Mariage Frères

This tea is supposed to be a vanilla / caramel / pastry blend. And it is! Or at least, it smells like it, but it doesn’t taste like it. Maybe my bar for Mariage Freres is too high (there have been blends from them that I didn’t like, after all) but I did expect more from this tea.

It’s totally drinkable and lovely when it’s warm and hot, but it doesn’t seem to hold the flavour very well, unlike many of their other teas. And once it’s cold, it just tends to taste like water, which is pretty disappointing. I still recommend it and if it were the only thing on the menu I wouldn’t complain, but I wouldn’t purchase it again.

Lots of feelings for a tea that is somewhat middle-of-the-road, lol.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 20

Lovely white tea with floral and stonefruit notes (cherry, plum). It also as a dash of maple, which rounds it out nicely. The hibiscus contributes nicely to this tart-sweet profile while creating a pleasing blush to the tea. Not a bad Rhapsody at all! Very spring-like.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 21

This is a beautiful goji berry flavoured green tea. It’s fruity, buttery, and nutty. I also pick up sunflower notes, which is always a warm, cheerful thing to taste at winter. Overall, it reminds me a little of another of Mariage Frères tropical fruit green blends, Locombia Colombia because of the sunflower-ness); I liked that tea quite a bit.

I see MF has a zodiac series – all of which heavily feature goji berries. Interesting choice! I also like the advent’s reference to the upcoming new year here.

Steep Count: 2

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 10

I forgot to write a note for this one! It was pleasant – with an effervescent citrus quality to it. A refreshing and lively cup. One of the better “In Love” oolong blends.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 18

Just like Habibi Rhapsody was the first in its respective collection to truly appeal to me, this blend also is the first to make me feel love in the “In Love” collection (Marais was also pretty good). Vanilla, Chocolate, Roses, Red Fruits – all on a black tea base… Collectively, it tastes like a rich, creamy, chocolate raspberry filled truffle. I polished off the pot way too quickly!

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 17

This might be the first of the Rhapsody teas that I actually enjoy. The signature hibiscus is toned down compared to others in the collection – allowing the gorgeous pairing of rose and lychee to shine through (always a winning couple in my book). A garnish of orange blossoms help emphasize the sweet floral notes of the blend and subtle base. Good choices were made here.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 19

No, way. A Dragonwell?! I almost entirely forgive you for all past advent wrongs, Mariage Frères.

Truly, there’s not much I enjoy more than a Dragonwell tea. It’s what made me fall in love with green teas in the first place (I didn’t know green teas could be that good). I haven’t had one in my stash for way too long now and drinking this feels like a big, long overdue hug.

This offering is more floral (almost pollen) than I’m used to. It’s also characteristically nutty, silky, and pleasantly vegetable-sweet. It’s a stunning tea.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 16

Today is a good day for the advents. This is a fancy take on a breakfast blend – with notes of caramel, red berry, and floral blush. Still, it delivers on the boldness that one expects in a breakfast tea though. What a comforting tea.

These are the kind of teas I’d like to see Mariage Frères feature in their advents: casual & classic staples. I wish this company did a more traditional advent to contrast this one that typically focuses on pushing new lines (last year’s offerings were pleasant and well varies, especially because it didn’t get bogged down with the “In Love” series).

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 15

There were herbal flowers in this blend? Huh. I just taste floral green tea. It’s nice but subtle. (there’s lavender, chamomile, and citrus in this? No wonder I like it). It delivers on its name though, and I deeply appreciate that.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 13

At first, I was worried that I wouldn’t get the chance to enjoy this in the Optimal Earl Grey Way. To my horror, I learned that the only milk in the fridge had gone, while not quite off per se, “unsettled.” Unsettled milk has no part in the Optimal Earl Grey Way. It’s an anathema to the whole process, actually. This unfortunate event has served as a cautionary tea tale – to always take stock of the milk’s condition before steeping up the Earl Grey.

Luckily for me, this is not my usual Earl Grey blend. No, this one is “fancy.” With Airs. Mariage Frères even describes it as “airy.” This tea thinks it’s too good for milk. What a world.

That bergamot is the good stuff though.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 12

Against my better judgment, I found myself taken in by the this cinnamon and rose flavoured oolong. Nothing seemed to overpower anything else. The cinnamon is like a soft blush to the melted floral and fruity notes. Its profile – like many of the “In Love” series – trend towards less of a concrete idea, and more of an ambiguous vibe that blurs together. Kind of Impressionist in a way. Or like shoegaze music? I don’t know, but I mostly enjoyed this one.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 11

Now this is the good stuff. More drop-dead gorgeous floral teas like this in the advent please, Mariage Frères. The orchid note is so rich and lush. I’m a fan.

Steep Count: 4

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 8

It’s not every day you see a green oolong paired with chocolate, almond, fig, and plum flavours. I don’t know quite what to think of it but it’s definitely unique! The combined flavours are somehow both woodsy (like incense and spice) and silky (almond butter, chocolate ganache, and spicy fruit compote). That multifaceted richness is probably fitting given the tea’s namesake.

Subtle fig and plum pops for me in the finish. How often do you see a fig flavored tea? Neat. All the flavours are kind of… a lot. The collective muddiness makes my mind scream “anise” for some reason — even though I don’t believe that ingredient is present. Also, blue pea flower colour is maybe not the right aesthetic choice for this profile lol.

Fascinating though. Going to resteep it a few times to see where it goes.

Steep Count: 3 – actually, this latest steep the next day is pretty tasty and better balanced (the blue colour is a distant memory). I do like this now.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 6

Finally, a blatantly holiday themed tea from this advent (Dammann Frères did the same on Day 6, because apparently these advents are doppelgangers this year). That’s fun!

I recall trying the oolong and black tea versions of this tea last year and, unfortunately, I don’t like the festive spice thing as much on this green tea base (in general, not a fan of spicy green tea, regardless of quality). I think old 52teas had a Smaug themed cinnamon pepper green tea – and this is kind of like that? A nostalgic, cinnamon heart tea with fruity and vegetal hues.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 5

Mariage Frères does a good chai, some of my favourites that I’ve tasted. This blend is no exception and is a welcome surprise in this advent. Of course, it fits the (ambiguous) floral-fruity advent trend too – always an interesting dimension in chai.

The description says this blend would be good hot or cold, with or without milk. I felt unadventurous though, and took it hot with milk. It’s a lovely, velvety chai that I had to quickly finish off on the way out the door (boo). It’s tasty, but I still think I prefer the Chandernagor blend from this company (bought a tin of that with this advent order, actually).

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 3

Day three gave me two white teas… In theory, I should love this because lavender, rose, and “red berries” are all things I enjoy. In practice, it’s too much hibiscus on a white tea base that doesn’t handle it well. I wish I’d picked up that there was hibi, because I would’ve iced this one instead.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 2

Backlog: The description says green tea with jasmine and rose. So, not for the anti-floral crowd. The tea base is mild and neither flowers seem to overpower the other. The rose is more distinctive than it was in day 1’s tea and reminds me that I actually like what MF does with rose. Enjoyable.

I wonder if there will be a lot of rose featured in MFs calendar this year (hindsight on Day 7: there was and is a lot rose so far).

Steep Count: 3

This one is good, it is the only one from the whole marco polo variations that i really enjoy and could have as a daily drink.

Good, but not awesome.

I don’t know why but this doesn’t taste good at all for me, tried many different brewing times and methods. Ended up giving it to a friend who very much liked it. It’s not the 1st time i’m having issues with white teas :/

very light, not used to this, but good

So the only thing I can be said to really like that has come out of the pandemic is that there are a lot more classes offered virtually. I’ve been happily taking classes online for a few years now, delighted to be getting a lecture from someone far away and getting to indulge my passions for all sorts of subjects.
Yesterday I was in an all day long virtual lecture about Art Nouveau (offered through the Smithsonian), which was wonderful. And I got to be in the comfort of my own home, sipping tea and knitting while I got to look at gorgeous architecture, art, and jewelry.
So, as someone who loves themes and harmony, I decided that I would pick a tea that reminded me of the Art Nouveau movement.
Enter Eros, a delicate cloud of flavor. Ooooh, but this is nice. It lets me float off into happiness, and did indeed pair very well with my class.
Yum!

Oooh, this is lovely. Rich and a bit malty, but somehow still very light! Yum!