Mariage Frères

I received this tea from White Antlers and have been enjoying it! I drank it by myself and got three steeps out of each sachet. Then I saw derk’s note. She said it reminded her of vanilla cola syrup and I have been making some flavored syrups to add to Perrier to make slightly-not-as-bad-for-you sodas.

I only had three sachets left and I just steeped them in a Stump pot in about 18 ounces of water, so it actually was not a super strongly flavored syrup. I added the sugar, stirred until it dissolved and chilled it. Tonight I served it with a chocolate cake that my daughter made. My husband enjoyed it and said it definitely reminded him of soda!

It was quite good and I am happy that we have enough to have more tomorrow! I am having fun experimenting with syrups and soda!

This is a sipdown! I can not believe I have had this tin for almost two years. That happens when you have way more tea than anyone can drink in a reasonable amount of time. I have swapped tea, gifted tea, served tea to crowds, and even loaded up boxes of tea and given it to friends, but I still have more tea than necessary.

This feels like a Christmas-y tea to me, partly because I associate almond flavor with Christmas and winter, and partly because this tea was given to me as a Christmas gift by my daughter’s then-fiance-now-husband. There is a nice fruit flavor with the almond and the base is smooth. This is perfectly drinkable without milk and sugar, though my guests today are people who always add both, and did this time, too. They all liked it very much, though.

One thing I like about the Mariage Freres tins is that you can peel off the clear sticker that has the name of the tea. I clean the tin, add a tea that needs a home, and type up a clear Avery label with the name and stick it on. You can hardly tell that it is a reused tin, and only when you are really close up! This tin has now become home to my Dammann Freres Puerh Gourmand. When we finish that – which will probably be soon – I will add another tea and type another label!

This was a lovely tea, and now I must get on to more sipdowns and then use great restraint on Black Friday!

Edited to add: I just cleaned out my online cupboard here when I finished this tin, but then I discovered five teas I hadn’t added. I went from 150 to 145 and back to 150 again. Ah well!

This was the final tea of tea party. By the time we get to our third tea, we have usually finished snacking or we are just nibbling the occasional cookie. It is unusual for us to have all black teas but this was an unusual tea day since we had soup and cake as well.

Since the final stands alone, I chose a flavored tea. I chose this one because A. It tastes great B. it is new and my guest had never had it and C. almond flavor reminds me of Christmas.

The aroma does not disappoint on this tea and the flavor does not let you down. We took it plain and enjoyed it but for those who like a dessert tea with milk and/or sugar, this would almost certainly be excellent that way. The tea base is prominent enough to hold up to additions. The aroma smells like Christmas to me, without smelling like a standard Christmas tea of cinnamon, clove, and orange.

Happy Christmas! Today is Christmas with my eldest daughter because she will be in Ireland for Christmas, so we let her open her presents and have her stocking and we are just spending some time together. In addition, we told her about a puppy that was saved from animal control by the no- kill shelter. She has a broken leg and has pins and wires and screws and a plate and they needed a home for her to recover in, and she really wanted to meet the puppy before she leaves so we picked her up tonight! She is resting in front of the fire with her new toy elephant and has eaten voraciously. Apparently someone forgot to tell the little pup that she is badly injured and must rest. If her leg doesn’t heal properly, it will have to be amputated, so we are praying the fix “takes.” Here she is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24998856@N06/8267840867/

I got to open my gift from my daughter’s fiancé and this was it! I know, I know! What a great guy! We decided to have some after supper tonight as a celebratory cup.

I made it in my new Krups which I positively love and we are using several times a day. The base is sooo smooth, the almond flavor is dominant without being overbearing, and it is sweet and light, even refreshing, on the palate. Good gracious, the French really know how to scent and flavor tea!
This is an elegant cup and I shall enjoy every bit of it!

Even my daughter who does not like black tea is drinking it. She likes it!

Time to try a new black tea! That always makes me happy. First time having the fancy Mariage Freres, thank you momo! Mariage Frerraaaaarre ;p
The dry leaf smells slightly fruity on top of a strong black base.
Tried to make a half pot. Good with sugar. Its just a plain, good, nice tea.
I want their new teas and awesome tins, especially the chocolate one and the macaron one. Why on earth they have to be close to $40 per 4 oz is beyond me. Unless I’m calculating the currency exchange wrong which is possible.

a dear friend brought this tea back from Paris for me. it has a decent strength with a subtle cardamom flavour. it still needs a wee bit of milk & sugar. next time i’d steep it less than 4 minutes & probably add more than two skimpy spoonfulls. still very delicious.

I’m such a fool! See, I placed an order with Mariage Freres recently. I ordered two of my staples (which I’ll be reviewing next) in huge quantities and then I figured I might as well throw in 100g of a new-to-me tea. I saw Marco Polo, remembered that it was MF’s most famous blend and that it got a good rating on Steepster and I was sold.
Ruby – when will you learn to look at the description first? I can be so completely stupid sometimes. I like spicy, nutty black teas. I hate fruity teas with a passion. This is a sweet, strawberry cake tea. If you know me at all, you know that’s when the tiniest violin comes in. I detest berries in any form except their original form. I hate them in yoghurt, in tea, in juice. Love them whole, though.
I won’t be rating this because it’s entirely my mistake. If a strawberry cake appeals to you, this would probably be heaven. It’s very flavoured, as are all Mariage Freres teas. As it is, I’m stuck with my 100g which I drink when I need to focus on something entirely different, like marking papers or watching a film.
Oh, Marco Polo, if only I knew then what I know now! bursts into tears

a dear friend brought this tea back from Paris for me. i love it. it’s subtle & delicate without any bitterness.

I dunno. I was trying a sample which had been sitting oxidizing for days (till i felt like trying it) from a tin opened maybe 2 years ago (?more?). It´s not a fair trial. Keep that in mind. But since there seems to be very little about this tea that i can find on google, here goes my 2 cents.

Official description mentions hazelnut and vanilla and citrus. I spotted the citrus, bergamot-ish indeed to my nose, vanilla yeah now that you mention it, but I did not get any hazelnut (old tea, remember. a fresh tin might be another matter). It seems like it has some Darjeeling on it. And it reminds me a bit (bergamot, vanilla) of Thé au Tibet. But it really is not fresh tea so it is unfair to compare.

Tea of the late afternoon…..

And day #18 of 24. Thank you Dinosara for sharing this one with me!

The tea itself does have a nutty essence. I mostly get almond, some pecan, and I thought hazelnut. However, upon reading Dinosara’s review, she found the last nut to be walnut in her research. Usually I can taste walnut a mile away because it never sits well with me (sensitivity/allergy to raw walnuts and hazelnuts so I always notice the taste of them to avoid them), but it is definitely not present in the tea as far as I can tell. (Luckily, an infusion of the nuts I cannot eat raw does not affect me too badly, and if they are roasted or cooked, I am fine.) All that being said, the almond in this blend is nice. I don’t think it is the end all be all for almond tea, but I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to try it. One day, I will find an almond one that I love. One thing I do find interesting is that the tea base Marriage uses in their flavored teas is good, but I guess I just expected more.

Usual teapot method.

Sipdown this morning. And even the dregs of this abused, neglected, and elderly packet were delicious. I am still confounded by how a mix of Darjeeling and Yunnan—with no additional flavor, I believe—can taste like pastry.

Hello. I am a tea hoarder. I have had this little packet for eight years, based on my first review. And do you know what? Even sloppily stored, woodged down to the bottom of a bits-and-pieces basket, it is still delicious. I can’t find it in current stock or existence, but previous notes indicate that it was a Darjeeling/Yunnan blend; not flavored that I can tell, but it steeps up to a dark and satiny ebony, and has come caramel-pecan-chestnut personality. Second steep was 90% strength of the original, and lovely with some milk.

This seems to be my weekend for nostalgia. Assembling ingredients to attempt my mom’s and sister’s fresh apple fruitcake recipe. Browsing “The Complete Christmas Book” (copyright 1958) that my mom read to me from when I was a sprout. An eight-year-old tea seems about right.

This packet is getting old but has held up nicely. With a light temperature and steep time, it is rich and caramelly and soothing on such a wickedly raw day. Already got word that we get a rare snow day tomorrow (generally, even when school is closed, administrative staff is expected). I may have to have another cup then.

A bottom-of-the-basket surprise I had forgotten about; Darjeelings get short shrift at my house.

This Darjeeling/Yunnan combo is smooth with a little “pep” from the Yunnan, with a creamy, carmelly personality. Really nice, especially when you keep an eye on time and temp. (Lightish on both.)