Mariage Frères

I can’t get over the intensely fruity scent of the dry leaf. It just screams FRUIT (red berries, specifically). Fruits which are bordering on overripeness.

It’s kind of daunting in its fruity aggressiveness!

I just love the scent once brewed, though. It’s delicious, like a warm strawberry compote topped with cream and dusted with powdered sugar. There is a mild fresh floral and green stem component too. Like a bouquet of dewy, long-stemmed roses.

And the flavor is just as beautiful. The green tea taste reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc— brisk and grassy, clean and fresh. All overlaid with this hazy perfume of sweet berries and flowers. I can’t help but think of springtime.

Made a substantial dent in my stash this summer—de-cupboarded several teas!
Thought I’d treat myself by cracking open this much-revered flavor!
What a beautiful tin! My first Mariage Feres!

Quick first impression:
Smells like a nuclear Strawberry Shortcake
Tastes like a Spring Easter Basket—all pastel candies and fresh meadow flowers.

More details later…

At first i didnt like this tea too much- but now it starts to grow onto me. Subtle nuances are making each cup a new adventure. A tea well woth exploring.

I was not sure what I wanted to start the day off with or what I ws looking for when I went to my tea cupboard. I finally decided to try this tea (excellent choice)!
This rich tea has a strawberry flavor that does remind me of strawberry life savors I ate as a child.
A warm muffin and this tea is a great start to my day.

Yes indeed, this tea is somehow some kind of melody. A bit reminding of those chewing-gums which make great bubbles … but the delicious green tea adds a very nice tea-“Spirit” to the musical play. In the end it lacks a bit depth, but still is overall a good tea, which i like especially for watching TV series – did someone hear “soap-opera”? ;)

subtle tea that makes your world feel good again.

Absolutely delightful. It’s a lighter type of Lapsang Souchong, I think. The smoke is nicely balanced with floral overtones.

Ni bon ni mauvais, ce thé noir ne vaut que pour son goût fruité.
Les saveurs de framboise resortent bien lors de l’infusion et les papilles distinguent bien cette saveur en bouche.
Il faut juste l’essayer si vous aimez cette saveur.

Neither good nor bad, black tea is only for its fruity taste.
The flavors of raspberry resortent well during the infusion and the taste buds well separated in the mouth.
You just try it if you like this flavor.

The latest blend of french summer tea series from Mariage Frères.
Recommend for cold brew or iced.

I did cold brew and drink it straight with a lot of ice cubes.
Though green tea based, I thought it was a blended black tea.
It has rich notes from berries and the scent of lemon add a solid tense to the aroma.

This will be my standard summer tea along with Casablanca.

It’s a unique Earl Grey that uses Lapsang Souchong.
Has a crisp bergamot aroma with a rich smokiness.
The aftertaste has a definite sweetness that comes from Lapsang Souchong.
As one of the Lapsang Souchong lovers, I’ve been very excited to try this one but was not so stunning.
(I’m pleased to upload a new image for this tea!)

As I was perusing the TTB 1.2 this afternoon, threewhales very generously gave me a bit of this tea to sample. I almost wish she hadn’t because now I HAVE TO GET THIS TEA. Seriously, this tea should be illegal. I believe that Marco Polo has earned a rating of 100 for my category of Dessert Teas.

This tea is like creamy, rich strawberry shortcake. Absolutely Perfect.

I’m not sure what sort of tea is in here, but unlike the English Breakfast version, this one appears to have Orthodox leaves. They’re mostly dark brown, with some silvery tips. There’s a rather amazing cocoa smell coming from inside the tin, which I’m hoping will show up in the flavor.

The steeped tea smells malty-sweet, with a dark cocoa note. The liquor is dark amber, sort of a light brandy color.

This is more like it. There’s a richness and a smoothness to the tea that was nowhere to be found in the English Breakfast. There’s also flavor. Quite a bit of it. It’s full bodied without being thick or particularly heavy. It definitely has some cocoa in the flavor. Not the candified chocolate of flavored teas, but a beany, planty cocoa note that arises organically out of the tea.

Pretty much everything that rubbed me the wrong way in the English Breakfast has been rectified here. This is a delicious tea. It might be even better steeped a little longer, but I think steeping at slightly under boiling was the right choice.

It does make me wonder whether there was a bit of national chauvinism here since the English Breakfast is basically a barbarian of a tea compared to this one. But far be it from me to incite an international incident. ;-)

Green tea wonderful. Very light, suitable for drinking all day. Do not infuse too long.
It has a grassy taste.

Green tea very sweet and pleasant. Drink throughout the day.

Sencha green tea of high quality at great fragrance of cherry blossoms of Japan.
Tea flavor very developed. Very pleasant in the mouth, drinking in the morning.

A very good tea. a beautiful mariage for this Oolong tea blue with a note of orange.

One of my favorite tea. strong and very pleasant to drink.

Decupboarded this morning. I’d been on something of a campaign to drink this up given my reaction to it, so I have been using it as extra black tea in chai as well as having it in the morning for the last couple of weeks.

Yesterday I opened up a tin of the Mariage Freres French Breakfast, and it looked and smelled utterly divine. Which makes me wonder whether there is a bit of international rivalry going on, with extra effort going into the French offering. Haven’t tasted it yet, but I’m looking forward to it, and I’m glad I’m waving goodbye to this one. Not to be repeated.

And now for something completely different. I’m about to find out how a venerable French tea house does English Breakfast. On the fourth of July, no less.

I can’t find anything to indicate what’s in this, but whatever it is, it looks like CTC. Like coarse coffee grounds. It has a kind of sweet, baked fragrance. Like pastry.

If I were to guess, I’d say Assam and Keemun. Keemun because in the aroma there’s a suggestion (a mere suggestion, really) of smoke. Assam because… well, it’s English Breakfast. And there’s a suggestion (a mere suggestion, really) of malty sweetness.

I made a mistake in tasting this after Earl Grey without much time between the two. At first I really couldn’t get much flavor at all. Now I’m getting some flavor, but the tea is verging on lukewarm. Must try again. Steeping 3:30 this time too, just in case that was part of the problem. BRB.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t find this very flavorful at all. Could it be a bad batch? It can’t be stale, I just opened the vacuum sealed tin which was well within its sell by date. Seriously, I’m reaching for something to describe this as. Even the mere suggestions of smoke and malt in the aroma aren’t coming through in the flavor for me. How terribly disappointing, as I generally quite like Mariage Freres.

Let me try a little milk, see if that changes things.

No. :-( It’s not undrinkable, it just doesn’t taste like much, unfortunately.

.

This was one of the first Mariage Freres teas that I tried and I remember not enjoying the cup all that much. Tastes do change over time, though, so I’m giving it another go. The scent of this tea reminds me very much of strawberry shortcake. I can smell the tart strawberry, the cream and the cake!

Sipping… ooh, this is so tasty! I have to wonder what my tastebuds were doing the last time I drank this. I did add milk to this cup, but no sugar and I do remember adding both to my cup last time. I’ve realized that I can’t really tolerate sugar in tea, but milk can make all the difference. I love that I can detect the tangy sweetness of the berries and enjoy the creaminess at the same time. The black tea doesn’t disappear either, which is nice. It adds a nice sort of maltiness to the cup. Mmm. I can see myself buying more of this in the future. How yummy!

Oh, Marco Polo! Why do I not like you as much as I thought I would? I have read reviews upon reviews saying that this is a delicious, fruity, sweet and beautiful tea. The cashier commented on the tea saying that it was a big seller and that everyone loves it. I steep the tea and take a whiff. It’s definitely fruity and somewhat creamy… but I just don’t like the flavor. I have even tried this with a splash of milk and little bit of sugar and still.. something is just off! Too much black? Too much fruit? I don’t believe I’ve been over/under steeping or scalding the tea at all. I’m very disappointed since I seem to be missing out on a wonderful taste. What am I doing wrong? I’m out $20 on a whole tin of this thing and wish I could doctor it to make it as delicious as everyone says it is! It seemed like it was the ultimate dessert tea… and boy, do I love my dessert teas. Help?

I ran out of the black tea variety of this one long ago, but still have a little of their red. It hasn’t got anything recognizable besides rooibos in the dry leaf, but my does it have the scent and flavor of a master blend! The rooibos does give it that distinctive flavor as a base, so those who aren’t fond of it should probably steer clear. Wrapped all around the rooibos though is the Marco Polo profile – naturally sweet and featuring just the right amounts of citrus and floral notes. Yummy yummy.

Off on a three-week road trip tomorrow! I’m not taking any of my teas with me and will rely on chance encounters with newly discovered denizens of the world of tea while I’m gone…

Decupboarding, with no plans to restock. I was glad for the experience, but I’m even gladder that the tin is finally kaput. I think I’m pretty close to settling on some staple Earl Greys. I’m not quite finished playing the field, but I have a feeling the end, for the most part is near, with the occasional new thing to try now and then. In any case, this won’t be a staple.

I’m more than three quarters through this tin now and I’m lowering the rating because it hasn’t grown on me during that time. Not only has it not grown on me, it’s actually something I don’t particularly look forward to drinking. It’s not a drastic thing, it’s just a sort of internal monologue that goes something like: oh, ok, guess I’ll have that and finish it up… when’s it going to be gone again? A couple more pots maybe? What can I have afterwards that’s better?

Seriously, I think it may be that I’m just not getting into the darjeeling aspect. I may be too much of a purist to appreciate an Earl Grey that is made of anything other than a fully oxidized black tea base. I suspect that were that the base, the amount of bergamot I’m tasting would seem significantly less and that would put it right about where I want it.