generally the same as the first time I tried this. All the ingredients point in the direction of something I’d love, but the flavors are a bit too mellow for my liking.

Dammann Frères Advent 2021 – Day 4
This tea and I have a misunderstanding. It smells of toast, pecans, and maple syrup and I want to love it. But once brewed, it’s a faint echo of what I want it to be. I don’t know if I brewed it at too low of a temperature or if I had a weak batch, but it doesn’t live up to its promise for me. Maybe I was expecting too much. I was hoping for a raisin nut bread toasted with a drizzle of maple syrup and I got a bit of sweet popcorn or rice cake with a hint of pecan. I liked it much better in previous years. It’s good but it’s mehhh for me this year.

This is a tea I only get to taste when I get the advent calendar so I will have to wait another year to give it another chance.

Day #1 of my Dammann Freres Advent Calendar.

This was different. I’ve never had a tea quite like this before. My sense of smell is weak, so I might not be really tasting this properly. The listed flavors are grape, buckwheat, pecan.

The little silky sachet bag was so easy to use and cute. The teas was not too sweet. It was not sour or bitter. The flavor had hints of grape-y tartness which was fine. There was also a cereal-like flavor. It didn’t care for that at first. It grew on me. I got pulled away and when I came back the tea was almost cold. I liked it better that way.

I give this a cautious recommendation. I didn’t hate it. I certainly didn’t love it. But if I was with a friend and she served this I could drink it. Looking forward to Day 2!