Paris

Time for a quick spot of tea while I wait for my ride and the 1.5 hour drive to the airport for the 4 hour flight to Ottawa. It seems fitting that I’m visiting the capital for the first time on Thanksgiving, when I’m grateful for this new job and new path in life.

Anyway, I love this tea. Today I had it with 1.5 teaspoons of sugar and some soy milk. I find soy milk makes my teas feel creamier, and I need less sugar. (Remember, my mug can hold 24 oz of yummy, delicious tea.) I think the vanilla notes come out more in this version. I’ll need the caffeine of this black tea to hold me up till I can sleep on the plane.

Oh, gotta run! See ya!

Thanks hotel internet, for kicking me off just at the time I went to post this tasting note. Fortunately it wasn’t very long. I discovered a couple more sachets of this hidden in a tin of French rose-flavored hard candies. Score! I forgot how awesome this tea was, which always happens when I don’t have a tea I love for a long time. I really have to restock on this at some point.

Fortification for the day ahead. Nothing like a 5.5 hour job interview when you are still recovering from a cold. Hoping I don’t sneeze too much. At least I got a good nights sleep last night.

Paris! My parents are planning a vacation there, so I have been giving them tips and such. Just so happens I brought some sachets of this home with me too. It has been a long time since I’ve had this tea, and when I opened the pouch the sachet was so strong and delicious smelling it made my mouth water.

MMMMM man I forgot how much I love this tea. Red fruits, caramel and bergamot, some of my favorites. This tea really is love in a cup.

Ugh, exhausted from traveling. This morning the hot water dispenser in the (new) hotel was so forceful that it rent a hole in the sachet of this tea, letting loose the tea all through my travel mug. I ended up straining it out using the small tea basket on my travel mug and several cups from the hotel, but it was a messy process. Also I am going to run out of sachets before the end of my trip, which is sad (and poor planning on my part, obviously).

I found an ancient sachet of this tucked away in a tin of Parisian rose candies and since I ran out of all my other sachets I decided to use it. At the airport again, so I was able to get actual hot water at a Starbucks, but the resulting steep is totally weak still. I guess this is a good illustration of a tea getting old; I should have steeped it longer, or perhaps used two sachets (I do have another ancient one in the tin). Or just toss the rest of them because I have new sachets at home that are super flavorful.

On the road again with Paris sachets. And I just got upgraded to first class on my next flight, sweet! I’ve had frequent flyer status for several flights now but it’s not very high-level and I’ve been flying a lot of well-traveled routes, so I’m always at the bottom of the upgrade list. This time I am traveling somewhere that is not so popular. Yay tasty Paris tea, and yay first class.

And then there were two (sachets, that is). I enjoyed a cup of tea this morning to get me going for the day, so now I have only two sachets left. Crazy!

In other news, the Williams Sonoma in our mall recently closed (sad face), and I found out when I was there today that a Teavana is opening in its place. My reaction was literally “aauuughhh Teavanaaaa!” At least I will be able to refill on Amandine Rose easily now. I am interested to see how this store plays out as far as the upselling goes.

I made a travel mug of this to take with me to the collections, but I am logging it now because I won’t really have time during or after drinking it. And I know how awesome it will be already! I overheard people talking yesterday about how the only liquids allowed in the collections are water and tea, and I thought, sweet! Whoever made those rules must be a tea drinker lol.

This has definitely got to be the hottest water I’ve ever gotten from a coffee shop. And of course they love to overfill my travel mug so it splashes on me when it try to put the lid on.

I am returning from San Francisco today. I didn’t get to do as much teaware shopping as I wanted, but I did pickup a few good teas, mostly restocking things I already know I like.

This one, of course, is still perfect for traveling and always delicious. Glad I got wrapped sachets of this because it just makes it so easy to throw in a bag so I can have a cup of tea whenever.

First, Happy New Year, all! Second, my notices page is broken and I can’t get to it… anyone else?

In another effort to stave off tea deprivation, I’m having a big mug of this tea this morning! I’m going to fly through the sachets I brought with me for this trip if I keep this up…

Om nom nom. It’s kind of amazing having fresh sachets of this, because they are even better than before, if that is possible. It’s just SO GOOD.

Noticed this morning that the hot water dispenser at the hotel says it is dispensing water at 197°F, which is a little cooler than I would normally brew black teas. But I usually brew Harney blacks under boiling anyway, so it works ok. Too bad I didn’t bring any oolongs!

Fair warning, this turned out to be less of a tasting note, and more of a rambling. Ah well. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had this tea. It’s funny when I don’t drink a tea I love for a while, especially after drinking a bunch of new teas I love in the intervening time, I start wondering… has my palate changed any? Am I going to come back to this favorite tea and not enjoy it as much anymore? Will tons of Parisian teas spoil me on a tea called Paris?

The answers to those questions are yes, no, and no. My palate as definitely changed; drinking a bunch of French teas and especially the high quality oolongs I’ve been drinking lately has changed the way I appreciate teas. I drink them in a different way than before, more thoroughly exploring the flavors and how they combine. But as it turns out, Paris is just that good. I forgot to start my timer when I poured the water for this tea, so the steep time is just a guestimate, but this tea is fairly forgiving. I still adore the flavors of this tea, and it definitely remains in my upper eschelon. I suppose it reminds me a bit of some of the Parisian teas, but really this is a tea that really reminds me of Harney & Sons tasty blends.

Ugh, weaksauce, literally. My hotel breakfasts have gotten worse and worse in quality over the course of this trip. Now I am reduced to simple carbs and “hot” water that was barely hot enough for a green tea, much less a black. I had to let my sachet steep forever to even get any flavor out of it at all. Laaaame.

After three days of bagged Earl Grey it was really starting to wear on me. I’ve been trying to ration my sachets that I brought with me but today I had to bust out Paris. Mmm, I can’t wait to get back to my tea stash… I miss it so!

Another sachet I brought with me while traveling this holiday weekend. Having it this morning with a homemade apple cider donut, and it’s definitely taking the edge of a headache incurred after rocking out too hard at a They Might Be Giants show last night (why don’t I ever learn that I get dehydrated at concerts?)

Mmm. I’m sitting at home waiting for a delivery that is late, so I chose Paris to relax a bit I supposed. This cup is awesome; slightly naturally sweet, with all the lovely flavors I’ve come to expect from this tea.

Also, apparently I blew past my 100th tasting note 10 notes ago without realizing it! Fittingly my 100th note was apparently Tower of London. It’s pretty amazing that my top teas are still mostly Harney & Sons, even with all the other teas I’ve tasted since I started getting into tea last fall. Go Harney!

I thought about posting this in the “Chance Combinations” listing, but really it was mostly Paris, so I’ll put it here. I had part of a sample pouch of Paris that I ordered from Harney ages ago that I had never used up. It wasn’t quite enough for a cold steep by itself, so I threw in an extra teaspoon of rose black, using up the rest of my sample from Golden Moon. Turns out rose is a nice addition to Paris! It complemented the existing flavors without overwhelming them. What I didn’t even think of is that Paris has vanilla notes in it, and here they play well with the rose, whereas I wasn’t as fond of the pairing in the Vanilla Rose from Zhi Tea this morning.

It’s been a while since I’ve had Paris since I’ve been having so many new teas these days. It’s kind of a shame, because Paris is so amazing! It’s really very comforting, like an old friend. Between this and Tower of London, these are the teas I can always turn to and they’re always satisfying and delicious.

Ah, Paris. This really seems to be sussing itself out as my favorite go-to tea. I brought some sachets home in a recently-emptied tagalong tin, and even though I don’t often drink tea at home for some reason, I decided I needed a pot this morning with breakfast (maple-oat scones). For whatever reason this pot has more bergamot flavor than some others I’ve had. Delish!

There’s something about trying a tea you really dislike, especially one you dislike so much that you can’t finish the cup. I needed a recovery tea, something to wash the bitterness off my taste buds and fill my nose and mouth with a flavor I love. I thought about having a cream Earl Grey I do really like, the one from ESP Emporium, but the steeping basket for my Kati cup needs to dry out to get all the tiny pieces of the previous tea out, so I reached for a sachet of Paris. This one hits the spot. Thank you, Paris, for being a tea I can always turn to.

This was an experiment: I have a sample pouch of this tea that I ordered online, and when I brew it, I would always get a faint hint of bitterness, even at 3 minutes steeping time, which was disappointing. I got a tin of sachets at the NYC Coffee and Tea Festival, though, and when I brew them, I have no bitterness problems. So, in attempts to figure out the difference, this time I cut open the sachet and brewed it in my Kati cup like I had been doing with the sample. Four minutes steeping, no bitterness. However, I measured the tea in the sachet with my “1 cup of perfect tea” spoon, and it was about 1.5 scoops. I’d been putting two in, so perhaps that’s my problem? I guess I’ll have to have another cup of Paris tea with the sample to test my hypothesis!

Ah, Paris… I I’ve been thinking of it often as I plan a trip to Europe (including Paris!) in a month and a half. Drinking this lovely tea feels like a primer!

Paris was calling to me this morning… another delicious cup of course. I’m getting a lot of vanilla creamy flavor in this cup. This tea never fails to make me feel good!

Made two mugs of this for me and my mother, except that I couldn’t even take a sip of mine. I was reduced mostly to a small amount of gingerale at a time with a drool-cloth held below my chin. So my tea went completely cold. I microwaved it (I hate microwaving tea, it gives it a funny taste), and have been sipping it now. Slowly. Just because I’ve got a little more feeling back and it’s easier to handle now.

See, I just got all four wisdom teeth out. I’ve got a mug of tea and a mug of chicken noodle soup. The soup is still very hot (although I can’t tell when I drink it due to numbness) so I’m letting it sit until it seems cool enough to drink. Until then, mmm Paris tea. It still tastes delicious even through the numbness and the taste of blood and gauze. Isn’t that a pleasant image? I think it is.

My tin of bags is almost out too, aaaah. I need to pop over to Chapters and pick up another tin. If they aren’t sold out. They sell out quickly. If only Chapters sold loose-leaf tea to go with all their loose-leaf tea accessories, but no. They sell loose-leaf tea accessories, and only bagged teas.

I’m starting to run low on this, sadly. And I don’t know what I’m going to do when I run out, because Chapters sells the tea, but only teabagged in tins, and I don’t want to start stocking up on Harney and Sons Paris Tea tins. If only Harney and Sons accepted paypal, I would buy a bag of this looseleaf! I already have a tin for it!

I need to go and buy a prepaid Visa or Mastercard giftcard for myself. You’re supposed to be able to use those for internet purchases.

Mmm enjoying this while it lasts, though. It’s just a peculiar, fruity, bergamoty mix.

Mmmm. Just enjoying this through my cold. It’s still fruity and delicious even with a plugged nose.

Blasting Skyrim music and playing with power tools. While sipping tea of course.

Curled up in bed with my new love, Paris. <3 Mmm.

Don’t mind me, just upping this to 100 because it’s my favorite tea in the world right now.

This will never stop being delicious. I drink a little bit almost every day before I have anything else. Sometimes I just keep drinking it instead of trying other stuff. And tonight, I’m drinking it at 2 a.m. because even though I know it will keep me awake, I just need some. Because I am addicted.

I am a francophile when it cames to tea. Not by design, I think some big name French companies can go a little bit too froufrou with packaging and pricing or just plain esoteric. But for me, more often than not, it´s a couple of French companies which nail what I want in a special tea: good tea with wonderful flavours, introduced or natural, and that specialness. Any tea named Paris is going to have to live up to my expectations, for tea coming in black and gold boxes!

This Paris comes from the other side of the Atlantic. I love that Harney sells small samples, I wish more places did that, it was a way to get to know this without commitment. I got enough for 3 or 4 cups, the first cup was not a hit it seemed to react very badly to my tap water. This is my second (or third?) attempt at this. Mineral water and I was careful of temperature. And it is still not a hit. I brewed it too cold I think, only the bergamot developped and I am getting some bitterness from something somewhere. This is not comparing too well with Thé au Tibet (the most no-fuss very refined tea ever) or Marco Polo. Would I have compared it to either of those without the name and reading other reviews? Dunno. But this is a tough name for a tea to live up, in my house!

I still got enough for one more attempt. Maybe that it will be love at third sight. I really wanted to love this.

The last of the sample, and still trying to figure out this tea. A couple very random notes:

- I have complained it tasted bitter to me. It still does, this the worst of the three sample cups I have done, but I have figured out why, I got a small envelope sample and this is why tins are the best way to store and sell tea, inconvenient as they might be. The tea is very small and looks broken up, not sure what original size was, but some undue crushing at some time probably happened. Crushed tea gets bitter in steeping. Not sure how this would taste fresh from a tin.

- This time I brewed this up not too hot and not too long, and it works nicely even with tap water. But the base is still not very deep, not that is necessarily a problem with me.

- I have figured out I have (or had, now I finished this sample of Paris) 4 very similar teas – the red fruits with caramel/vanilla/something and in a couple cases bergamot. Paul et Virginie (which I must log!) and Marco Polo have no bergamot, this Paris and St. Petersburg have a bit of bergamot in the mix. Marco Polo and Paris smell the most chocolatey or most caramelley. Paul&Virginie has the clearest most identifiable fruit notes. Marco Polo seems to have the strongest base. I checked tea sizes and Marco Polo also has the longest leaves, followed by Dammann´s tea and then Kusmi – though not fair to compare Harney´s tea since I really suspect some undue crushing of this sample. And all these teas seem to be one of the topsellers or most loved teas for their respective blenders.

PS – oh, five teas, if you count I still got a teabag or two of this Don Juan somewhere. Two cities, two adventurers and a famous novel/couple, all similar ideas