Marco Polo

The lovely, wonderful QuiltGuppy included this in a package she sent, and it is delicious! First of all, I adore the tin. I’m shallow like that. But the taste…mmm. I definitely need to revisit the black teas in my cupboard. This one is nice and dark with a lighter fruit flavor that just puts it over the top for me. As long as I keep my eye on the brew time, it doesn’t get bitter, and it’s just smooth and delicious.

If you were to ask me which type of teas do I like most, I’d probably say green tea, but lately I’ve been expanding my choices and black tea is definitely gaining on green tea. And with the help of Marco Polo, the race is drawing closer than ever. Amazing flavour!!

Marco Polo, aka The Gateway Tea.

Before I knew Ceylon from Snapple, I tasted Marco Polo …and a life-long romance with tea was born. Scented teas don’t have the power over me that they once did, but I still get weak-kneed and watery-mouthed at the smell of Marco Polo.

A powerful tool for converting the nonbelievers.

Thank you Sil for this sample.

This tea smells delicious. It smells like a strong black tea but there is a berry smell to it, red berry, maybe strawberry. The smell is a mystery.

The taste of the tea can be descibed as nothing other than delicious. Ther e is the subtle black base, but there is also a strong berry taste. I would say a mix of strawberry, blueberry and sweet cherry flavours.

Thank you Sil for giving me the opportunity to try this tea. I think it is just going to have to go on the shopping list.

Thank you Bonnie for this sample.
This is my first Mariage Freres tea that I have tried.
I see that this tea has been well reviewed here.
I made a hot batch, and enjoyed it.
The flavor was nice, not much caffeine for me.
I’ll have to read all the reviews here another time.
Did alot of paperwork cleaning out a closet today, uncluttering.
I’ll see if there is enough to make a pot for tomorrow as well.

Well first off I have to thank cteresa for sending me this tea in the hoppitea exchange. This tea is delicious…it smells of strawberries when you first open it up and a hint of creaminess. After the brew I was not sure I loved the smell… it was almost to sweet but I figured I had to try it. The tea was pretty amber color a bit lighter than I thought it would be for a black tea.

I took the suggestions on here about a bit of sweeter and cream and wow what a wonderful sip. It really tastes like strawberry shortcake! The end taste is a hint of tartness and juiciness this is just divine. I can really see myself drinking this a lot at home! Thanks so much cteresa!

I bought a small ammount to test at home. And I do like it better if I brew it myself, on my small teapot and just so. Better.

This tea smells incredible in every stage. The tea leaves with a thousand fruity smell, then after brewed, like strawberry jam and green apples and maybe caramel. First taste is for me strawberry with green Granny Smith apples coming later at the back of the mouth. Nobody else seems to have tasted apples, never mind green apples, so my brain might be just wrongly assigning a particularsmell to a very complex blend of flavours.

Must retest, less brewing time I think and maybe try milk. Lovely indeed, though it did not knock my socks off as much as expected.

Thanks to QuiltGuppy for sharing from her stash. This is a new favorite! It’s floral and fruity at the same time, quite a feat. It’s light and refreshing, yet bold and strong at the same time too. Delish!

As I was perusing the TTB 1.2 this afternoon, threewhales very generously gave me a bit of this tea to sample. I almost wish she hadn’t because now I HAVE TO GET THIS TEA. Seriously, this tea should be illegal. I believe that Marco Polo has earned a rating of 100 for my category of Dessert Teas.

This tea is like creamy, rich strawberry shortcake. Absolutely Perfect.

I am a huge ‘skeptic’ on flavoured teas, not a purist, but I just tend to stir away from them, especially after some flavored teas didn’t play nice with my taste buds. Some like Black Currant (Enjoying Tea.com), White Peach (Adagio Teas), Mango Black (Zhi Tea; makes a good iced tea though), California Fields (Mighty Leaf Tea,) and some things like that dreaded Earl Grey Bravo (Adagio Teas), and even some overly flowery Jasmines.

So I hear about the “legend of the flavoured teas”: Mariage Brother’s famous Marco Polo Blend. So popular to a fact that when I went to Williams & Sonoma to pick up a tin, they told me they were sold out the very day they restocked. It’s reputation proceeds itself. I consider myself lucky to pick a tin up at Gumps the same day. However, I think I may be overstating this tea.

Now lets dedicate a short some of this on the moment I open this tin; as I was expecting most flavoured teas to have their odour reek from the tin the moment it’s cracked open. Some flavoured teas are so dank, that their scent permeates outside the tin! (White Peach). The the scent of Marco Polo, was tame. It came to my nose with it’s exciting strawberry-maplelike scent, candylike almost, but very sophisticated. I spent a good three minutes just enjoying the aroma this tea tea. The leaves weren’t surprisingly different than other flavoured blacks, a little more fuller of a OP, with contrast of browns, and some lighter blacks. But I still say this is more than decent quality for a flavoured tea.

I brewed this like most blacks: five minutes at boiling, in my 24 ounce white teapot. The cup yielded a medium amber cup, with a mellowed aroma of the tin. The take was surprising to me. Medium-full body, it was mildly fruity and sweet, the flavouring almost bypassed my tongue in a way… to travel to my nose. Either the flavouring of this tea wasn’t as strong as I thought it was, or the heat of the boil just killed all the flavour. Either way, it finished up medium, and somewhat sharp.

This tea strangely finds a place between enjoyable and tolerable for me as I am not a fan of flavoured teas. I tried my second cup with light agave nectar, which leveled the sharp finish; and the third cup with 2% fat milk, which ‘almost’ makes me say this would make a “damn fine cup of tea”. I will make this again but with WHOLE milk or maybe even half and half.

Good luck trying to find a tin of it. It’s a bit more expensive on the web, and some high end pricey stores like Gumps in SF and Williams & Sonoma have limited stock. I consider my score to be high for a flavoured tea. This tea made me accept flavoured teas a little more, which is what I was looking for. It changed my opinion of flavoured tea, and it reminded me of Strawberry Black (Adagio Teas). If you know people who love flavoured teas serve them this, or buy it to entertain your nose. I couldn’t have this everyday. If you are a sceptic on flavoured teas, try this, and it may change your mind.