The Tea Course at Dammann Freres

The tea cases

Originally, tea is by tradition packed in wooden cases and arrives in Orgeval after having been purchased at auction in Colombo, Cochin, Calcutta or directly from the plantations in China, Japan or Formosa.

It is stocked here, away from light and changes in temperature, waiting to be conditioned and prepared for sale.

The tasting room

Home to the blender, the tasting room is above all a work room, where the "tea taster" samples the teas that are offered by different plantations all over the world.

To accomplish this delicate task, the expert uses a long table on which a series of small teapots steep each tea for evaluation by the taster.

This is where the best teas will be selected and where new aromatic blends will be created. This is also where the blender sometimes invites the best customers for a special taste test between demanding vocationals

The conditioning

Without really being a perishable good, tea may still suffer from being exposed to air and light and lose some of its aroma, fragrance and flavour.

That is why loose tea is usually stored in metal caddies that are airtight and opaque.

Dammann Freres also offers tea in Cristal sachets: tea bags that are light and transparent, allowing enough space for the tea leaves to expand and release all their aroma.

Boxes, caddies and teabags

The tea lover has a great many choices: Dammann Freres offers a large range of products, adapted to the lifestyle and desires of their customers.

Decorative boxes for the collector, Cristal teabags for the hurried amateur, gift caddies to share the passion with loved ones…

The expert's tasting

The blender's savoir-faire is above all the result of years devoted to tea: organoleptic memory, palate sensitivity, culture…all are important factors.

Numerous factors are essentiel: the appearance, the outer leaf, the fragrance, the taste…

The non-infused tea is first judged with the naked eye: the colour of the leaves, their size, their beauty and their quality. So many elements, each one as important as the next !

Next, the tea is steeped and there again, the naked eye has it's " say ". It judges colour, the brilliance, the density, the more or less cloudy aspect. Certain teas are beautiful when they are orange, others when they are more yellow or amber.

Finally comes the tasting: roundness, strength, astringency, aromas …. The blender must discern whether the harvest was late or early, a failed smoking from a natural or artificial smoking, a leaf rolling done more or less according to the rules of the art.

In order to separate the lots, several successive tastings may be necessary, before the rigourous selection of teas.

Dammann Freres and fragrant teas

If it is well known that the Chinese have always been lovers of fragrant teas (jasmine tea or rose tea for example), it is a lesser known fact that France fathered one of the most famous 20th century creations.

It is in fact Jean Jumeau-Lafond, Director of Dammann Freres until 1978, who created the Gout Russe tea during the 1950's. Baptized "Gout Russe Douchka", this exceptional blend marries the teas of Ceylan, India and China with the flavours of bergamot and citrus.

Since then, Dammann Freres has never stopped creating new aromatic teas, enticing a whole new generation of tea lovers: this is how the fruit teas were born (blackcurrant, tangerine, apricot, cherry, mango, banana…) as well as spicy teas (cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, liquorice…).

Thus Dammann Freres created apple tea, a best seller in Japan since its launch.

In this way, from among all the Dammann Freres teas, certain fragrant blends have become true classics: the Christmas Tea (traditionnel tea at Christmas time, embellished with orange peel and pieces of fruit), the Quatre Fruits Rouges blend (cherry, strawberry, raspberry and currant), le Jardin Bleu tea (subtle blend of wild strawberry and rhubarb), the Oriental blend (a green tea flavoured with passion fruit and vine peaches), the Deux Chinois tea (mango, lime and coconut) or the Vieux Garçons tea (with flavours of caramelized apples enhanced with a touch of maraschino)…

And so many others waiting to be discovered and enjoyed

More details at www.dammann.fr