Besides stocking up on all sorts of green tea from the exciting supermarkets in the city (and annoyed that I've to go ask for a refund for packs from Shizuoka), I'm thrilled that the friends took me to the lovely boutique of Mariage Frères in Shinjuku to buy obscene quantities of my favorite brand of European tea.
There're a few aromas from this label that I'd gladly pay for, but there're some which don't blow my mind. Many flavors from TWG or Fortnum & Mason will more than competently do the job. It's ultimately a matter of preferences. So yes, Mariage Frères can be a little overhyped, but you need to have tasted their blends to pick out the subtlety of the flavors that are unique to this label.
I love the aroma of the earl grey french blue. It's deep and intoxicating. I like dark smoky teas and Mariage Frères does them so well. I was first introduced to the tea by the Aunts as a child. I never understood why I couldn't buy it in Singapore and it's always been one of those products I madly stock up on each trip. It's only recently that I can find limited selections of Mariage Frères tea in Singapore at The Link Home and occasionally, in a paper pack at Ion's supermarket, ThreeSixty (it usually stocks Dammann Frères).
Nothing better than to spend the morning buying tea (and for some, sweet nibbles to go with), and heading to the friends' house in the afternoon to sip hot cups of tea and natter over seemingly heavy topics. But it brings cheer to our hearts to be able to talk about it, and disagree over certain issues while generally standing firm in the same direction. This is why we've been firm friends for such a long time in spite of our different life directions- this basic belief in fundamental marine diversity and its rights has kept our hearts together.
6 comments:
you into nattering over tea these days? LOL
The tea sounds amazing, can I get that in UK? Maybe I'll get some to try, and even make macarons with them..
Eh.. I read the papers today, some green tea in Japan are affected by the radiation! Take note..
sinlady: SOMETIMES! Heeeeee.
thepleasuremonger: i vaguely recall seeing some it little tiny shops in Notting Hill, Chiswick and Brighton. But not often. I usually ship them into London from Paris from its website. I can't recall if Selfridges still carry it. It did in 2009. Cafe Luc at Marylebone, Claridge's Mayfair both serve the Mariage Frères tea.
jingjing: I avoided the earlier banned regions, but only today, I found out Shizuoka is also problematic. SO ANNOYING. That's like THE green tea centre of Japan. Going to ask for refunds.
The earl gray french blue is amazing. I have one unopened box which I am hoarding!
delphine: hoard it! most precious!
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