i will begin by thanking ysaurella.
this is not a tea i would normally buy, but i really must rank it highly because of what it accomplishes!
have you ever been around bees? not like when a wasp is dive bombing you while you’re driving on the highway, or when you feel a sharp sting at a picnic…. but observed a hive? or spent time around an apiary?
there are very strong, smiling elements of clumsy, fat honey bees in this tea. i always found that bumble bees had an odd warm smell to them, as though heat generated by all of their busy work. the blend has the same warm, velvet honey flavour to it. very reminiscent of fresh honeycomb that is sold at the farmer’s markets every weekend.
the orange is very subtle… not remotely astringent or sharp. not bitterness from the pith. much more like a honey derived from orange blossoms.
a beautiful pairing. i am beginning to conclude that french tea blenders do not simply create a tea, nor is that their goal… nor is it their goal (for the most part) to be purist as their asian counterparts. they are monet and degas…. they see a pastoral scene— maybe bees working in a field, maybe blueberry shrubs crowding around a single rose bush, and they try to capture its essence. in a tea. for my cup.
ingenious. impressive.
this sounds lovely…
it is but I need to nuance a little I am a sucker for honey so it may biaise my feelings a little :)
I have 100g of this one so if you want I can send you a sample (along with other teas in my cupboard if you like of course)
Oooo yum, that sounds really good. I have some honey in my cupboard that’s fruity and it’s a blend of orange blossom and acacia. I can only imagine the orange flavour would be greatly enhanced with such a honey pairing. Never tried Hediard’s teas but my grandmother’s a huge fan of their pates de fruits.
the Hédiard teas are made by Dammann Frères so they are great, just a little big much expensive…:)
Do you think their other products are supplied by other companies as well?
I think so yes, as they are a luxious retailer but a retailer.They may have developped nice partnerships with some brands to get supplied and they surely have negociated some special products made in exclusivity for them but I don’t think they are manufacturing anything by themselves.
The point for them is to make the right selection for their market,to find out the right agreement and to rebrand everything with their marketing rules.
having said that, regarding the fresh cakes they are selling in shops, they have their own chefs (Fauchon is much concerned by that and you may remember Pierre Hermé was the Fauchon Pastry Chef before he decided to open his own business)
That’s really interesting. I’m interested in makeup as well and since Chanel owns Bourjois for example you often find very similar products repackaged and given a different price tag.
I personally would just rather go straight to the source. I’ll stick with my usual Dammann/Mariage.