Since I didn't get around to buying any tea when I was in France last month, when I got home I had a bee in my bonnet to go online and find some genuinely French tea to try. The blend that caught my eye was this Thé de Marie-Antoinette by Nina's of Paris.
This tea is described on the Nina's website as "a very delicate tea, flavored with apples & rose, with a touch of strongness with Ceylon tea basis. Apple aroma done with apples coming from King’s Kitchen Garden – Versailles." Now what could be more French than a tea made with apples from the Palace of Versailles, right? Well, the tea came and I got the strongest whiff of rose-scented tea you can imagine. It was lovely! I steeped a spoon full of the leaves for about three minutes and took a sip. I like roses, but I really felt as if I'd just eaten one when I finished sipping that cup of tea. I steeped the leaves again, for just under two minutes, and still it was too strong. Later in the week, I steeped less than a spoonful of the leaves for only one minute, and finally, that gave me the
slight suggestion of rose I was seeking in this nice black tea. At this rate, I will be drinking this tin of tea forever!
At least it's a pretty pink tin, and I love that it has an "A" and an "M" on top, as if it were personalized just for me!
That tea tin is so pretty! I'm glad you found the "right" formula to make a delicious cup of it.
ReplyDelete'Perfume' teas have never been my favorite! I love to smell them... but please don't ask me to drink it! The monogramed tin is perfect!
ReplyDeleteWe should have a tea swap. I've got several teas that I will never finish by myself.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this tea advertised. So glad for your review. How perfect that the lid bears your initials.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely tin of tea! It's almost a Laduree macaron with treasure inside.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the "idea/fantasy was more appealing than the reality, except in gentle doses" concepts, except for true devotees of essence of rose. I'm even now tasting the great wafts of it the time the Avon lady, in her zeal to sell the latest fragrance, spritzed all around us as we sat on the couch, and the room smelled like a flower-shop for weeks.
I had to take down the drapes and wash them, and thank goodness the Spring cover was on the couch, for it went into the washer, as well. Still can't linger where there's any rose fragrance except from the heart of a real one.
And I SO enjoyed the potting bench! All the tea references, and the sweet baby pots, and the dear task undertaken by your Dearie to make it perfect for you.
And anyone who pauses in the midst of such elegance and charm of the days, to say "I haven't planted SQUAT," is my kinda writer.
rachel
That is the prettiest tea tin I've ever seen! I would probably buy it just for the tin!
ReplyDeleteLovely tea and tin! So happy you are an A and M and not a M and A. We all know her fate!
ReplyDeleteLove the tin...so pretty. I don't do perfumed teas...too many things I'm allergic to. But it's sure fun to hear about new teas...
ReplyDeleteRuth
Why not blend some with a black tea you like to just get hint of rose? The tin however is tres belle!
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely not a tea for me since I am allergic to roses! But, the tin is a pretty keeper.
ReplyDeleteI have a good friend who used to teach in Paris and fancies all things MA. I have found her bday gift thanks to you! This looks and sounds perfect!Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty tin! Love the initials, just perfect for you.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy, Joanie
I find so many of the flavored French teas are very strong. You could cut it a bit by blending it with an plain black tea. That often works for me. The French are good a perfuming things, including tea; so you have to know ahead of time what you could handle. There are a few I like at the Mariage Freres, but that is about it. Otherwise, I want a taste before I buy.
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