Thé au Tibet

Here it is, my final French tea. Even though I wish I could have brought home 10x more than I did, I’ve been very (very!) satisfied with my choices. This tea sounded awesome to me: jasmine, rose, bergamot and vanilla? Yum. I’m not sure how all that has anything to do with Tibet, but I’ll take it anyway.

I have to say, the dry leaf on this tea smells amazing. The citrusy bergamot and creamy vanilla are the primary notes and give it the hint of an Earl Grey cream, but the floral jasmine adds it’s note to that and I think detect a sweetness of the rose. It smells at once floral and citrusy and creamy. The dry leaf is all tea (no additions that I can see), with some rather large non-black tea looking leaves in it. Mariage Freres’ website says this is just a black tea (in both French and English!), but after steeping: no way. There are definitely green tea leaves in my steeping basket mixed in with the black. Which means I would have steeped it below boiling had I known that, but oh well.

The liquor is a medium reddish amber and it’s become more floral in aroma, though there’s no hiding that creamy vanilla note. The taste has a floral beginning (rose, some jasmine, general “florals”), and I think the bergamot comes out in the later part of the sip, but to be perfectly honest I’m having a tough time accurately parsing it from all the other flavors. The tea is ever so slightly bitter, maybe from the bergamot, maybe from a too-hot steep temp for the (unexpected) green tea. Underlying everything is a wonderful creamy vanilla flavor that just smooths all the flavors out and ties them together. As it cools I the bergamot asserts itself some more and it reminds me again of an Earl Grey creme, but while the floral notes aren’t incredibly distinct in their own right at this point, they definitely add to the overall flavor. In fact, now they seem to have shifted more to the tail end/aftertaste of the sip.

I really want to try this one at a cooler steeping temp to see how it turns out now that I know that it’s got green in it! Still very tasty even so.

I received a sample of this tea from Cteresa – thanks again ;-) – and liked it so much that I recently bought Histoire Tibetaine from THE O DOR as it resembles this tea ingredient wise.

These teas are similar in some respects but certainly not the same.

Starting with the basis: both teas contain vanilla, bergamot and jasmine. The HT adds marigold and uses a base of black and green tea. The TT adds mandarin orange and rose and uses a base of black tea.

Although the vanilla and jasmine are very recognizable in both teas, they vere into entirely different directions taste wise.

In the HT the vanilla is really in the forefront, both scent and tastewise. De jasmine prevents the brew becoming too sweet. The bergamot and marigold aren’t really recognizable, at least not to me (actually I don’t even know what marigold smells and tastes like). The tea is warm, sweet and comforting in character. The floral notes remain in the background.

In the TT on the other hand the floral notes – and especially the rose – are at the forefront. Together with the black tea base this makes for an edgier tea with a slight smokey feeling. The vanilla is cetainly present but seems to be in a supporting role rather than a leading one. As the tea cools the vanilla becomes more noticeable btw.

It’s really great to see how two teas with for a great part the same ingredients can be so different in character. They actually aren’t comparable at all :-)

I like both teas. For the TT that’s something, as I actually don’t like rose in my tea and usually try to avoid rose scented teas. The HT is more of a ‘happy feeling’ tea as the TT is more elegant and sophisticated. Being a sweet tooth I’d probably choose the HT over the TT most times, but I can imagine that being different for others.

Prep details: HT 80 C/ 4:30 min & TT 95 C/ 4:30 min

Rating is for TT only. This review has been posted under HT too and give it’s rating there

THANKS to DINOSARA for this sample…eh..um…huge bag! I’ll be enjoying this tea all winter thanks to you! I really like this one. I’m not a huge fan on straight Earl Grey but love Earl Grey Creme.
I’m going to try steeping this at different temps and times and iced also to see if I can acquire additional flavor.
This first time I did 2 tsp for 16oz, 3 min steep at 208 degrees. I totally tasted the vanilla and bergamot. I did not get any jasmine or orange and I love my jasmine! So overall this is an excellent tea just based on flavor. If you’re wanting jasmine and rose to come through they didn’t for me at this steep. If I don’t get more on other steeps I might try adding a jasmine pearl or two.
I would definitely buy this tea.

I think this must be a blend of Chinese blacks and greens, despite the description. An utterly delicious and delightful blend! It tastes like magic. It’s totally different from Rosy Earl Grey, but it has that black/green/floral synergy going on. It also has the addition of a creamy vanilla flavor which just knocks my socks off!

You know I’m no fan of green tea, but like in Rosy, it really WORKS in this blend. It provides a delicateness that makes the fruits and florals, and yes even that touch of vanilla, shine! I wouldn’t want this one any other way.

Thank you so much Dinosara! This is fantastic and so different from my every day fare. I am really enjoying it.

This is as tibetan as Marco Polo is related to anything Marco Polo himself might have encountered – that is, no relation at all. This is, to my mind, the fanciest, most french, most feminine earl grey blend ever. There are other things there, but bergamot is most emphatically there and puts it clearly on earl grey territory in my mind. But if Guerlain made Earl Grey tea, this would be it – I can sense the vanilla and rose there, and it just amplifies the other many little scent notes, this is like a symphony of flavours, with bergamot as soloist and all those many other support notes as an orchestra behind it.

(I got no clue why they think this reminds them of Tibet. Then again i do not know why they call Marco Polo that)

Day #4 of 24 and tea of the afternoon……

This tea comes to me from Dinosara and her round the world travels. Thank you! I really like this. It is a fruity/floral version of Earl Grey with a light hint of vanilla. The tea base does look a bit more like a Darjeeling than a Chinese black tea. It kind of reminds me of Viennese Earl Grey from Harney & Son’s, but with a lot more flavors going on. It amazes me that even with all those flavors, they seamlessly complement the tea base. If I ever do order from Mariage Freres, this will be on my list. Very relaxing and enjoyable.

15 oz mug, 2 tsp tea, 209 water, 4 minutes. Very lightly sweetened.

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