Mariage Frères

Not my favourite from Mariage Freres. The Butterscotch flavour is artificial and is sickly sweet. Unlike other teas from this maker which have thick and rich mouthfeel, this is rather thin and watery even after adding full cream milk. Adding milk improves and flattens out the flavour but the artificial aroma and sickly sweet taste (which is almost metallic) remains. Would not recommend.

I’m not feeling great this dull Friday, so I wanted something clean and refreshing to drink to try and alleviate things a little. This one shouted to me from the bag by my desk. I’ve actually had it ages, I think, but I’ve never tried it before today. I like Moroccan mint, but the idea of bergamot had kind of put me off…

I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 175 degrees. To taste, it’s milder overall than I expected, although that might be a result of both its age and my conservative brew time. If I’m honest, it could probably take a bit longer (or maybe a touch more leaf).

The mint is fresh and clean-tasting, anyway, and the bergamot (although mostly a background flavour) adds a nicely citrusy edge. The green tea base is smooth and unobtrusive, with no bitterness of astringency in sight. I feel like I could take this one a touch sweeter, but I’m not sure how sugar and bergamot would pair. Maybe something to try next time!

Hello again, great tea tasters across the fruity (and malty) plains. It’s been way too long since my last review. I’ll try to make this one brief.

I have had Mariage teas before. Although I respect their complex blended flavors, I am not big on fruity, liquor-laden, flowery, and chemical-like tastes. I’m more of a purist when it comes to my favorite teas, especially black teas, which I depend on to jump-start my brain during the work week.

When I saw Mariage’s French Breakfast Tea in the local Dean & DeLuca store, I hoped that it would have robust flavors but in a more conventional black tea way. My hope was dashed. This tea seems to have a taste that is very similar to their Bourbon Rouge and Marco Polo (can’t get that swimming pool commercial out of my head) blends.

The flavors are robust but have a chemical-like tang to them. I don’t want to call this astringency, but it’s borderline so. Also, this attribute stays on my palate way too long. Like their other teas that I’ve tried, my tongue detects a hodge-podge of liquor, flowers, and fruit.

I don’t hate this tea but it is not one that I would prefer to pry my eyes open in the morning. For that purpose, I will cling to the tried-and-true English and Chinese breakfast and Earl Grey varieties.

chocolatey malty tea. Good with some half & half with a bit of sugar.

Sipping down another old sample of unknown origin. This is a very nice, very smooth chai. The spices are nicely balanced, both amongst themselves and with the (Assam?) base. I tend to go for super spicy chais, heavy on the ginger, and this is a little bit milder than that, but nonetheless it’s a blend I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection at some point.

Sipdown.

Very fragrant malt, a tiny hint of cocoa and a wisp of smoke. This is by far the smoothest and most delicious European-style tea I have ever tasted.

I did not allow myself to buy more when I was in Paris because my stash is honestly ridiculous, but I regret that decision when staring down at the empty tin.

The strength of this black tea jolted me out of a depressive episode yesterday (though of course it came back later) and it is again helping to soothe my system on this beautiful Spring day (lol f*cking hate the spring – does anyone else get Spring depression here?)

Most definitely recommend this for any French tea lovers

Cata con MGW.

This is one of my favorites from MF, though it doesn’t seem to get much attention. The ginger is just right (for this ginger lover, anyway), and the rose is lovely. It doesn’t have that excessively perfume-y quality some rose teas have; it reminds me more of fresh rose petals than anything else. The base is nice and smooth, too.

And yet another backlog. I really liked this one—it was light but fruity, with a very smooth base. I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on some more of this someday.

Another backlog. This one I really didn’t care for—it had that tobacco-y flavor rooibos sometimes gets, and that was most of what I tasted. Otherwise, it was very sweet, with maybe a little cinnamon and some nuttiness.

Backlogging this very old sample. Nice baked apple flavor, and the rooibos isn’t too strong. I didn’t like it enough that I’d buy it, especially given the cost, but it was pleasant enough to try.

Sipdown (197)

Finished this off as a teapop and it really is weird to me that this tea doesn’t brew up clear. What is in this that makes it so cloudy? Also, for a pear tea, why is it so floral? If I think really, really hard I can imagine this as sort of pear-like but then it is mostly just black tea and perfume. Thank you for the share Sil but this one just isn’t for me.

Yet another tea from Sil. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

With that said, I am not loving this cold brewed today. The pear, though subtle, is artificial and chemically and the base is what is strongest but also bland. I will continue to experiment but this prep method was certainly a bust.

2022 Sipdown 139/365!
Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge June 2022: Tea from a place you’d like to visit

Although not tops on my to-visit list, I would like to get to Europe and go through France and other countries on a food tour. One day, maybe when I’m old and rich enough (hah) to pay for a guided tour where I don’t have to put in too much effort. Haha.

Finished this off; wasn’t the best final cup but I did enjoy the base tea blend.

P is for… Paris Breakfast!

Had a cup of this today, one of the very few non-52teas I brought along with me on vacation. It was a nice morning cup, although I couldn’t identify the flavouring at all. It was just good. However, the base was a touch more brisk than my preference would be.

Interesting that this is a black-green blend. I definitely brewed it as a black, but thought it was pretty good, so it is clearly pretty forgiving. Can’t remember specifics, except that it was reasonably mild and flavourful.

Basically the closest that tea can get to hot chocolate. Almost (only almost!) could take care of my chocolate cravings. It’s downright cocoa-y. I did not try this without milk, so of course that could have added quite a bit of creaminess to it. I’m really enjoying it – definitely a successful chocolate-flavored black.

Sipdown (141)!

So, I really, really liked this one hot. The overall flavours weren’t really different from the cold brewed pitcher that I made earlier in the week but somehow this seemed a little more lively, and I think some of the floral notes were a bit more tempered. Not that I minded the floral notes, but Bosc pears are my favourite pears so I liked that with less floral notes I got more of a straight up Bosc flavour.

Sad to be finishing off another pear tea; there are never enough pear teas in my cupboard…

From the second GCTTB; I pulled the sample of this one ‘cause I wanted to try it but didn’t end up with enough time to…

I love pear tea and I’m still searching for my perfect one: the dry smell of this was absolutely amazing and it had me drooling so hard. It was fresh, dewy, sweet, and a little floral all the while absolutely nailing what pears, especially ripe ones, smell like. It was also strikingly familiar: I’m thinking it probably reminded me of Fauchon’s pear black tea? It’s been a while since I’ve drank that, but going by memory that sounds about right.

Most of the sample went towards a cold brewed pitcher of tea: I had my first cup of it yesterday and it was so incredibly delightful. The pear flavour is really smooth, and very natural. There’s a realistic amount of sweetness, and the slightly creamy flavour of a Bosc pear alongside the more floral notes of a Bartlett pear. It’s enchanting. That said, I’m not really sure if it’s my perfect pear tea but it’s still a damn delight regardless. I look forward to trying the rest of the sample hot and seeing if that lovely, nuanced and realistic pear flavour carries through to the hot brew as well.