Thé à l'Opéra

The dry leaf aroma is strawberry fruit roll-ups! OMG YUM!! The flavor is a soft green tea with a light, natural, strawberry flavor. It isn’t quite as intense as the aroma, but it’s definitely there. I added a little agave and that really made the strawberry pop!

I’ve only recently discovered agave. It’s like honey but different. It’s less viscous, not quite as intense, and sweet in a different way. Like more of a green, vegetal type way. I think I like it more than honey! Mmm, it is a delicious addition to this tea. Thank you to Shmiracles for giving me this sample!

Thanks Shmiracles! Mmm the dry leaf smells amazing! The flavor is just as good. It’s juicy and bursting with berry flavor. It’s very smooth and there is no sign of bitterness with the base. This reminds me of homemade strawberry/raspberry jam. Oh this is such a lovely trea

the scent is bright and exciting like:
http://instagram.com/p/X5NjPqIc8Q/
and the taste is smooth and fresh like:
http://instagram.com/p/X5Ny4Boc8h/

i went to the opera house to take pictures and they were selling this tea in the store. i didn’t buy it because i recognized that i was falling for a consumerism trick.
but when i went shopping at Mariage Freres a few days later this tea still stood out with it’s boldness and beauty. and it was my official green tea purchase of the day.

i’m so glad i have a tin of this ready in the wings for spring and summer. so very glad.

Backlog:

I selected this sample from Shmiracles as my after dinner tea with an episode of Merlin. I am surprised that there are so many just-average ratings for this tea. My only issue with it is that raspberry is my least favorite berry. Other than that, I think that this is an excellently blended tea. The flavors don’t taste too sweet or artificial and there is absolutely no questionable aftertaste (as I have found all too common with many flavored teas). This is like the tea version of a berry blend juice. If I liked raspberry more, I’d give it 100.

Mariage Frères are masters at creating teas that smell heavenly, to which this tea attests. It’s phenomenal! Berries and fresh, green sencha. Lovely!

165/1.5 min – Still, the aroma is strong and enticing. From the first sip, the berries are forefront in the flavor. This is followed by the fresh, grassy green of a buttery sencha. The finish, however, is all vanilla which lingers for a while. (Disclaimer: I do not generally enjoy vanilla.) So, it starts out wonderfully and finishes so-so. Still a great tea and probably outstanding for those who enjoy vanilla in their tea.

Thanks to cteresa for sending me this!
I love mariage freres tea, however never tried their teabags.
The muslin teabags looked so cute!

When I opened it, I smelled something very fruity.
I couldn’t wait to try it so I brewed in a pot. Maybe I added too much water?
When I brewed it, I couldn’t smell much fruits anymore.

In terms of taste – it was very mild, easy to drink.
No bitterness, just very mild green tea taste.

Overall, I liked it! I just wish I brewed it better.
Interestingly though, after I finished a pot and smelled a pot, it smelled just like the tea leaves. I don’t know why I couldn’t sense the scent when I was drinking.

I’m getting mostly cherries and strawberries in this tea today, and thank G-d not crayons or construction paper. This is still not a favorite for me, though, and I’m lowering my rating.

This tea is amazing. A bit pricier than I think I will pay, but if I was paid more I would stock this tea for sure.

I cannot place all of the flavors, so I’ll just walk through the experience: the first sensation across my tongue is a mildly fruity, buttery tone. It’s like the aftertaste of a fruit salad. Then, in the middle, I feel a smooth, natural green-tea flavor. The finisher is a mix of green-tea flavor (mild, mild!), fruit, and perhaps something floral? Perfumy, but I can’t identify a specific scent or flavor. Slightly astringent and a touch bitter in the after after taste. This is an absolutley delightful tea.

This is a complex cup. There are more flavors happening and more parts to the taste than I described above, but I can’t pull them apart enough to catalogue. I think it would taste great with sugar, though I can’t see spoiling this intricate experience. This is a good tea for lovers of all experience levels, though I think experienced drinkers might appreciate it more than neophytes.

Cteresa packed a teabag of this tea by way of a surprise with the swap we had agreed upon. Thank you, Cteresa!. While I was sipping this tea the first thing that came to mind was that I would really like to order some of it…

This tea actually has what I miss in Theodor’s Place Saint Marc: balance between the tea base (a very smooth green tea), the fruity top note (red berries) and the vanilla impression in the aftertaste. Everything comes together beautifully in a well rounded and balanced taste.

Finally get to try this renowned tea from MF!! I love it though Marco Polo is still my favorite. It smells of candy and more precisely, bubble gum! But I don’t mean it tastes artificial, rather you can tell the berry and vanilla flavours are all natural… That is the amazing part! Goes really well with strawberry macaroons I think!