LaFleurBleue

LaFleurBleue drank Earl Grey Provence by Mariage Frères

The tea looks really nice in the bag, with all the little lavender petals sprinkled – not as blue as I would have liked though.
It smells extremely strong, as just opening the bag wafts tea and lavender smell all around the room.
The color of the brew is a bright orangey.
And the taste, just what I expected: very strong on lavender, though the underlying tanginess of citrus can never be forgotten. The lavender tastes really natural, which makes me feel like walking a garden bordered by blooming lavender bushes – a very pleasant and relaxing feeling.
The tea base is a tad stronger than usual for MF black blends, which is good considering the intensity of the flavoring. I managed to resteep it twice (the third cup was quite light and remained fragrant but felt much more like herbal than black tea). I am sure I could have brewed a whole very fragrant tea pot with the content of one tea-bag.
I’ll have to compare it directly with Gryphon Earl Grey Lavender that I haven’t had in the past weeks to see what are the differences, which one I like best. However I’ll also definitely take into account the fact that even though this tea is an expensive one by MF standards (9.50 Eur per 100g), it sells for less than 40% of the Gryphon price for the same quantity (not available loose, only bagged).

2013-02-20 23:20:26 -0500

205 °F / 96 °C

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Ysaurella 2013-04-12 18:03:32 -0400

this is the tea I wanted to buy when my mouth pronounced earl Grey French Blue instead…I am not regretting anyway because it is a wonderful Earl grey. Will try this one too later of course, your tasting note is an invitation to run in a MF shop :)

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I’ve started drinking much more tea quite recently, almost completely quitting espresso for it!
I’ve been introduced to high quality tea by one of my best friend, MF Marco Polo addict since more than 20 years. I’ve only rarely bought tea-bags since then, preferring the quality-price ratio of loose leaves.
I drink my tea natural, without any milk, sugar or sweetener. I only add honey when a sore-throat is coming along.
I usually either brew a large pot at home or resteep my leaves at the office. I cannot seem to learn to master the use of a gaiwan in an elegant and not clumsy way…
My tea preferences :
- I really like flavored black teas, with a preference for fruity flavors, from a tangy Earl Grey to a real fruit smoothie-like tea. I’m trying some single origin unflavored blacks from time to time but always end up having trouble to finish them. I usually do not really enjoy the strong breakfast teas.
- I do not like chai or teas with strong spice flavors. Strange considering I really like spicy food, but not what I drink.
- I am quite afraid of pu-erh and lapsang souchong, though I probably have never drunk any real good ones and I’m quite sure it can make a huge difference… A few years ago, I had been introduced to scotch whisky and can definitely attest that you cannot say you don’t like whisky, if you’ve only drunk blended stuff and not tasted yet single malts. I hope to get the same happy discovery for those teas.
- I discovered very good oolong, without going through the step of drinking bad-one first, and really enjoy it, especially with a meal. I’ll definitely try some flavored oolongs in a near future.
- I’ve just started discovering white teas, which feels very delicate. The only problem is that those can be awfully expensive…
- I also really like rooibos which I discovered a few years ago while searching for low-theine/caffeine teas that I could drink at night without suffering from insomnia.
- As with green tea, we’ve had a long-standing difficult relationship. I’ve occasionally had some that were real smooth, refreshing and so very many that turned bitter very quickly. And I cannot stand a bitter tea.
- As for jasmine tea, I used to like it but have indeed drunk too much of some bad quality bitter brew, and now I even have problem finishing the high-quality pearls I bought in Beijing.
- Yerba Mate: I’ve had some in one blend and am quite convinced that I would never like that as bitterness is one of its main characteristics. I’ll try to avoid it like the plague.
- Herbal tea: I used to drink more or those before discovering rooibos; finding good ones is unfortunately really difficult – even in organic shops, the herbs sold are far from great.
I loathe artificial flavoring of any kind in any beverage or food.

I’m quite opiniated and try to leave room for further improvement and better discoveries, which explain why I haven’t rated any tea in the 95 and above range.
Teas above 80 are among my favorites
Between 60-80, I could or could not give them a second chance or recognize that they are made with high-quality ingredients though their taste does not please my buds.
Around 50, it starts to be rather bad and a not so pleasant experience to drink.
25 to 40+ cover low quality products that I manage to drink when nothing else is available.
Below that, it’s really vile and basically almost undrinkable IMHO.