Marquis de Gris

I received a package in the mail today from Germany, which is a first! I was very excited to open it because it contained tea that I won in a contest being held on Steepster by RiverTea. In order to keep people excited for the upcoming launch of their online shop they asked readers ‘what would you do if only 100 grams of your favorite tea existed in the world, what would you do to get it?’ and my answer involving crayfish put me among the winners. As per usual when I get a box in the mail containing tea, I had to try some of it immediately!

Today I am reviewing Marquis de Gris by RiverTea. (they are still pre-launch, but if you sign up for notification you can get a nice discount and samples) This tea is a blend of Mango, Bergamot, and Black tea with Rose, Sunflower, and Cornflower Blossoms. This tea is exceptionally pretty and colorful, I love teas that stimulate multiple senses. Well, on to the olfactory analysis, in a word this tea is heavenly. The aroma is one of the best blends of, well a blended tea, that I have run into, no one aroma overpowers the other. You can certainly detect the sharpness of the bergamot, the sweet tropical aroma of the mango, the delicate floral aroma from the various blossoms, and a rich maltiness from the tea.

Once steeping the aroma fills up my room, even though the petals become sad and faded. The aroma becomes more intensely citrus and the oaky, malty aroma of the black tea is really noticeable. It is a very brisk aroma and wakes me up (which is good because I have a serious case of the groggies). The liquid has a more sweetly floral aroma that blends well with the aroma of mangoes. The bergamot and black tea aromas are not as intense as with the steeped leaves.

The taste is wonderful, a perfect blend of mild sweetness, floral, and tartness. There is a hint mild astringency giving the tea a brisk quality that is not at all intrusive. A while ago I tasted a Lady Grey and thought it was, well, kinda awful, this tea gives me what I want in a ‘milder’ bergamot Early Grey style tea. I do not necessarily want there to be less bergamot but I want it accented with other things so it does not overpower. In this tea I can taste the citrus, the roses, the rich mango, and the base tea and they are harmonious, it does a wonderful job of being subtle while also being intense enough to keep my interest. I decided to add a splash of cream and sugar (my usual way of drinking Black teas, especially blends and first thing in the morning) and it was an excellent idea! The cream added that edge of richness and made the mango more pronounced and the sugar, well I just like my first tea of the day to be sweet. I have been looking for a new morning tea and I think I have found it, as you all know I do not often say ‘new favorite tea’ but today I got lucky.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/rivertea-maquis-de-gris-tea-review.html

A surprised yum from me! I’m not an earl grey, but the mango balances it out to the point that it is a gorgeous sip with a citrusy twang. It’s so good. I think I might fight the wife for this one.

Our Della Terra teas came in today, but I want to try all of my RiverTeas first! Aaaaah! I will drink all the teas and be happy for it.

This tea smells so wonderful when it’s dry and when it’s brewed – I really get that zap of mango. For some reason, I like mango in teas, but I really have to be in the mood for it.

The amazing thing is that I barely get a hint of bergamot with this. If I hadn’t known it was a variant of EG, I would never have guessed.

The taste is a bit weaker, less fruity, and more malty, with a slight yeasty overtone that I’m surprised but not put off by. I might restock this? Maybe?

Sipdown (113)!

Been curious about this for a while; not curious enough to buy 50g worth and the last couple RiverTea orders I’ve placed there’ve been other teas I was more interested in requesting as a sample so I really pounced on the chance to grab some from Marzipan in our swap.

I like Earl Grey; it’s just not really even close to being a part of my daily tea drinking routine; one EG blend in the house is enough to totally sate any bergamot cravings and I definitely don’t tend to get fancy with it. And mango and I? We have a love hate relationship. But something about this blend interests me. Maybe it’s just the fun name drawing me in, but I was excited to try it!

Dry, I thought this smelled really strong and fruity. Such a bright “orange” smell very distinctly of mangoes, with the FAINTEST bergamot undertone. Steeped up, not as “brightly” fruity but still very rich – I think I taste the mango just slightly more than the bergamot in the blend. It came off as fairly light handed to me. But the balance between the two really worked for me; it was kinda summery and vibrant and fun but with that “soothing” quality of bergamot that makes you feel just right. And I’m not sure why I’m surprised, but the mango and bergamot complimented each other very well too. Plus, the black base was present without being bitter, astringent or too brisk.

And, for my own personal bergamot tastes, I thought that the “light handedness” of it was very suited to me because it makes this blend something I would consider drinking on a more frequent basis, and separate enough from the Cream Earl Grey I stock to maybe be able to justify having both in my cupboard!

Side note – I should add “bergamot” to my online dictionary or whatever because my computer keeps correcting it to “Bertram” and switching it back is annoying.

This was a sample sent to me from Marzipan. It’s a black tea which I don’t have much experience with. I couldn’t put my finger on the flavor. I looked it up on the River Tea site and it says Mango and bergamot but they aren’t listed in the ingredients. Says rose blossom, cornflower blossoms and sunflower blossoms. This is in my top 3 favorite teas!! I made several pots with this sample and was very sad to see this end. My son and I both enjoyed this one all day long. It was sweet, had a well rounded taste. The flavors went well together. The site says it’s a summer tea- but I could drink this all the time! I do see how this is a lighter mouthfeel than a spicy chai but it was perfectly balanced in the flavors for us. Thank you so much for the sample Marzipan!! I never knew my life was missing this one!!!! Only problem now is that it’s gone!! (I did use my local honey to sweetened this one)

If you like Earl Grey, you owe it to yourself to try this tea.

I received my first Rivertea order today. I ordered mainly because of the 50% coupon that went around a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t realize when I ordered that the tea was coming from Germany because the shipping was so reasonable.

The presentation made me feel like I was opening a present. I opened the outer box, and there was gift paper folded over (like you do tissue in a clothing gift), sealed with a “Happy Brewing” sticker. Inside that, the teas were nestled in festive, multicolor packing peanuts. Instead of just bags, the teas were in cardboard cylinder type “tins”, then inside sturdy zip loc bags inside that. I liked that, because I can pull the bag out, enjoy looking at how pretty the tea is, but it lives in something that blocks the light. There were three samples tucked into the box, in sturdy little green opaque zipper bags. They all appealed to me, so I felt that they were handpicked based on my order instead of randomly thrown in. I am looking forward to trying them. Also in the box was a glassine envelope hand tied with a piece of red curling ribbon. Inside that envelope was a green felt leaf. I have no idea what it’s for. It’s big enough to use as a coaster, except that there is a piece cut out of the middle that suggests it’s for something specific.

Anyway, on to this tea. It’s so pretty! Very colorful, like confetti. Smells amazing. And tastes good to boot. I had never had a mango variant of EG, but I really loved this. Every time I took a drink I was making audible “mmm” sounds. My husband thought it was funny. I drank it in record time too. Usually I linger over a cup of tea (and this is an 11 oz cup, not a small one) but this was gone within 10 minutes.

I got a sample of this tea in my order. I was intrigued by an earl grey with additional fruity flavor, since I’ve liked mixed earl greys in the past (ex. Paris by H&S). This is pretty good. The mango flavoring isn’t my favorite, but it kind of rounds out the bergamot. It’s kinda sharp though. The black tea base is pretty smooth. I think, if you like citrus flavored teas, this is a good one.

Omma nomma nomma. Tried a shorter steep time this time and it came out significantly weaker. Stick to two minutes next time.