Mariage Frères

I wasn’t completely sold on this tea, but I will try it again.

I tried it in the restaurant, and because I wasn’t allowed to have it with any sweeteners like honey or sugar, it was quite strong and black. It wasn’t bitter because it was brewed very well but it had a very robust flavour.

The blurb gives future tea-tasters no idea as to what’s actually in the tea, but I think from memory it was two types of black teas from India – Assam and something else, perhaps.

In future, I’d like to try this tea with honey and milk, or black with lemon because I have a feeling it’ll be a brilliant tea once I tailor it to my tastes.

I’m getting mostly cherries and strawberries in this tea today, and thank G-d not crayons or construction paper. This is still not a favorite for me, though, and I’m lowering my rating.

So, this isn’t the freshest tea ever. My mother had this in her cupboard for probably about 2 years before she passed it on to me. I wasn’t too thrilled by the smell of the dry leaf (it still smelled like it would be very strongly flavored), but I figured I’d give it a try. When the hot water first hit the leaves I could smell a fresh box of Crayola crayons. I smelled it as it brewed it again, and it still smelled like crayons. It’s not the most unpleasant smell, though, the smell of the wax and the dyes and the pulp paper is rather sweet. Anyhow…I actually liked this pretty well after it was brewed. The flavorings were still nice- cream, perhaps a bit of vanilla, raspberries, cherries, and dry wood or construction paper (maybe this last taste was from the fact that this is an “aged” tea). All around it was enjoyable and the aftertaste was pleasantly mild (I don’t like flavorings that linger).

This is from a swap with Sil, and I have been kinda of saving it for when I needed a new tea – and this one I thought really likely that I would love. In the shop when smelling all of MF´s breakfast mixes this and American Breakfast (and Sultane) were the clear winners. I ended up buying (and not regretting) American Breakfast, but funnily enough ended up having a swap with Sil because of these two breakfast mixes – I sent her American Breakfast and she sent me this French Breakfast.

And this indeed a lovely elegant breakfast mix, a very classy one. I keep comparing it to American Breakfast which seriously it´s its fraternal twin and they might just fit the stereotype perfectly – french breakfast has a hint of smoke; american breakfast is more exhuberant, maybe sweeter and more intense. I love both, though, despite me usually loving french flavoured teas better, I might just prefer the american breakfast mix (as done by these Frenchmen!). But a difficult choice, they are both excellent.

A light and flavoured green tea which is one of my favorites! Easy to drink it may also be appreciated by tea haters! One of Mariage Freres best selling reference.
J’ai récemment fait un post sur mon site à ce sujet http://www.monarmoireathe.com/2014/01/test-the-vert-parfume-sakura2000-mariagefreres.html

I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying a cup of this right now after a few days of going astray tasting KUSMI stuff that just doesn’t do it for me (I do like the Four Red Fruit one though!). This Keemun is a wonderful, subtle and smooth tea that I wouldn’t ever think of adding flavour to…

I had an odd amount left over in the packet after transferring this to a tin, so I thought I’d steep it in the interest of clutter reduction. I suspect that I may have under rated some of the other Mariage Freres blends because I was feeling my way into my system for the teas with the French thing, a/k/a the je ne sais quoi, at the time. I would discount from this the ratings on the Earl Grey and the Breakfast Blends because those I would have rated much more along the lines of others of their ilk rather than the more mysteriously flavored blends.

I went a bit to the opposite extreme with this today. I overleafed and steeped hotter than before.

I think the happy medium is going to be overleafing, but slightly less, and steeping just a little cooler. The first time I had this it was a tad on the thin side, and today it is perhaps just a smidge too strong. However, I can definitely enjoy the flavors today.

What those flavors are is apparently a mystery. Mariage Freres’ description doesn’t say and some folks are getting tropical fruits from this. I’m not, really, though the banana reference makes some sense, because of the creamy interplay with the fruits. To me, it’s mostly dark red fruit. Berry, more raspberry than anything else but maybe a little strawberry, and some plum/prune/currant. Definite red fruit notes. And something along the vanilla/chocolate continuum. I found a seller on the internet who says this is chocolate and cassis. http://www.furansunocafe.com/produits.php?no=400&lg=en&base=salon_de_the That makes sense to me, but it’s not overly important.

With the magical French blends from Mariage Freres, Dammann Freres, etc., the individual flavors concern me less than they do with other blends. I’ve said before that I like to be able to distinguish each flavor even if the tea takes an ensemble cast approach.

But the French blends seem to beg for a more impressionistic tasting experience. I often feel while I’m drinking them that I’m tasting them through the gustatory equivalent of Renoir’s dappled sunlight, or Monet’s reflections off the pond at Giverny. Whether I can distinguish chocolate or black currant, or any other flavor for that matter is about as important to me with this tea as finding a hard edge in a Monet painting.

Which is to say, not at all.

I was going to continue with the next tea in line as planned, but then I got some unexpected good news. So I thought I’d find something with “that French thing” going on to drink as a celebration. (The good news: my first (and so far only) novella was accepted by a speculative fiction publication. As there are a very limited number of places that accept stories this length, I thought perhaps I might end up having to retire this piece without it finding a home.)

I’ll be more detailed and think about ratings in a later note. For now, I just want to enjoy this lovely fruity melange. Is it chocolate? Is it vanilla? What fruit is it?

Right now, I don’t care. It’s yum.

My friend Valérie offered me this tin + the black tea tin of Thé de Pâques for my birthday.I am very lucky to get such a friend :) she shares with me a passion for good tea and especially for Mariage Frères ones.

She told me “I know you’re not very green tea but at least if you don’t like it you’ll get the canister with the double lid”
I get the canister AND I love the green tea.

I already know the black version and can say I prefer this green version to the black. It’s a lighter version, more flowery somehow.
I get the lovely citrus and the precious vanilla with notes of crème brûlée.

Une fois n’est pas coutume, I prefer the green version. This is a mellow green without any astringency – if only all greens can be like this…

Berlin Café MELT CARAMEL: i was told about a Café that serves mariage frères and when i went i realized they only had one tea: the Marco Polo.
As i usually never drink flavored tea i was very sceptical but gave it a try. It is wonderful. There is something salty in there that goes great with the sweetness. I like the boldness of only offering one black tea and appreciate the excellent choice.

Thank you VariaTEA (and MissB?) for this sample? Without even reading the note I could taste the apricot and peaches – it was so fruity and sweet. I am enjoying this, and I suspect that it would be a cold-brew staple in the summer time!

Sipdown (163)

Yes, this is still an exceptional tea. Really, truly. Yes, I still love it, and get it every possible chance when I go to one of the local French bakeries that serves it. Today, I had it blended with butter (Bulletproof-style), andi t was amazing. Truly. A life changing experience.

Had a cup of this yesterday. It was perfect, as always. Will make a trip to Faubourg soon to grab another tin.

Well, this is normally amazing. When you don’t oversteep it for 20 minutes. Although I’ve almost finished the cup, it’s just too drying and tart while still managing to be sweet. I wish I’d been paying more attention…

Brewed at a really low temperature because I had a green going as well. Surprisingly, this is the first time I’ve had this, even though it’s one of the more expensive teas in my cupboard, and I’ve shared a fair amount of it with Steepsterites already. I saw OMGsrsly’s note the other day on this though, and thought to myself, “I should really try this!”

I also think her review was perfect. With a touch of sweetener, this is just like candy. Delicious, creamy, sweet, chai candy.

Still more awesome elegant and unusual tea from JustJames! He is a wonderful Steepster friend, not for these amazing swaps only of course but for messaging me when I sound blue in my notes, all kinds of reaching out. Friends on Steepster warm me emotionally, not just physically with tea!

This tea is something else. It’s got that trademark French tea quality of being immediately heady thanks to the layered perfume of it. What sets it apart though is after that initial hit of haunting floral fragrance there’s a peppery note! I am really digging that part; I seem to love when teas have some lurking aspect that’s highly unexpected but works (like say, the green chile and masa harina qualities in Mandala’s Morning Sun, or the cooling mint in their Loose and Luscious Lincang, or the mint in Taiwan Tea Crafts’ Red Jade). As the copy notes, the pepper gives the entire blend a modern edge that sharpens the more classic/vintage powdery femmy floral softness of the rest of the blend. That striking balance reminds me of the best of my favorite modern perfumes. Wonderful stuff. Visually beautiful too!

I love tea.
I love tea tea-y tea tea
Here it goes down
Down into my belly
Mmm mm mmmm.

I added an extra half teaspoon and dropped the steep time today and it’s all candied chestnuts and sweet vanilla.

This is like candy.

I quite like this one. I do think it’s perfect for autumn, but with the roasted chestnuts I also think it fits any cold, blustery day (like this one).

The tea is the dominant flavor, with the rest of the flavors balanced on the side. The tea is mild and slightly malty, there’s no bitterness or astringency and with the creamy vanilla feeling and flavor it goes down really smooth. The chestnuts aren’t as prominent as I might have likes them, but they do add a definite chestnut flavor, and a nice toasty nuttiness.

Very indulgent. Very seasonal. Very well done.

Sipdown!! (122)

Thank you Cavocorax for this tea. The dry leaf smelled really great but it did not transfer into the taste for me. I followed Mariage Freres instructions and I am getting a fair bit of astringency. It is malty and astringent and just not for me.

Sippity-doo-down. Thanks again to Sil for making my Marco Polo dreams come true!

I think my favourite strawberry tea is still Steeps’ Chocolate Dipped Strawberry, though.

Sil has given me the opportunity to try a Mariage Frères tea for the first time. Thank you very much!

I couldn’t even tell what this was supposed to be when I was smelling the tea leaves, and completely forgot that there was supposed to be strawberry in here. But as soon as I started steeping the leaves? Bingo. Almost like a bubbly strawberry.

This particular strawberry note reminds me exactly of a creamy soap I got from a cottage industry years and years ago. It was in a pot and had the consistency of spackle, and there were four layers of sundae-like scents. This is exactly the strawberry layer.

Enough about that. The base is a little on the astringent side, but it isn’t intolerably astringent. It leaves the mouth kind of dry.

I have enough for one more cup, so next time, I’m going to try this with some milk or half and half. I have a feeling l’ll like it more that way.

Would I buy it? No, but I’m incredibly grateful that I was able to try it before going on some MF rampage and ordering up tons, because this would have gone in the cart.

This is an interesting tea in terms of flavour and experience. Chocolate, maple, nut, vanilla, dry, sweet, indulgent. It’s like one of those expensive truffles that you only eat on special occasions (like Christmas or weddings). It’s smooth and sweet (not overbearingly so) and the nuttiness leaves a dry after taste.

I wasn’t expecting much from this blend if I’m honest so it was a nice surprise. My husband liked this one too.

Edit: – That’s what it reminds me of, rice pudding. Like a flavoured rice pudding.