Mariage Frères

In words of CeCe Peniston…
Finally it has happened oh baby…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YfChrPvGPA

I think this was one of the first teas I actually put on my WISHLIST on Steepster! Well, Jaime made that wish come true! Thanks so much!!!

Smells like black tea and flowers but not pretty-girlie florals…more earthy/meadows!

This tastes like a sweeter black tea with a lovely mixture of sweeter florals as well as pretty florals! I can taste a bit of cherry or strawberry or something…well, fruity hiding underneath…I really like this touch!

This is really nice…my favorite part is the sweet tones this has!
Ahhhhhhh! So glad I finally got to try this and it’s all thanks to Jaime!!!! Thanks so much!

Nice unflavored black tea. Enjoyable flavor. Stands up nicely to milk and sugar.

Too much caffeine for me, but I prefer decaf. This is good for times when I have NO energy.

End of the road for this tin, but it was a happy bon voyage—cold steeped it overnight; lots of time for the vanilla to bloom. Good as ice cream. (Unless the ice cream is our new discovery, 2nd Street Creamery Copper Kettle Caramel, in which case it’s a close second.)

This tin is nearly empty, and it’s had a hard life. The vanilla’s waning. But keeping with “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” (thank you Ma Ingalls), I tossed in a fingertip sized pinch of cacao nibs and a pinch of calendula leaves. That added a little twinkle and a little sweetness.

I have two quart jars of calendula leaves. At one small pinch per steeping experiment, my supply could well outlive me.

The one dining option in our little burg (pop. 1,035) is the Johnboat Cafe. Seats 20, maybe; limited but tasty menu of perfectly fried catfish, gator, pulled pork, and tenderloins an acre around. Owner, a Louisiana native—love his soft accent—comes out to check on you personally, and last night, took a picture of each plate before he served it. (New menu forthcoming and he needed photos :)

After a sandwich with shrimp as big as a fifth-grader’s fist, there wasn’t a lot of comfortable room for dessert. This worked well. LIttle sweet, the rooibos there to battle the bloat, bit of a Cajun flavor in the name.

PIcked this one for an evening wind-down. The vanilla is there, but more subtly than my currently favorite red/vanilla combo (Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Red). Still a good selection, but when I’m craving vanilla, it’s usually because I need a sweetness buzz.

Score one, Cheapster Steepsters, for the superiority of a less expensive alternative.

YES, FRIENDS, THIS TEA CAN WITHSTAND AN F5 TORNADO. One rubbermaid tub contained some bits and pieces…I had some for breakfast. Amen and amen. Miracles continuing to happen in my family. Thanks for your prayers.

In celebration of sending a fistful of finished files to my editor (finito! fantastic! fwhew!) I made myself a celebratory cuppa—with 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint and a daub of chamomile. Faux foxtrot!

Some flavorings are perfect with rooibos—-vanilla being one of them. This is a fine, fine balance of the two flavors, even better with a little milk.

Yum yum, yum, even the husband was impressed

This is my first tea I have tried by Mariages Freres thanks to Doulton! Ohhh, I like it! It’s hard to not like anything French, the Francophile in me wouldn’t allow it. It was a mellow blend of vanilla like lush, very light fruit, and a breeze of sweetness. I would probably double the teaspoons for a more flavorful cup. Very nice, I will have to try this again. I had it iced, and it brewed only twice. Seems like rooibos usually just has two brews to it.

I had this yesterday morning and I was a little wary of it because I didn’t really know what kind of tea it was. As it was steeping it smelled like rose tea so that perked me up a bit. The first sip tasted fruity to me and the rest of the cup tasted like a fruity flowery combo which I found quite delicious. I don’t think this tea actually has fruit in it so my best guess is that the fruit I am tasting is from the hibiscus, but regardless I thoroughly enjoyed this tea. Actually I could really use a cup right now as I wait for a scanner to send me an email – ugh!!! Counting down the minutes til I can go home and get some tea!

Mr. Polo and I aren’t having the best of luck, it seems.

The first pot was way too bitter/astringent to be truly enjoyed. The second had me wondering what all the fuss was about. Yup, you’re right, this is only my third pot.

It’s not as astringent this time around, and I’m noticing more of the berry taste. Cream’s there as well, but not as much as I was expecting. Since many add milk and sugar, I went to do the same. Luckily, I noticed the date on my milk (which I will not post) and did the sniff test. And then I went and grabbed the french vanilla creamer.

I think I’m getting closer to finding the perfect way to brew this for me. With the creamer, it’s well, creamier, and the vanilla adds a cake-like note to the berry. I still need to fiddle with the time on it, and maybe even the temp. I want to taste what all the cool kids taste when they drink this one!

Steeped the leaves a second time, at 195 for 4 minutes. Not sure this is one of the teas that lends itself to resteeping.

Found a bottle of Coffee-mate that has been sitting in my cupboard for years. It’s French Vanilla flavored, but I thought it might help with the bitterness. I’ll need to try it with a first steep, but it does make this a bit less bitter.

And now I’m settling down to knit a tea cozy for my teapot. Happy Sunday!

Still playing with the time/temp on this tea. I feel a bit like Goldilocks, trying to get this tea just right.

Brewed at 185&degree for 3 minutes this time. It smells just like strawberry pie with whipped cream. It is much less bitter, and the cream and strawberry flavors are there too soothe that last bit of bitterness away. Will continue to tweak it and find the perfect cup!

Added some Splenda. It did improve the bitterness and astringency, but now it’s cloyingly sweet. Which I’m not really enjoying right now…it’s way too early for something so sweet. Still going to hold off on rating this one until after I play with the brewing time (and maybe even temp) a bit.

I was very excited when I found this last night at Williams Sonoma. They had 3 different flavors, and I picked this one (mainly because I pulled out my iphone to check the ratings on Steepster).

I brewed for 4 minutes instead of my usual 5 that I do with black teas, thinking that I could always brew it for another minute if it was weak. It’s not weak. In fact, it’s much more bitter than I thought it would be. Yes, there’s the taste of strawberries, and the taste of cream, but the bitterness and astringency are what I’m really noticing. Apparently this would be better with cream and sugar…but since I’ve no cream on hand (or milk, either, for that matter), I’ll be drinking it neat. And will brew for 3 minutes next time. Going to wait to rate it.

I received this in my fabulous takgoti box a while back (thank you again, wherever you may be). I’m always apprehensive when a description isn’t provided on Steepster of what the tea is supposed to taste like. Not because I want to be biased, just because I’d like a little warning. I have to be in a certain mind-set for cinnamon teas, for example. When I sniffed this cup of tea, I smelled berry, which was reassuring. I really like berry teas, especially when they’re a black base, as this is.

And this is extremely delicious. The first part of the sip is sweet and creamy, and as you’re swallowing, you get a hint of tartness that makes your mouth water and your tongue tingle. Fantastic. The tartness lingers for a really long time, with tiny strawberries exploding onto your tongue every once in a while. I’ll definitely be adding a tin of this to my cupboard come winter. Thank you, takgoti!

Had this with me to class.
It reminded me very much of Copacabana in apperance, black tea with blue and yellow flowers. The steeped tea was yellow brown colored, and the smell was sweet. It tasted sweet, fruity, but it had a Earl grey-ish bitternes. What is in this? I can’t figure it out!

All in all I like it. Next time I will steep lesser leaves and steep for a shorter period to make it sweeter. (note to self)