Apollon - Thé bleu parfumé

Advent Day 2

Not a fan. It’s a beautiful color, but kind of tasted like nothing? Like fruit nothing. I took w sips and forgot about it, let it get cold, and then dumped it. At least it was a beautiful color.

Mariage Frères Advent 2021 – Day 2

Aww, Apollo gets a bad rap in modern depictions. Lore Olympus , Rick Riordan, or even Osamu Tezuka’s (graphically disturbing) Apollo’s Song – to name a few, have not been kind in their portrayal of this figure. Although, truthfully some of the source myths and old plays are not endearing either (in Orestes he’s an arse). Back in an undergrad course on Classical Myths, a fellow classmate asked why all the female characters (ex – Daphne) seemed so repulsed by the seemingly attractive, young god. The prof answered that it had to do with Ancient Greek gender/age norms and expectations (ie- male youths should be courting the attention of and “learning from” older men, not women and girls. So Apollo chasing after the nymphs would’ve possibly been viewed as icky and presumptuous). And so ends my tangent.

So the tea – it’s a kind of green oolong (Jin Xuan? Four Seasons? Don’t ask), combined with fruit essence (it’s grapey, but also that hard to place MF “citrus-berry” note). Then, of course, is the decorative butterfly pea flower (never been a fan). The oolong base is very light – with creamy, mineral, and floral notes. It’s also slightly drying. I decided to “free” the oolong from its tea bag so it could expand properly while steeping (oolong doesn’t belong in tiny baggies and these ones are the tiniest). There are almost-whole curled leaves, but also lots of flower petals and broken leaves; it’s not a super fancy looking specimen and not really enough for a full pot, fyi. (Not making an Apollo joke).

I thought this was pretty weak when I first started sipping away, but it’s growing on me as it cools. The fruit is sort of guava-like now. My Mom tells me this is now here favourite tea and I must get more for her. At least one of us is ecstatic.

Steep Count: 3

Advent day 2!
This tea steeps up to a nice aqua grey blue. I had to switch to a clear glass to fully enjoy looking at it. Unfortunately it tastes like faded fruit nothing. Like the 2nd or 3rd steeping of something stronger and more interesting. It’s a smooth nothing, but none of the flavors are strong enough for me to even guess what they were supposed to be.