Casablanca

It was not love at first sight with this tea, but each time I have it I love it more and appreciate it more. There are no particular fireworks, but it is just so balanced, so right so very often, so refreshing. I find myself reaching for this in all sort of occasions, after a meal, when I am in a hurry (since I brew it quite coldish and short on time, it´s ready to drink faster than my other teas), when I am not feeling well, or just because. This tea turned out to be quite a good steady friend.

Moroccan mint and a hint of bergamot, which is really just a hint and seems to tie everything together, and underneath it all a great tea (green though maybe with a hint of black? or oolong?) which goes almost unnoticed but is there. I can really not describe it any better. But balance is the key word – don´t brew it too hot, or too long, and it will be perfection.

And one advice, if you are consider buying this, do consider getting the mousseline teabags rather than loose leaf. The mint in this mix crumbles, and is crumbling more and more as my tin is ageing, this makes for a very messy tea and a mess to strain. I am not holding it against the blenders, seems a natural process of natural ingredients and the taste would just not be the same without this mint. But if or when I rebuy this I will get the mousselines. With this blender price is always a consideration for me, particularly for those mousseline teabags, but I think I just might have to bite that bullet when I finish the tin.

LORI thoughtfully sent me three different versions of Casablanca mint to sample and compare. Mariage Frères has added bergamot which I can taste. It’s very nice. Adagio’s version tastes like a full-fledged mint single note tea and I can detect the blend in this one quite easily.

This tea is tasty and flavorful but it does not sing out to me in the unique way that other Mariage Frères blends have done. I would certainly drink this again and I might invest in the iced tea portions, but I don’t think I would get a full-fledged tin or this or even a bag.

I’ve had so many teas in the past many months—I’m approaching my 200th tasting note—and I must add that if I had sampled this only a few months ago it would have knocked my socks off. Right now, the specialness is diluted for me by the many teas I have experienced.

This blend intrigued me, and thanks to TeaEqualsBliss, I have some to sample. I thought this might be to the liking of Golden Moon’s Vanilla Mint in that it was a mint/green/black tea blend. I like the added bergamot in this blend. The mint is the first flavor I notice, then the gunpowder, much lighter is the black tea, and then more of an aftertaste of minty bergamot. I like this tea. I hope the flavor continues to impress as it cools. I think this would be a delish iced tea. Need something to replace Tazo Zen.

I got several teabags from a friend of mine who ordered it straight from paris. I personally have not been to well acquainted with Mariage Fieres teas as its quite rare outside the US or elsewhere without ordering online. Its certainly a fine treat as the tea itself is quite in harmony with the bergamont and mint which really complemented each other well. The first sip was like a rush of cool breeze in my mouth and a citrus finish, the gunpowder definitely gave it a nice calm feeling. I feel an urge to hug my friend for this generosity and certainly shake the hand of the Mariage’s tea master!

Hmmm…. Well I made this guy the other day and was at a loss for words. I like the mint and had hoped this would resemble that stuff you find at the Aveda salons. It doesn’t. The Bergamot knocks that idea out of the park. I have the French ice tea version of this which comes with little envelopes for use. I recommend using them. This tea has a lot of particle matter… floaties. Not that I mind floaties but they only added to my dislike of this one.
It’s minty and perfumes the house wonderfully but the bergamot gives the tea an edge while not wholly bad it wasn’t hoped for. I will have to try this iced as the French iced tea marketing would suggest.

Suprisingly this is nice. Prior to tasting this, I was ambivalent- I hate bergamot and love mint. The verdict? not bad. The bergamot is subtle (how is that possible?) and gives a tang to the mint. I think I like this one…

A nice, refreshing tea. I think I’d love it iced for the summer, but I don’t think my tin is going to last that long!

This tea is not bad. The mint and bergamot flavours are well-balanced, but I was expecting something more exciting and brilliant as this is after all, from Mariage Freres! If you just want a good after-dinner mint tea, go for it; but if you want to have the real Mariage Freres experience, Marco Polo or Opera will be the choice.

Casablanca has a strong aroma of mint and bergamot. Steep 10g of Casablanca with 1 liter of cool water and leave it on overnight. It’s awesome for a hot day. Since the tea leaves have a lot of small pieces of green tea or mint, filter them carefully.

Love this one.