Mariage Freres Tea vs Constant Comment

One of my favorite teas has always been Constant Comment. I was introduced to this way back in the seventies by a friend from college and I have loved it since. I recently found you can buy the loose tea from the Bigelow website.

Nevertheless I have been on a quest to elevate my tea drinking and have always wanted to try Mariage Freres, a tea from a old French company....and to learn more about the "art of french tea"....

I bought a cannister of Marco Polo and eagerly tried a cup of it this morning. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. Too perfumy in a floral way I guess. Oddly, I found my stomach to be slightly upset after this tea, even though all I had eaten was an ordinary english muffin for breakfast, and I took the tea with only a tad of sugar. I am wondering if the "rare herbals and flowers" added to the tea might have caused this slight upset, although tea is usually very soothing to my constitution.

So much for Mariage Freres....although they do make other types of tea, and I am willing to dip my toe into the pool again at some point.

Where can I find Mariage Freres in Chicago? I love their tea, especially Casablanca!

Williams Sonoma carries Mariage Freres tea, but maybe only limited kinds. If you google it you can find places to buy it online and can see the varieties there. Its good that you know you like it as its dissapointing to buy a tea that is so expensive and then not really like it.

A friend brought me some loose tea called Bergamot from Upton Tea which was bought on line. It was extra fragrant like an Earl Grey on steroids. I will try it. Its hard to change your taste in tea when you have certain flavor preferences.

Meanwhile I will wait for my Constant comment loose tea to come.

jsagoff wrote:Where can I find Mariage Freres in Chicago? I love their tea, especially Casablanca!

Porte Rouge
1911 W. Division
Chicago, IL 60622
773.269.2800

Thanks!! Much cheaper than what I paid too.

toria wrote:One of my favorite teas has always been Constant Comment.

The little cafes in Neiman Marcus used to (maybe still do) serve a phenomenal iced tea based on Constant Comment. I think it was Constant Comment mixed with orange juice and maybe something else. I'm tempted to go there again so I can sneak a peek at the NM cookbook and recreate this next summer. I couldn't find the recipe on the web.

Trivia time: the tea referred to in Leonard Cohen's song "Suzanne" was Constant Comment. "And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China."

I went to Serene Teaz yesteday in Wheaton. Quite the collection of tea there, and tea pots and accessories. I believe they sell "their own" tea only, no Mariage Freres or other kinds. The kind they sell is in silver bags.

I have not decided if I want to pop for a swiss gold tea strainer yet. They did have a large variety there. I needed something to put into my Old Country Roses Tea pot I got for Xmas and I got a paper type filter because I knew it would fit the pot.

They will also brew samples of tea for you before you buy it which is a nice service. They have a few tables where you can drink tea that you have ordered.

http://www.sereneteaz.com

Mariage Freres can also be found at the Gethsemane Garden Center gift shop. They seem to have quite a few varieties. I happened upon it this winter as I was looking for xmas gifts.

Gethsemane Garden Center (Wild Pansy Gift Shop)
5739 N Clark St
Chicago
(773) 878-5915

I don't know how this escaped me, but on Monday I walked over to Porte Rouge--my beloved source for Marirage Freres in Chicago--hoping to replenish my tea supply, and they are no more! The more I thought about it, I think they've been gone a while, replaced by some kind of fair trade boutique. The upside is that I just discovered that Porte Rouge is still selling tea online, and they have new Mariage Freres varieties for fall! I'm mildly obsessed with MF tea, and while I will miss being able to go over to Porte Rouge and smell and taste the teas before buying, I am right now about to spend a slightly ridiculous amount of money on...oh...probably most if not every single one of the new offerings. I can report back once I taste the "new" stuff.

I'm a huge fan of Mariage Freres Tea and was thrilled when I found out I could buy it in Chicago. When Porte Rouge closed, a local couple purchased the name and switched to an internet based business (www.porterouge.biz). While you can have the tea shipped, you can also order it on line and pick it up. I just purchased some Pleine Lune and The de Paques.


Porte Rouge
529 W. Grant Place
Chicago, IL 60614
773.269.2800