Paris has come to New Jersey! Dinosara was the kindest, most generous world traveler ever, and sent me some of her Paris teas from Mariage Freres and Dammann Freres! I didn’t know where to start! I bet she thought I was kidding when I said I was going to do eenie meenie miney moe to decide, but that is what I really did! (but I said "catch a Frenchman by the toe! instead of a monkey. Monkeys are for Chinese teas!)!

So, the Frenchman chose this one!

Divine Decadence! I taste a nutty, chocolatey tea taste, and then PING the orange on the end of the sip. It’s really delightful, round, and yes, decadent. It’s amazing how sweetly satisfying it is sans additions!

I did my first steep at 3 minutes, and there was a little thinness. For my second steep, I put in a little more leaf, took it to four minutes, and yes. There it is. French Perfection! No bitterness, no astringency, great flavor. I love it.

I must say, though, it certainly makes me not want to work! It’s making me dreamy! I want to sit on a park bench and read and watch the world go by when I sip something so lovely. Ah!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
ashmanra

Quick! Have a cup of Queen Catherine! She will set you straight and you can have some of your French tea this weekend. :)

Dinosara

Now you know what I felt like when I got home and had to choose the first tea to try! :D There is something about the French teas that put you in a whole ’nother mindset!

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ashmanra

Quick! Have a cup of Queen Catherine! She will set you straight and you can have some of your French tea this weekend. :)

Dinosara

Now you know what I felt like when I got home and had to choose the first tea to try! :D There is something about the French teas that put you in a whole ’nother mindset!

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Bio

I love to cook, bake, read, paint, knit, do needlework, and garden. I need my coffee, but I LOVE my tea. I work at an Art School, and attend a large public university doing post-bac work (my BA is in English). I’m interested in the liminal spaces between art and craft, the academic and the practical, the individual and community, and the old and the new. I’m currently exploring these ideas through the disciplines of education, literature, history, and psychology.

I enjoy writing tasting notes, but have decided not to numerically rate teas as of 9/14/10. For an explanation, see my looooong tasting note about Mountain Malt from the Simple Leaf.

My favorites:
Chinese black teas
A good “milk and sugar” English style black
Earl Grey (classic, and in all variations!)
Vanilla teas (classic, and in all variations!)
Jasmine, Rose, Violet and other froofy, flowery teas!
An Occasional Oolong
Flavored Rooibos
Herbal Tisanes

Location

Collingswood, NJ

Website

http://jackiemania.wordpress....

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