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Post by Anne on Aug 27, 2007 9:01:20 GMT -5
For those here who love tea (one cannot live on wine only ;D), the most famous (and best IMO) tea company in France is called Mariage Frères . They have three shops in Paris, in the 4th, 6th and 8th arr . Go to www.mariagefreres.com (you have to use the French version, the English one doesn't work) . Although you can only buy their rare teas (green, white, Darjeelings, ...) in their own shops, you can find their perfumed teas in the Galeries Lafayettes and Printemps too . Those perfumed teas are excellent and they are sold in very stylish black and gold tin boxes which you can also bring back home as presents . I always have several boxes on display in my kitchen, from which I pick up the flavour that I fancy anytime . The ones that I recommend : "Summer" teas : - Casablanca : Moroccan mint - Ruschka : citrus fruits - Earl Grey French blue : bergamot + blue flowers "Winter" tea : - Esprit de Noël : cinnamon, cardamom (?), orange, vanillia . My favourite ever tea : I often drink two big mugs of it per day on cold days . A bit like Chai, but much smoother . - Wedding Imperial : chocolate and caramel They have plenty others, including many flowery and fruity ones, but I cannot advise on those since I don't like those kinds .
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Post by steve on Aug 27, 2007 9:18:43 GMT -5
My lovely and charming wife thanks you. We'll pay a visit.
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Post by Shoesy on Aug 27, 2007 9:22:55 GMT -5
Steve - I think your wife should thank YOU for calling her "lovely and charming".
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Post by Laura NY (aoi33) on Aug 27, 2007 9:38:31 GMT -5
I second Anne's very excellent suggestion. My English husband is serious about his tea and loves Mariage Freres.
If you really love tea, I would go to the shops themselves where they have an amazing collection of tea and a very helpful staff. Last time we were there, my husband made his selection and was then offered some tea tips which had been picked the day before and had just been flown in that morning! He was thrilled and said it was delicious.
For those of you who are not huge tea lovers, like me, it is still worth seeing. Tons of canisters and old scales to weigh out the teas. Oh yes, how could I forget, the tea room has a killer chocolate torte too.
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Post by mez on Aug 27, 2007 9:40:43 GMT -5
Anne, thanks so much for the reminder.
I'd read about these tea shops ages ago and I'd forgotten all about them! The store is definitely on my to do list now.
Mez
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Post by annettecinca on Aug 27, 2007 9:44:03 GMT -5
Anne, these sound absolutely yummy! I can't get their French site working either, only the Chinese one...yikes! (and I thought my French was bad!) Do they also make herbal teas? How would one ask for herbal tea in France? "Thé de fines herbes" (what my language translator came up with) doesn't seem quite right
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Aug 27, 2007 9:50:56 GMT -5
I "third" this suggestion - I especially like the shop in the 4th (Esprit de Noel is a favorite of mine, and not just at Christmas).
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Post by steve on Aug 27, 2007 9:54:16 GMT -5
Shoesy--it's the truth.
Annette-- I think that "une tisane" is more accurate.
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Post by Anne on Aug 27, 2007 10:05:35 GMT -5
Annette - How strange that you cannot access the French site !
Yes, herbal tea is tisane . But I don't think that they sell any of those .
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Post by annettecinca on Aug 27, 2007 10:40:09 GMT -5
Oh well, just a thought. Thanks for the translation. I finally got on the French site! I checked out the menus and laughed at the first salad on the menu--"Snob Salad"! It does sound like a lovely place, and it's added to my ever-growing list.
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les
Full Member
C'est si bon....
Posts: 163
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Post by les on Aug 27, 2007 14:01:56 GMT -5
I completely ADORE this tea and the tea salons. They are a "must stop" every time I go to Paris. And for those who say "But you can get it at Williams Sonoma" I say NOOOOO. You can get about 3 flavors at WS. There are over 500!!!!
LOVE IT.
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Aug 27, 2007 18:17:40 GMT -5
My other favorite stores for tea are Hediard, which has shops in a number of places, and Petrossian (for the Tante Irene).
As to WS, I'm not convinced it's as fresh, aside from the fact that the selection is so small. You also can get at least some of them at Bon Marche (and probably Galeries Lafayette?), but I don't think the selection is as good plus much of the fun is visiting the shop.
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Post by Truffaut on Aug 27, 2007 19:50:44 GMT -5
Yes, Mariage Frères is an essential shopping stop on every trip. We adore the "Marco Polo" which we use to make iced tea. I like the "Earl Grey Impérial" for hot tea, as well as the mint-flavored ("Casablanca"?). The store is lovely, but it's hard to walk out without spending a fortune!! Who ever thought they'd desperately "need" a tea-scented candle for $40
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Post by Truffaut on Aug 27, 2007 19:53:32 GMT -5
I will say that one of my snootier Parisian friends (who shall remain nameless because he may read this...) insists that only American and Japanese tourists go to MF. He says that the teas at the little boutique (can't remember the name) a couple of blocks north and on the same side of rue Bourg Tibourg are much better and more "Parisian".... Hmmph!
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Post by annettecinca on Aug 27, 2007 23:47:07 GMT -5
I hit upon a treasure trove of Paris articles tonight! Here's another that mentions Mariage Frères and a few other tea houses. After reading this, I'm suddenly in the mood for a nice cup of tea! If only I had something sweet to go with it, like the St. Honoré à la Russe!
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pjk
New Member
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Post by pjk on Aug 29, 2007 12:27:39 GMT -5
A friend and I spent one of the most pleasant hours (and $100.00!) at Marriage Freres one afternoon.
We had no idea what we wanted (we had been inside once before) and one of the black-coated men asked us what we were interested in. We looked at some of the labels on the tins and asked if we could smell a particular tea. If it smelled good to us we would buy just a small amount which he would put into one of those little bags, mark the price, then the temp of the water which was necessary for that particular tea. If we didn't buy some he would say something in French (Quel Domage?) and also put some of that tea in a small bag, mark that it was free and the temp. It was great. We never got tired of asking about a particular tea and to smell it, and he never got tired of getting the tins down, opening them, and putting them back.
The entire time we never were made to feel that we were being intrusive or that we were wasting his time. We ended up with 10 or 12 small bags and with the intention of always going back.
Pjk
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Post by Happygoin on Aug 29, 2007 14:01:50 GMT -5
pjk, can you imagine anywhere in the US where you could do that? That's another thing to love about the little shops of Paris. So much singular attention lavished upon us! Unfortunately there are too many of those shops where you can't walk out without $100 worth of stuff that you simply must have...lol
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Aug 29, 2007 18:32:44 GMT -5
pjk and happy - all true! (pjk, welcome to the forum!)
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Post by annettecinca on Aug 30, 2007 9:49:47 GMT -5
PJK, thanks for your fun description of your experience at this shop. That settles it, Mariage Frères is on my list for sure!
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pjk
New Member
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Post by pjk on Aug 30, 2007 10:59:27 GMT -5
One of the other things we do every trip, on a warm night, is take a bottle of wine out to the Pont des Arts and just sit and sip with everyone else there. It's like a big picnic, and the Pont des Arts has become my favorite bridge. On the last day there last April I was looking at several small watercolors that a man had painted and which were displayed on a pirce of cardboard along the river. I bought one for 10.00e and took photo of it when I got home. I wish it had come out more clearly... [/img] pjk.smugmug.com/photos/151591316-M.jpgPjk
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