I Have A Dream

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 10

I believe this black tea has every imaginable flavour of citrus present ::checks description:: yep, essentially every kind of citrus.I’m in CrowKettle heaven. All the citrus in one tiny cup… (so much power).

On the flipside, someone with less favourable opinions about this fruity tea might call this the citrus equivalent of the creature from Frankenstein – or “what if one of Naomi Novik’s maw-mouths consumed only citruses and became an all-consuming, ever-hungry chaotic citrus blob?” Yes, then it’s a nightmare. I find that I even take great joy at imagining these less appealing citrus-form creatures. I just really love citrus.

This is an older tea from MF and seems to be sold solely in a rainbow canister (the image here is broken, but I added a new one on the main page); it’s an aesthetic choice that fits this advent’s “rainbow world tour” concept perfectly (I’m starting to immensely appreciate this concept, even if I don’t love every tea selected).

Snazzy marketing, I am in.

I am a sucker for visually pleasing tea packaging. Bright colours on the box, I will buy the tea.

This tea is billed to be a citrus black tea. On opening the package there is a strong citrus scent, orange and grapefruit. The dry tea itself is also very visually pleasing. It is black tea with bright blue cornflowers, straw coloured cornflowers and burgundy petals/leaves. The colours of the tea kind of mimic the colours on the packaging. I am getting quite excited to try this tea.

The black tea is bold, slightly malty. It smells roasty but does not taste roasty. There is a very strong citrus flavour. It is hard to distinguish what type of citrus, does citrus flavoured chewing gum count as a flavour, because that is what it tastes like. Citrus-y and tart. There is definitely a blackberry leaf type flavour. The tea is bold but it is also very smooth. Minimal aftertaste.

I quite like this one. It might be the snazzy colours biasing my opinion, but this is a good one.

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. Today (and every day) I am thankful to live in a country and society where I am free to be a woman, to be able to freely practise my religion, and to be safe. I am also very thankful for great friends and family. And also for tea. And internet :)

Happy Turkey day to everyone!

Dry leaves give of a rather overpowering scent of citrus fruits – quite tangy, and just a little bit sweet. No wonder, since MF mentions 7 types of citrus fruits here! But there are also flowers, safflower among them, which gives off a very particular scent. The tea itself isn’t as strong as the smell – in fact, quite soft, almost tender if it weren’t for some citrus astringency. Most teas of this series have a comparable body.

Like many MF teas, this one is fun to experiment with. One day it had a very strong orange note. Another day, another flavour – like a mix of light citrus juices with tea (if this sounds disgusting, I can’t help it – can’t find other words for it). Last time I brewed this, lime was the leading note. I’m not a very big fan of citrus fruits, but if you are, I’m sure you’ll find this fascinating – like discovering a whole different side to your favorite flavours. Unfortunately, the tea is quite expensive, and I think a bit overpriced.