Mariage Frères

Simple, clean and perfect after a day of clearing brush from hiking trails.

This tea follows in the suit of Earl Grey French Blue except not as boldly spiced. The Bergamot is clearly there but adds a subtle depth to the tea and is no where as overbearing in this composition. The addition of cornflower and rose provide a sweet visual distraction to the collage of black tea.

There is a soothing tone to this tea which bares a similarity to my adored The de Paques. Not in the way that the vanilla and citrus woo one into taking another cup but in its warm familiarity which would pair well with any number of guest, reverie of solitude or delectable tid-bit or treat.

While I enjoy this tea I find it a bit ho-hum after the encounter with Narcisse’s smoky quality. I would place this tea in the “safe to grab on a tea day when not sure what to drink and to timid to go exploring” category. It will soon become my “Safety Tea” (or Saftea) of choice.

The instructions I received with this tea was that you place two pearls in the hot water but you can safely use one.
The fragrance from the bud is divine as it is so floral you would swear the flowers themselves were sealed inside. But be warned, that lovely welcoming scent fades and settles after a month or so of storage so seal them up as best you can.

As for the exact brewing temp I can’t say but I will say that these gems take a very short steep. The liquid is pale but that fragrance! I have tried similar flowers from the Republic of Tea who’s look and opening seduction was the same but the tea itself is a true tribute to the wonders of nature. It as if the that cup was what that flower had so longed to become and it is as jasmine goes very charming. I would leave the flowering bud to rest about a minute to two but much longer and the bitterness of the green begins to say hello.

Although purchasing these dainties from over seas may cost a pretty penny, I can run about my day and get 4 to 5 good steeps out of them. The fragrance diminishes but they still hang on to their exquisite green tea.

Brewed in a big teapot.
The taste of the tea base is a little too strong, I’ll try to brew it a bit less next time.
The scent and flavor of chocolate is nice.

Oooh yum-eh! This tea is so sweet and creamy with a bit of honey and some milk – like strawberry shortcake in a tea cup.

Thank you Takgoti for getting me more of this tea. I’m going to be a sad puppy when it does eventually run out. :D

I’m drinking it with some skim milk this time around and it does nicely emphasize the cream flavours in the tea aswell as take off some of the astringency of the tea base without overwhelming it. I’m a bit disappointed that the strawberry flavour wasn’t similarly emphasized, but then again, I hate those over-strong, fake-tasting flavours tea companies sometimes use.

I got this in a tea trade with silvermage2000 (thank you!) along with a bunch of other teas I need to try still.

The smell of the dry tea reminds my a of vanilla…only not quite. I can pick up sweet creamy notes that make me think of a dessert of some kind. When I add though water though, I smell strawberries – strawberry puree with some sweet cream added to it maybe. That impression stays with me as I taste the liquid too. It’s a very dessert-like tea, not heavy or harsh in any way. I imagin it would taste good with milk, but it’s perfectly drinkable on it’s own aswell.

Saying goodbye to another friend today…sigh…it seems my tea is dropping like flies…sigh…

Vanilla with a bit of floral sums it up today…very nice!

Well aren’t you pretty!?
You smell nice too!
Are you meeting someone!?
Oh how FAB!
What’s that you say!?
This person you are to meet is TeaEqualsBliss!?
Well, you found her!
Thank the tea gods for you!
You are a darling! A Gem!
A Delight!
Floral and Sweet!
What a joy to be around!
So glad we’ve met!

I can’t really tell you why but I think this is delicious! Nothing new to report since my last review of this…but I am finishing up my stash…bummer…sorry to see it go!

I only have one more cup’s-worth after this one…bummer…BUT…Today I paired this with some Chocolate Granola I made last night and I am chomping on that and sippin’ on this…and let me tell you it’s a perfect match!

I do see that I have to hurry up and get with today’s steepster trends…so stay tuned…I’ll play…why not! LOL

YUM. Black tea…smooth. a bit sweet, a bit spice, but oh-so-nice!

Just finishing up this from my stash. Tasting caramel today but not chocolate…still pretty good tho…on to the next!

This was NICE this morning! It looks like I only have one cups-worth left tho…sigh…it was bound to happen, I suppose…

This is very nice! I received it in a swap! You can smell a tad of chocolate and a tad of caramel. I think it smells and tastes a bit nutty too. The taste is more caramel than chocolate. It’s a medium brown color. Yummy, tho!

Narcisse is my first smoky tea and I am not sure what to make of this one. The site made the leaves look like a black tea but it isn’t. The write up doesn’t mention a thing about rose but clearly they’re in there. I suspect there is another flower lurking there as well but who knows her name?! Perhaps this shipment was shanghaied?
Out of the bag, she’s aggressive and I am not sure what is going on in that medley of tightly knit leaves. It’s green and angry and reminds me somewhat of a burnt split pea soup. Split pea and a wet fur smell or brown bag? Dead flowers? Who knows… It’s like smoke and wet ash, split-pea and dog and quite complicated. And yes, questioning my senses, I put this in the water to steep.
I hiked the temp up to a nice boil and then plopped the mess in for about three minutes. The scent became a bit more vegetal and calmed down. The burn split pea note made it through the steeping process and into the cup. It’s another whole mouth tea in my collection which is just lovely with cream. I can even say I like it as I am on my second cup, not to become a favorite but I can say I tried it.
I will have to try a couple more smoky teas and revisit this one. Perhaps I will in time find this review unkind as it the first leap from the English Breakfast pleasantries thus far.

Steeping No 2:
Man this monster just hangs on. I settled last pots leaves in the water after it had reached a good boil and let them go for a full 5 minutes. The brew was just as tasty and I could almost swear they would survive another go.
I am growing accustom to this tea’s personality and couldn’t say who I’d ever offer it to. Perhaps a non-guest too intent on being nosy about what I sip in my cup. A no good looker-on trying to pilfer a sample of Jamaique on the sly? I would simply sip this instead and leave its parcel out proclaiming this to be the nectar of the gods! One wiff and they would let me and all my teas to follow go because clearly my tastes have gone off! While its edges are a bit softer the ever present burnt split pea soup aroma lasts.

I give this the, “It’s okay and we get along” seal of approval.

When you can’t quite make it to Paris.

This is the most wonderful tea I have ever tried. I keep ordering others from Le Mariage Freres but none taste like heaven as much as this delicately perfumed magical tea.