Sunday, June 11, 2006

My Paris: Mariage Frères

Tea anyone? At Mariage Frères this simple question can cause a minor panic attack. In this famous chic, yet relaxed, Paris teahouse on rue du Bourg-Tibourg, founded back in 1854, the tea menu contains over 500 high quality teas. Unless you know what you want, you should ask for the special booklet that explains all the different teas to you (available both in English and French) - but going through the booklet would probably take ages. Much better option is to rely on the recommendations of kind fellow foodbloggers. Before going to Paris, I had read several foodblogs for good insider tips, and these surely became handy in moments like this. I went for Thé à L'Opéra - vanilla green tea with sweet spices and red fruits - endorsed by Michèle of Oswego Tea. I definitely discovered that, as far as teas go, Michèle is a trustworthy source :-) It was a delicate, fragrant and very pleasing choice.

I also shared a cake with my date K. - a lively green dome-shaped 'Mont Fuji' cake. Green matcha tea crust on top of cream and chocolate ganache and with some sour cherries in a dark chocolate case, decorated with candied chestnuts. Very rich and oh-so-tasty.



Mariage Frères @ Le Marais
30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg, Paris 4e
Telephone : +33(0)1 42 72 28 11

9 comments:

K and S said...

I love their teas too. Can't wait to go to Paris to try them in their teahouse!

Kat

Jen said...

500 different types of teas, that would be enough to give me an aneurism!
And that fuji cake, that looks huge, did you finish it all?
Sounds like a really great place.

Anonymous said...

Sounds AMAZING!!!!

That cake looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Pille, I'm not sure about the naming of the cake but it sounds intriguing :)

Anonymous said...

Ah yes Mariage Freres teas! They are nice indeed! I never fail to stop there when I am in Paris, or have the teas shipped even! ;-)
Interesting cake for sure!

jasmine said...

This cake looks so good! Love the colour of the crust :)

j

Anonymous said...

I love Mariage Freres teas so much. They offer so many different teas!
That cake looks good, even if the name sounds a bit kitch!

Fanny

Michèle said...

Pille, somehow I missed this one, but Im very glad to hear that you liked The a L'Opera! It still remains one of my favourites although I must admit my list of favourites has become exceedingly long by now. But Im thrilled that you liked it too!

Pille said...

K&S - same here! I didn't buy any to take home with me this time, so I must go back asap.

jenjen - the Mont Fuji cake wasn't as much huge, but very rich. Perfect for sharing;)

Pamela - the cake was truly delicious indeed. I really liked the contrast of crunchy dark chocolate case and slightly bitter macha topping.

Keiko - well, it's shaped like Fujisan, and it has macha in it, so surely it deserves a Japanese name? ;-)

Bea - did you stop by this time?

Amyjames - I know, it was quite difficult to choose:) I usually end up ordering the same old chocolate espresso at Plaisir!

Jasmine - I'm pretty pleased with the way the green colour turned up on the photo myself:) There was a skylight just above our table, which must have helped to capture the greenness well.

Fanny - the choice of teas was impressive indeed, and the cake was great!

Michele - thank you for the tip! I didn't buy any to take home this time, but I'll consult your blog for other worthy tea contenders when paying a return visit:)