Betjeman and Barton
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Another one from Ysaurella though I’ll likely need to review this again soon since i managed to drink the entire cup before i thought about taking notes :) There is a bit of spiciness to this one that is quite enjoyable. Mixed with the citrus it is a smooth and delicious flavour. I really liked how smooth this one was. Looking forward to trying the tea i picked up from B&B even more now.
It was my morning tea. I was in the mood for an opulent tea because I was going to see an exhibition about the 1001 nights Tales(Arabian nights is the real tittle in English I think). A very beautiful exhibition, if some of you are in Paris, I highly recommend it:http://www.imarabe.org/exposition-ima-6415.
I really enjoyed my tea even if I found the tea base a little bit weak.
Fruits are very natural and perfectly balanced.
I’m the first one to review it as it seems B&B is not a brand very popular in North America (only one corner in a shop of Montréal)- It’s a pity because this brand is very nice. A good challenger for Mariage Frères.
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Let us know how the show was!
fantastic ! all areas were covered : printing, illustration, painting, photography, cinema,fashion, music and all periods from the creation of the book until today. And the pieces were coming from everywhere in the world.
Unfortunately…I have no pics to show because we are not allowed to take pics…Marketing is just killing emotion…as they just want us to buy the catalogue of the show…39 €…ignoring the pleasure we can have to take our own pics and the different choice we may have done to take one painting or not…
This tea is remarkable. I had my first cup of it in Toramina, Sicily. I rate it a tie with Marco Polo. With these two teas I need no others.
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ok, here is my second try with this tea with a shorter steeping time: 3 minutes only.
No more bitterness at all, a soft and mellow tea. It takes all the meaning of his name : Luxury.
It is delicious, maple and chestnuts are really present but I detected some apple cubes if I’m not crazy.
I really like it and upgrade my rating.
Hope it won’t be ages until someone else review this tea ! I’d like to have your opinions too.
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After a discussion yesterday with Sil,cteresa and Dinosara about Dammann Frères teas and Betjeman & Barton, I decided to pop up today at B&B shop near Place de la Madeleine.
I bought 2 teas after the proposal of the director of the shop.
I already have the habit of this brand but it is nice to surrender and be guided sometimes.
The dry leaf blend was sooooo wonderful I immediately decided to have it.
Here in Paris, the weather is very cold (I hear from here some Canadian’s laughs…) it’s -5°C and a maple chestnut tea is the perfect tea to have right now.
The scent of the liquor is divine and the taste is very different from any maple or candied chestnut teas I had before.
More bitter somehow (the nutty bitterness we get sometimes while eating chestnuts)- this is a pleasant bitterness, I need to mention that.
There is something weird with this B&B blend : it tastes a little like “perfume” somehow (natural oils ?)
The tea base is really present. I miss the maple to be honnest. let’s say this is a subtle maple flavour.
I like it and will give another try with a shorter steeping time (around 2 minutes).
Actually I prefer Rouge d’Automne from MF for the candied chestnuts tea category and Maple pecan Oolong from BT for the maple tea category.
Luxury didn’t win the best leading role Oscar but for sure the supporting role one :)
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I think I’ve settled on a single purchase of one of their teas to try. The selection isn’t the best here, but I do love the tin it comes in ;)
I almost opened your sample of it etait aprés la pluie today! decided against and then major thunderstorm and it would have been so appropriate after all.
you have 2 samples Teresa : après la pluie (George Cannon tea)it’s a pu’erh and Il était une fois Noël (this is the B&B tea, sweeter, absolutely not a Pu’erh)- I think you are thinking of Il était une fois Noël
@ Sil : they mention having a shop corner in Canada (but in Quebec) :
Fouvrac – Maison des Thés
1400 rue Fleury Est
Montreal Quebec
+ 1 514 381 8871
OOOOH thank you madam! i will add this to my list of places to go to when i take a trip to montreal :)
Je serai à Montréal la semaine prochaine. I’ll go take a look! Merci!
And yes, I’m laughing at your -5C. ;o)
Steven – let me know how it goes!
I love this tea. Betjeman says it is supposed to remind English Pudding.Thanks God , no ! I hate English Pudding but love this cinnamon, apple, almond and ginger tea !
Pics are available here : https://thevangeliste.wordpress.com/2014/12/13/il-etait-une-fois-noel-betjeman-barton/
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I’ve been quite absent these last 2 weeks and it will be the same for the next two ones. I am moving from home January 2 and have so much to do : pack my teas especially…meaning I kept only very few to drink until the effective move.
So I leave my adored Paris for a near suburb…c’est la vie…I’ll have a bigger flat, a more recent one, with a better isolation, but my heart is broken somewhere…It’s not to be snobish but I think my life will be quite different.
The Tea !
Except the fact I struggled to manage to open the tin, I liked this tea very much.
I received it as a gift for Christmas by my Mom and it was a great idea.
Once upon a time Christmas…Il était une fois Noël is a very comfortable tea with a dominant apple and cinnamon in a supportive role- but the nice point is the presence of almond, very refined.
I didn’t get ginger but I need to test it again asap I’ll be installed in my new BIG kitchen.
More place for my teas should stop my sadness :)
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which suburb are you moving to?
good luck with the move!
Good luck with your move!
thank you girls :)
@ Sil : I’ll be 15 km from Paris, meaning 20 min by train from St Lazare (very central). I’ll be in the French department of Val de Marne and the town is quite near Disneyland as well (21 km)
Ysaurella – have a wonderful move! It’ll be different but you’ll find things to love I’m sure. I haven’t visited that neighbourhood yet but I’m sure it’s lovely
Good luck, may it be for the best, unexpectedly sometimes how things go! And more room for teas sounds like a great thing :) I keep buying little shelves on ikea and pretty tins, it´s amazing how the sight of your tea corner never gets old or stop cheering you up.
And this sounds like a wonderful christmas gift!
Ysaurella I hope the move has surprises that are good for you! Maybe places to explore! I love my smaller town where I know my shops and I love to take photo’s now. I never did this when I live in the city. We are all here ready to listen to your new adventures and wish you well!
thanks Bonnie :) obrigada cteresa
i’ll keep you updated for sure
I’m so happy you were able to find a place you like! Too bad it’s out of Paris, must be really hard to leave the one place you feel your heart belongs to…but at least it’s not too far, right? And more tea storage is a BIG plus, that’s for sure!
Good luck with everything:-)
well…it’s not a tea but “une eau de fruit” en français dans le texte…let’s say something similar to a tisane but really stronger in taste…closer to a decoction.
This eau du verger is really incredible ; it is really just like you are drinking a sorbet (a hot sorbet !)
you can see like real big pieces of fruits mixed with herbs : apples & orange- flowers as well : marygold. other aroms are peach, pear & strawberry.
The head note for me is really red fruits.
It is delicious and I am impatient to taste it iced as well.
The taste is strong so it may be not necessary to put too much leaf in the cup.
Preparation
This is a sample I requested while visiting B&B. I already had this tea in the past but not since at least 4 years.
The scent of dry leaf is just waouh…fantastic, the liquor is a perfect balance of citrus : orange, bergamot and lemon with a light smocky taste.
This is a nice Earl Grey declination in homage to Russian blends.
Delicious, goes in my shopping list, definitively.
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The side of the can states: A blend of fine teas from India and China, flavored with Italian oil of Bergamot, orange and lemon. I’m worried about the bergamot – I’m not a real Earl Grey kinda guy.
Turns out, the bergamot isn’t overwhelming. There’s a sort of muddled, bitter, citrus taste, which seems balanced against the tea itself, which is… well, black – all leathery and earthy, but without much aftertaste. It’s pleasant enough, and would be a fine tea to drink while you were busy paying attention to something else, but it tastes the same all the way through.
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A slightly grassy tea given the blend of green tea leaves and lemongrass. It’s very smooth and refreshing – just the kind of tea that you would love to have after an invigorating spa treatment. I like the use of ginger oil instead of ginger pieces in this tea, as it adds a subtle note of spiciness and a touch of exoticness to the tea, without overshadowing the mellow flavour of the tea leaves. I spent my tea time today happily with a pot of this and a good book. Life is good :)
My fourth cup of tea today! That would be a new record for me. :)
It’s the beginning of autumn, my favourite season, and I celebrated it with a pot of Autumn Blend. It has a wonderful scent – like the air on an autumn morning, it is clean, crisp, and infused with the sweet aroma of harvested fruits. The fruity note of Ceylon tea adds complexity to the fruitiness. This flavoured black tea is really great for people who enjoy fruity flavours but find fruit infusions too tart for their liking.
In sum, I love this tea. It’s both delicious and romantic. Would certainly sample more teas by Betjeman and Barton in the future! ;)
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I love a good seasonal blend – when done right it really does capture the mood of the season. You described this one so well I’m enviously imagining drinking it … it’s a good thing it’s Spring here or I’d go utterly green!
Haha… there’s no need to be envious as there are plenty of teas for spring! To me a spring tea will be something floral and fruity – this combination always reminds me of sunshine (I don’t know why), which is the image of spring in my mind. Though spring in Melbourne didn’t seem exactly sunny to me… the weather was totally unpredictable when I was in Melbourne 2 weeks ago! :P
Totally agree with your comment on good seasonal blend. It’s beautiful when a tea captures the mood of a season/holiday. I am now looking for a good blend for the coming Christmas… :)
Classic Melbourne for you, four seasons in a day, I’m sorry the weather wasn’t great for your visit… but I have to admit I do love that… yesterday was burst out of the box sunny like everyone in shorts and t-shirts and and today it hasn’t stopped raining, like real rain, heavy rain. So nice, the perfect cool down to yesterday.
You really captured a spring blend – fruity and floral – I imagine berries or cherries, fresh cherries in spring are awesome, and smell of lavender and freshly cut grass. It’d be awesome if there was a tea store that let you type in an idea and came up with a result. The spring blends I’ve seen around are all floral and no fruit, and seem very lacking to me.
I love that Christmas is coming because there really is nothing quite as special as a good Christmas blend – cinnamon, marzipan, raisins, cranberries… I can’t wait to see what stores come up with this year.
Love the spring blend you described, especially the idea of freshly cut grass! Yes, most spring blends are floral, which are good but just a bit boring. Similarly, Christmas blends are all about cinnamon. Cinnamon is indeed Christmas-y, but since I am not a big fan of spices I really hope there will be Christmas blends without cinnamon. :P Marzipan and cranberries sound great! I am hoping for something chocolatey too, just like the Cocoa Haven that you’ve reviewed.
The idea of mood-based tea search is fun! Do you know Adagio? It seems to have something similar to that as it allows customers to create their own blends. So there are lots of interesting creations and you will likely find something that suits your mood! ;) I have yet to tried their tea though.
Wow. Adagio rock. I didn’t know you could do that, thanks for pointing me in their direction. But ouch the shipping charges are really high for poor little Australia. I do love the idea though maybe someone here will start it up.
Cinnamon and Christmas really do go hand in hand when it comes to tea blends or actually any Christmas inspired drink, I’ve even seen Cinnamon infused soft drinks at Christmas and as a lover of cinnamon not even I could stand them. I do think cinnamon is more effective as a subtle flavour than as the main flavour I think it can give a tea warmth but you shouldn’t leaving you thinking ’mmm that was a nice bit of tea with my cinnamon drink." So hopefully there will be a perfect blend put out this year with chocolate, marzipan, cranberries and a slight dusting of cinnamon – maybe by Lupicia so you we can both have it :)
Yes.. same problem here, it’s expensive to buy non-Chinese tea here in Hong Kong too. There are lots of interesting teas out there but I can’t do much apart from browsing their websites. I do look forward to Lupicia’s Christmas teas this year! Their teas often carry candy/dessert flavours and with little spice added! :) Not to mention the super gorgeous tea tins, haha… though I may need to buy my cousin dinner before he’s willing to buy the teas for me in Japan :P
Yes.. same problem here, it’s expensive to buy non-Chinese tea here in Hong Kong too. There are lots of interesting teas out there but I can’t do much apart from browsing their websites. I do look forward to Lupicia’s Christmas teas this year! Their teas often carry candy/dessert flavours and with little spice added! :) Not to mention the super gorgeous tea tins, haha… though I may need to buy my cousin dinner before he’s willing to buy the teas for me in Japan :PYou’re right, it’s nice when cinnamon adds warmth to the tea. I’ve seen some “pie teas” around (like Apple Pie tea, Pumpkin Pie tea) and I believe a pinch of cinnamon can make the tea more like a hot pie! :)
Oh I love Lupicia’s tins – their stoe in at QV in Melbourne is gorgeous I really love getting to chose a pretty label it’s so special. Plus I have a real bee in my bonnet when tea places don’t give you a tin – I mean you just have to buy one anyways grumble so it’s a delight getting tea from them. I also love giving them as presents because it’s kind of like personalised tea.
I actually haven’t had the pleasure of trying their Christmas blends but if they’re as delicious as they sound – candy & spice equals everything nice with my taste buds – I’m really looking forward to what they bring out.
I must admit I’d probably want a dinner too for buying some tea or …. afternoon tea hee hee…. My Mum is always asking me to pick her up Henry Langdon’s Lemongrass and Ginger which has to be the hardest to find tea around, when I find it for her she always gives me a cupcake which I love, but I’d do it anyway ;)
Btw thanks for the ‘hot pie’ reference it’s that is exactly the the wording I’ve been looking forward to describe this toffee apple combination I’ve been drinking lately it’s like warm apple pie.
nice to see you appreciated this one too