Review of Thé du Louvre Cote Jardin by Palais des Thés

Preparation:

• Temperature: 167°F / 75°C
• Time: 0 min, 20 sec
• Tea Amount: 2 g
• Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

Overview

This tea is part of the list of the teas I got this month. It was recommended to me by a person I know is as big of a tea enthusiast as I am! As always, I prepared this tea Gong Fu style, using a gaiwan for steeping and a small transparent cup to see the color accurately.

Now let’s see how Palais Des Thés describes this tea:

From Palais des Thés:

“The fruit of a collaboration between the Louvre Museum and Palais des Thés, the thés du Louvre are fragrant new blends which pay homage to the two faces of the Louvre: the monumental aspect of the palace with its elegant architecture and the poetic charm of the Tuileries Garden. The Thé du Louvre - Garden Tea is reminiscent of a gentle stroll through the Tuileries Garden, between colourful flowerbeds and shady copses. A gourmet green tea with notes of apple, plum and quince.”

First Infusion (20s, 75°C)

I decided to steep the tea for 20 seconds for the first infusion, as I wanted to get a good idea of the tea’s flavor and look, without letting it become too bitter. Now, this is unusual; first steeps are almost always meant to feed my tea pets and warm up the cups, but this time, I was really curious about this famed tea.

The color was a light yellow. The taste was light, with a slight acidity that was quite unpleasant. The bitterness was also present, but not overwhelming. It was definitely not as round and sweet as I expected.

Second Infusion (20s, 75°C)

Of course, this is the real deal. The second infusion is where the tea really shines, right?

Well, not really. The taste was still quite light, with the same acidity and bitterness as the first infusion. That acidity I mentioned earlier was still lingering, directly affecting the overall taste of the tea. As I feared, and as I keep experiencing with Palais Des Thés’ flavored teas, it is more about smelling the tea than tasting it…

Third Infusion (30s, 75°C)

Bye-bye (?) acidity, hello sourness. After this steep, I started seriously asking myself what was wrong with this tea. The acidity was still there, hiding the floral notes, polluting the aftertaste. Unlike a citrus-y acidity, refreshing and invigorating, this one was more like a bad grape juice, leaving a bad taste in the mouth.

Fourth Infusion (40s, 75°C)

Gone is the acidity, gone is the sourness.

Here, I tried both drinking it hot and letting it cool down a bit. However, both methods tasted the same.

The taste was now quite light, with a slight bitterness and a slight floral note. No more of that horrible bad grape juice taste, but also no more of the original flavor.

Crazy how good this tea got after it lost all its flavor, right?

Fifth Infusion (50s, 75°C)

Less flavor, hot water with a hint of nothing and some floral notes. Honestly, it keeps getting better as it loses its flavor, I really don’t know how to feel about that, but what remains of the acidity reminds me of the reason why I don’t like this tea.

Overall Impression

Bear in mind that this is not my first time trying a flavored tea from Palais Des Thés, nor is it my first time being disappointed by one. I have tried a few of their flavored teas, and I have yet to find one that I really enjoy. Truth be told, this isn’t my first time trying this tea either, but I wanted to give it another chance by trying it gong fu style.

Palais des Thés, like many other tea companies, has a reputation for making high-quality teas, and I have no doubt that this is true. Their pure teas are excellent, although their Bai Mu Dan and Grand Jasmin Mao Feng disappointed me greatly. However, their flavored teas are a different story: Teas that smell like a dream, but taste like perfume. They’re uninteresting, and more often than not, downright disgusting.

I was really hoping that this tea would be different, but it was not. To be fair, it’s not the worst tea I’ve had from there, far from it, I’d even go as far as to say it’s not a bad tea, it’s just a tea, like an adventure that is only memorable after it’s ended, it’s only good when the session is closing to an end; it’s too bad really.

I couldn’t be happier I was recommended this tea, as it was a great opportunity finally to find the words to describe why I don’t like Palais Des Thés’ flavored teas.

My recommendation: Stay away from this tea, and from Palais Des Thés’ flavored teas in general.

Rating:

• Flavor Complexity: 12/30 - Limited and unbalanced flavor profile.
• Brewing Forgiveness: 10/20 - Slight improvement with each steep, but overall disappointing.
• Consistency Across Infusions: 8/20 - Inconsistent and unremarkable across steeps.
• Overall Enjoyment: 12/30 - Slightly enjoyable as it loses flavor, but not enough to recommend.

42/100

- yaro