drank Blanc & Rose by Mariage Frères
1442 tasting notes

Mariage Frères Advent 2021 – Day 3

Yep, this is a nice one! I think MF uses a broken grade of bai mudan for the sachet (as opposed to the Silver Needles pictured); their website supports the tin/satchet discrepancy too.

The sweet, dusky rose flavour is at a perfect level for me (essence of Turkish Delight). While distinct in profile, it’s delicate enough to allow the lighter white tea notes to shine through – including sour lemon, cucumber, and cream notes (faint but good companions to rose). There’s also a hint of pepper. The tea sachet yields a nice golden broth; I’m hoping it will resteep well. I’d potentially pick up more of this as a “fancy” casual drinker, if it were accessible.

Steep Count: 4 (No.2 @ 5min; No.3 @ 7min with a minor temp increase)

Yep, it did it! The rose has a minty undertone along with the pepper on No.2. Life is good. No.3 is pretty light but the rose is delicately “sweet” and there’s more cucumber in the last sips.

Flavors: Creamy, Cucumber, Floral, Hay, Lemon, Mint, Pepper, Rose

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Dustin

Whoa! I didn’t get any of that, just a really nice rose with a hint of white tea! I’m going to have to go for a second steeping while thinking about the flavors you described and see if I can catch them this time.

Crowkettle

It definitely has a second steep in it! But your tasting note sums this tea up extremely well; it’s not complex and it would be nice if there was more too it. Like pepper & mint are more a “mouthfeel” I got from the rose, but it’s still just rose at the end of the day? Or, possible (happy) contamination – and I will never know unless I order more. D:

I wish there was more than one serving worth in this advent; MF teas can be super finicky and inconsistent in my experience.

Crowkettle

Also.. I know it’s a tea bag with broken leaf, but playing around with the temperature might get the white tea release more flavour, especially in subsequent steeps; it may respond well to 195F/90C or a tad higher.

Dustin I room temp steeped it overnight. Haven’t had much of a chance to sip on it yet today. I’m kind of tempted to open the tea bags and steep them loose, but I also don’t want all the tea dust escaping into my cup. Tea dilemmas!
Crowkettle

Oh, that will be interesting! Some of these seem like they’d do well that way. And I hear you on opening the tea bags and tea grade; with the oolong, the dust hasn’t managed to get past my filter but there is more of it then I’d normally like to see. I’ve been spoiled on loose leaf maybe..

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Comments

Dustin

Whoa! I didn’t get any of that, just a really nice rose with a hint of white tea! I’m going to have to go for a second steeping while thinking about the flavors you described and see if I can catch them this time.

Crowkettle

It definitely has a second steep in it! But your tasting note sums this tea up extremely well; it’s not complex and it would be nice if there was more too it. Like pepper & mint are more a “mouthfeel” I got from the rose, but it’s still just rose at the end of the day? Or, possible (happy) contamination – and I will never know unless I order more. D:

I wish there was more than one serving worth in this advent; MF teas can be super finicky and inconsistent in my experience.

Crowkettle

Also.. I know it’s a tea bag with broken leaf, but playing around with the temperature might get the white tea release more flavour, especially in subsequent steeps; it may respond well to 195F/90C or a tad higher.

Dustin I room temp steeped it overnight. Haven’t had much of a chance to sip on it yet today. I’m kind of tempted to open the tea bags and steep them loose, but I also don’t want all the tea dust escaping into my cup. Tea dilemmas!
Crowkettle

Oh, that will be interesting! Some of these seem like they’d do well that way. And I hear you on opening the tea bags and tea grade; with the oolong, the dust hasn’t managed to get past my filter but there is more of it then I’d normally like to see. I’ve been spoiled on loose leaf maybe..

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Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

My favourites are teas like Milk Oolong, Silver Needle,and Japanese Sencha/Gyokuro, or fruity and floral flavoured ones. However, I generally enjoy ALL the teas, including a good old cup of Earl Grey or Breakfast blend.

FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS/NOTES:

DESSERT FLAVOURS
Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Butterscotch, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan, Butter

FRUIT & BERRIES
Citrus Fruits, Passionfruit, Banana, Pineapple, Melons, Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Elderberry, Persimmon, Rhubarb..

SPICES
Ginger, Turmeric, Clove-forward chai, Cardamom

AROMATIC & HERBACEOUS NOTES
Sandalwood, Frankincense, Juniper, Eucalyptus, Mints

FLORALS
Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Lilac, Violet, etc.

VEGGIE/GRAIN NOTES
Spinach, Grass, Hay, Cucumber, Rice, Sweet Potato

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:
Stevia, Apple, Cocoa Nib, Almond, Licorice, Cinnamon-forward blends, Chinese Sencha

Subjective Rating System:
I don’t give a lot of low ratings out, since a) I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me, and b) I don’t have a lot of strong dislikes.

90-100: Favourites. The Desert Island Teas.
80-89: Loved teas. Possibly staple-worthy.
70-79: Good teas, but I’m less likely to repurchase. Minor quibbles.
60-69: Ok teas. Likely a few preference and/or quality issues.
50-59: Cup of meh. Will do in a pinch.
11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea.
1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, an unholy abomination. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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