Mariage Frères

Backlogging this one! Surprised I haven’t done this one yet but then I don’t drink it all that often; being the first tea I bought on my pilgrimage (yes, my cultural, romantic, artistic, linguistic, idealistic pilgrimage) to Paris, and to Mariage Frères beneath the Louvre, I tend to guard it preciously and use it only for special occasions.

Hooowever my manager asked that I complete the last exercise of my tea training workbook today, which involved comparing two teas of different grades, so I compared this one to Whittard of Chelsea’s Afternoon Earl Grey, also with cornflowers. But French Blue will always come out on top, for me!!

Something always tells me not to brew this one for too long but it’s never come out badly for it; the floral scent is consistently amazing without being terribly pungent all through the steeping and, with the leaves carefully measured, never brews to any darker than the richest amber. (I do feel like I’m writing a love letter to this tea.) It’s dry on the tongue but so, so good for it- the bergamot and the china black tea and the cornflowers all come out separately, strongly, and so deliciously, none of this merging of flavours that tends to make the ingredients indistinct from one another. Being able to taste all the different harmonious elements here really works to its advantage.

I’ve had this one with milk before but unless you’re not a fan of the dryness, I’d recommend it black, to be treated as you’d treat a First Flush Darjeeling. This one is such a great classic!

One of the tea I absolutely wanted to taste- I bought a full bag today.

The dry leaves scent is amazing, opulent & floral more than fruity, very promising.

The liquor is less amazing than the dry leaves scent but the notes are very well balanced between floral and fruity ones.
It’s so well balanced that it is complicated to get the ingredients identified clearly.
Even if I know there are vanilla, red & black berries, citrus and cornflowers and mallows, none is overpowering.

Warm, it becomes even better than very hot.

I’ll need to taste it more to see if the experience is different. To be continued so !

A couple weeks ago I got a package of Davids´s Tea Read My Lips, and was struck by how awesome the idea of peppermint+chocolate flavoured black tea could be. After Eight Tea. Read My Lips was not going to last long in this household anyway and I got into the hunt for another peppermint and chocolate “After Eight” tea that was easier to find this side of the Atlantic. And wow, found this easily enough, locally and from my favorite blenders and quite reasonably priced (cheaper than David´s Tea even discounting shipping). I had to get some, it was meant to be, even if I had not yet run out of Read My Lips (it´s only been a month).

And it is just as good a idea as I remembered. I still got some Read My Lips to compare, and there are some differences between the two. RML has got fillers, the chocolate and the little peppermint lips and the peppercorns. Choco-menthe is a simple flavoured black tea. RML has a little bit extra texture from the melted chocolate and peppermint and is also sweetened by those. Choco-menthe is a bit more intense and concentrated (use less tea), and the tea seems a bit stronger, a stronger body. IMO choco-menthe is one of those teas which while not needing anything gets better with a smidgeon of sugar. I added milk as well and that was also a good idea. Delicious. A sort of candy bar tea – nothing too special or too refined, but so nice.

About ratings, I have some trouble being accurate with the slide bar. Between this and Read My Lips, maybe I will pick up a favorite in time, but so far, I hope I am giving the exact same rating to them both. Different teas but honors even, good takes on a very good idea.

Additional notes: Sipdown! I like this one, but I don’t think it’s my favorite vanilla tea (Della Terra, Adagio, Harney…probably forgetting so many). I don’t think either the vanilla or the black tea has enough flavor. But it was nice to try, anyway!

Thanks momo for allowing me to try a few cups of this! Anything vanilla is my favorite. This is a milder tasting black tea base. It brews a medium brown color. Kind of malty. The base is perfect for the vanilla flavor that is neither too subtle or too strong. A tea that is smooth and sweet! I like it, of course (it’s vanilla). I can’t decide which is my favorite of the vanilla teas I’ve tried. I also like Harney’s Vanilla Comoro and ESP Emporium’s Vanilla Black. There was also a teabag I really loved: Numi’s India Night. But why pick favorites?

I’m worried about everyone on the east coast right now! Stay safe and drink some tea!

I went tea shopping, oh it was fun, but I run out of tins and containers. I really got to continue the purge.

This was one of my new buys, and maybe the one I was more enthusiastic about. The dry smell is just sublime – almond, a bit of cinnamon, something gingery and something fruity (the passion fruit I guess).

Brewed, it is lovely, but I screwed up making it. The MF website says 95 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes. I was afraid of putting such hot water in a mix of green and black tea, used colder water and well I got to test doing as they say.

The taste is slightly different brewed up, the almond is still very much there but tamed. The cinnamon (and other spices?) go to the background. The fruitiness is dry rather than sweet, reminds me a lot of this maracujá, passion fruit, liqueurs which are typical from Madeira and which I rather like. I misguidedly put some brown sugar on it and that was a mistake. The almond and spices puts this firmly in my mind in Pleine Lune territory, and honey does wonders to that tea, but Balthazar is just a different personality, Pleine Lune´s older cousin rather than her twin sister.

Ah, I think this would make an awesome Christmas tea, if you do not require a lot of body from a Christmas tea. Its scents are so Christmas-y to me!

Received a sample of this in a swap with Ysaurella. A very smooth tea. Not a bit of bitterness. Bergamot is present but very light. When cooled, this has a much more pronounced sweetness to it, almost fruity. I’d say this is a medium body tea. Mellow and calming. Very nice, indeed.

Smells wonderful. Tastes fruity but nonspecific citrus at first. Beragmot is not an overpowering note. A smooth blend. Mom tasted florals but I just get mainly fruit. Lemon and orange, yes. Smooth hints of bergamot in the aftertaste. Nice hot, very nice cold. Thanks so much to Ysaurella I can try this lovely blend! This definitely goes on the shopping list!

Definitely the best Earl Grey I’ve in my life, and leaves behind a warm glowy feeling every time.

Lovely chocolate aroma with mellow caramel notes towards the end. Excellent tea for a cold rainy morning.

The more I drink it the more i love it : It’s really an elegant earl grey spin off :)
I need to say it is near to mélange Hédiard regarding the scent of the dry leaf BUT so different after brewing – both are lovely but Aïda is the most elegant.

Aïda …is a tea opera dedicated to the glorious citrus !

I am not able to identify each type of citrus present in this blend but they are a lot : for sure bergamot,lemon (candied probably) and bitter orange.

It’s like an orchestra where each flavor is playing its musical score with respect and harmony with its citrus collegues.

Without being exceptional, the black tea base is nice, strong enough to welcome all these fantastic flavors.

Recommended to citrus lovers for sure

I like it actually much better when I drink it in the late afternoon at the office, than at home some time in the evening, hence my slightly reviewed quote. I tried to understand the reasons why: I guess that the really strong citrusy taste gives me the feeling that this brew has awakening/exciting benefits, while I usually prefer smoother and more relaxing drinks in the evening.
I also am less concentrated on my tea at the office than at home which might make it the best way to empty my stocks of nice but not preferred teas.

The blend does not exactly look like the picture, as I can see some petals inside but less and not pink, rather golden-brown, like the rooibos itself.
The smell is pretty strong on citrus.
When drinking, the smell and taste that really came to my mind was bergamot, bergamot, bergamot. I like it usually. Both the rooibos and bergamot are nice quality with fine taste, but to my opinion, it’s just a bit too strong on bergamot, which totally covers all the other tastes supposed to exist in the blend. I’ll keep looking for them, but this one will not be among my favorites and for one I wonder whether it would not be better if I let it go old and faded a bit before drinking it. A shame, really.
I’ve just started the box (offered to me without any previous smell or taste°; in case I change my mind before the end of the 100 g, I’ll update this.

This is just such a perfect morning tea, especially on cold foggy mornings. It’s milder than other earl greys, which makes me like it more. I could especially taste the vanilla this morning.

This is one of my favorite Earl Grey variations, and it’s perfect for mornings. It’s mild-tasting but smells fairly sharp.

This smells like chocolate with a little bit of brandy.
This tea has some of the “sparkling” feeling to it. It has a spiciness that lingers on for a long time after drinking, almost a white pepper kind of zing.
There is a nice smokiness that underlines the brandy type flavor.

This was my first rooibos blend ever and I’ve almost finished the box; there’s just enough for another cup or two, no more.
I really like the mellow taste, hinting of vanilla and flowers but in which the blend makes all the flavors mixed together, so that none of them overwhelms the others. It’s therefore quite difficult for me to really identify the different flavors within.
It used to be my favorite evening drink for a while, then got superseded by Nil Rouge, later on by Rouge Bourbon. But when I tried it again to finish it, I found back what I had liked so much at first about it : a real smoothness that makes it very easy and pleasant to drink, without anything strong about it that might get overwhelming and in the end nauseating.
I do not know if I’ll buy it back this Christmas but surely sometime in the future.

It’s probably the Best Earl Grey I ever had.

It’s an easy tea (after my adventure with Wedding Impérial, I appreciate)
Bergamot is very present but does not “overtake” the floral note offered by blue cornflowers.
The fruity citrus note is delivered with a majestic and harmonious touch.

The tea base itself is very mellow, light but tasty.

This is an euphemism to say I loved this tea.

The funniest is that it wasn’t the one I wanted to purchase : I asked at Mariage’s desk : I want the French Blue Earl Grey, the one with lavender… the Earl Grey Provence was the one I wanted but I can thank the salesman for not reestablishing the correct name of the Tea I first wanted.

Imperial Wedding is a flavoured tea I never get tired with . Yet our story was wrong part !

Opening the bag is an olfactory shock : a large wind of caramel powder invades the nostrils. Too much . Too strong.

It’s a capricious tea, its tea-based assam made of cut leaves makes it complicated to brew properly.

I struggled to find the right temperature , I wasted the first half of a bag before finding : 2 minutes , no more. 90 ° C and not much.

When you miss it, you get a bitter tea undrinkable, yes undrinkable even with a dash of milk and sugar.

But when it succeeds, you get the most glamorous caramel tea , malty, strong in taste and still assam-y with a thin note of chocolate at the end of the sip.

Wedding Impérial … the Angel and Demon of Mariage Frères .
Completely demonic accompanied by a religieuse au café (coffee cream puff)!

For those who like to see, you can find pictures of the dry & wet leaf, infusion and religieuse au café here : http://thevangeliste.wordpress.com/2014/09/28/wedding-imperial-mariage-freres/