Vanille des Îles

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Black Tea, Flavor, Vanilla
Flavors
Smoke, Tobacco, Vanilla, Wood, Smooth, Alcohol, Malt, Oak, Sweet
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Sil
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec 10 oz / 295 ml

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We don't know when or if this item will be available.

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34 Tasting Notes View all

  • “My bestie asked me to take a break tonight and come have tea with her. When I got there, she offered me a slice of her coconut cream pie with the tallest fluffiness meringue you have ever seen. I...” Read full tasting note
  • “I think it’s been a LONG time since I had this tea so I made a big teapot full. I’ve had this tea since May 2011 and it still tastes the same, that makes me happy! I’m trying to study but I had to...” Read full tasting note
  • “Mmmm. This smells like the best liquour dark chocolates ever. This makes me think of college when I would send chocolates to my now fiance more. I would sometimes send him a box of little chocolate...” Read full tasting note
    88
  • “Thanks momo for allowing me to try a few cups of this! Anything vanilla is my favorite. This is a milder tasting black tea base. It brews a medium brown color. Kind of malty. The base is perfect...” Read full tasting note
    91

From Mariage Frères

A great black tea flavoured with the sweet Bourbon vanilla. Traditionnal flavoured tea.

About Mariage Frères View company

Company description not available.

34 Tasting Notes

3407 tasting notes

My bestie asked me to take a break tonight and come have tea with her. When I got there, she offered me a slice of her coconut cream pie with the tallest fluffiness meringue you have ever seen. I have never had ANY cream pie before. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so very good and I am so very stuffed! I got the recipe but I know my mother will be up in heaven looking down at me saying, “Gee, thanks! You couldn’t try it and fall in love with it while I was alive, eh?” She loved pie, and I never really ate any cream pies.

This tea was a very nice accompaniment to the pie. The base is good, smooth but not overly sweet, and the vanilla is just right – it doesn’t mask the tea but you don’t have to look for it, either.

Nicole

Coconut cream pie… a favorite! I am hoping my mother-in-law’s turns out well tomorrow. :)

Bonnie

Your first cream pie ever?! Where have you been? Never too late though!

Sil

Haha if it means you feel better I’ve never had a cream pie :)

gmathis

What on earth—-?? You have some catching up to do, friend! Come see us and I will take you to Big R’s Barbecue. We’ll skip the brisket and go straight to the 4" tall cream pies!

ashmanra

I never liked pie as a kid, except apple pie! Based on how full I felt after eating it, it may be a good thing I didn’t discover it earlier! I will definitely be making this pie for tea time SOON!

GMathis: if I am ever out that way, you betcha I will try to get in touch! I would love to hit that BBQ place with you. Tomato based or vinegar based? That is a big battle here between Virginia, NC, and SC!

gmathis

We have a little of both in this neck of the woods, but tomato base seems to have a slight edge. (I had some really good vinegar based sauce at a place called Cousin’s at the Dallas airport. Had never heard of the chain before.)

ashmanra

Around here, it is vinegar base, but go north or west toward the mountains and they get pretty passionate about tomato being the only way to go! That pie sounds pretty impressive. I think we would need to skip the brisket so there will be room for it!

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1220 tasting notes

I think it’s been a LONG time since I had this tea so I made a big teapot full. I’ve had this tea since May 2011 and it still tastes the same, that makes me happy!

I’m trying to study but I had to call my mom for a weekly chat and to remind her to send me half of the 12 days of Christmas from 52teas because it arrived the day after I left after Thanksgiving. And she of course deflated my entire mood for the day with some nonsense about how she won’t cosign for the last loan I’ll need for next fall as she doesn’t want to be on the line for it when I can’t find a job. Really nice coming from your own mom right? She seems to forget I’m not my brother’s idiot friends who have degrees that are serving them no purpose, like sports marketing. So irritated it just was so INCREDIBLY RUDE of her when she will never, ever have to pay them because that’s my responsibility and she apparently has no confidence in me? Not cool.

Okay. To the tea now that I’ve finally gotten that out.

I still love this tea very much because it’s kind of malty but still tastes like vanilla icing in tea form. I’ve still got a bit in my pot and it still tastes good even cooled off. Definitely not one I’d regularly drink cold but I think it actually gets kind of a creamy taste and even consistency this way.

I’m going to be sad when I run out of this tea, which is soon.

Invader Zim

Yay for mom’s that know how to push all your buttons and not have faith in their children!

Invader Zim

Sarcasm by the way…just in case that wasn’t clear.

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88
124 tasting notes

Mmmm. This smells like the best liquour dark chocolates ever. This makes me think of college when I would send chocolates to my now fiance more. I would sometimes send him a box of little chocolate mice filled with different ganaches and he would share them with me. This smells just like the fillings of one of the little mice (I think the cinnamon dark chocolate one).
This tastes dark, smokey, and slightly sweet. It has an incredible mouthfeel, dense and rich. I am in the mood for a little sweetness, so milk and sugar are being added but this can definitely stand on its own. I get a really neat little bourbon aftertaste.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Azzrian

Mmm that sounds good and such a cute story! Mice though ewwee lol

Camiah

Chocolate mice! I must find me some chocolate mice! They sound adorable. And delicious.

BlueKittyMeow

They are actually pretty cute little guys – http://www.burdickchocolate.com/MiceorPenguins/chocolate-mice.aspx
The tails are different colored shiny ribbon. Haha, you can kind of do the Scar from The Lion King thing and lift them up from the tail to nibble.

Nik

omg they’re adorable! I’m not sure I’d be able to bring myself to eat them. (Oh, who’m I kidding… [chompchompchomp])

ashmanra

MUST BUY!!! I think I want the penguins, just for fun!

Lucy

So So sweet <3

Nicole

The mice are adorable! But the penguin filling has me hooked in to buy some – lemon and dark chocolate?? Yum!

Mélissa

I so need this.

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91
4282 tasting notes

Thanks momo for allowing me to try a few cups of this! Anything vanilla is my favorite. This is a milder tasting black tea base. It brews a medium brown color. Kind of malty. The base is perfect for the vanilla flavor that is neither too subtle or too strong. A tea that is smooth and sweet! I like it, of course (it’s vanilla). I can’t decide which is my favorite of the vanilla teas I’ve tried. I also like Harney’s Vanilla Comoro and ESP Emporium’s Vanilla Black. There was also a teabag I really loved: Numi’s India Night. But why pick favorites?

I’m worried about everyone on the east coast right now! Stay safe and drink some tea!

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec

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89
985 tasting notes

Tea of the morning….. (SRP #18)

This tea comes from Amanda. And of course, I had it as an inaugural cuppa in my daughter’s new Kati cup. (I know, kind of weird, but I asked her if I could use it to compare to my mug…)

This is lovely. This is my favorite Vanilla tea to date. The Harney Vanilla Black is a close second to this, but it oh so much more affordable, and much easier for me to obtain. I love Vanilla Comoro, but I can still taste the remnants of the decaffienation process, even though it is the best decaf vanilla tea out there, and I do score it a little higher than I normally would because I can drink it at night. I also have to say this is one of the first Mariage Freres teas I have really liked…well this one and The Au Tibet. I have tried a few other popular ones, but they just did not appeal. I am not sure it will make the shopping list due to there being only a few places in the US that carry this tea. I see a cup of Vanilla Black from Harney in my near future just to see if this would be worth the effort to get it.

All that nonsense aside, I am so grateful to Amanda for sharing this with me. It is really good! Thank you!

Usual mug method.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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80
303 tasting notes

This is a cheat note – I’ve had this numerous times already. It’s been this year’s holiday tea, as I got if for Christmas. Well, sticking with the theme, it was technically a cheat Christmas gift. Something I was supposed to get did not arrive on time and so I was tasked with finding a temporary replacement thing for myself (I’m sorry, but I really do love when this happens). No peeking! (I would like to emphasize I avoided the ‘no pekoe-ing’ pun here. Again – kindly award points accordingly.)

So T, who was visiting, kindly agreed to being dragged to Dagnino – that’s where you go if you need to get your Mariage Frères fix in Rome. There’s a nice full wall of MF tea on the upper landing – both tins and bags. I got a tin, but I think you could get as little as 50 grams. And yes, I know I should add this to the tea store review part of the site, but not today.

They made me a very pretty package and I expressed unparallelled surprise as I unwrapped it.

In the tin, this carries a nicely mellow note of caramel vanilla. I thought this would be a knockout, heavy vanilla – the Vanilla of Vanillas, because that’s what island vanilla is to me. In the kitchen, I use Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon, and I was hoping for something along those lines.

Alas, no – not in the cup either. But that doesn’t make it bad at all; in fact, it’s quite lovely – milky, almost; round, comforting and velvety. I’m surprised I like this as much as I do, considering how present the tea base is, but maybe I’m growing up, or something equally terrifying.

So the hunt for the perfect vanilla tea goes on, but I look forward to spending some serious quality time with this one while I look.

(And writing that made me realize these tea notes could be read as dating notes and now I will never be able to stop thinking exactly that as I scroll down my dash. Thick, sweet, lush, fruity, entertaining, playful, full-bodied. This is going to be so bad.)

[Purchased at Dagnino in Rome, December 2013.]

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Sil

welcome back my dear!

Anna

Thanks, Sil! I’ve been meaning to tell you how I kind of love the fact that ‘sil’ means ‘strainer’ in Swedish. You’re such a te(a)-sil.

Sil

hahaha

cteresa

Have you tried MF´s Black Orchid? It´s not a heavy vanilla either, but it´s sultry and a really interesting vanilla either.

And sounds like an awesome christmas gift, how very clever from the giver ;)

Anna

No, but now I’m excited to try it out! And yes, of course, I will make it a new year’s resolution to make sure to be spoiled by that person. ;P

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81
408 tasting notes

I am just coming back from the Mariage Frères shop Place de la Madeleine in Paris.
I needed to refill my box of Prince Igor …so bought 100gr BUT of course I cannot enter a MF shop without buying other teas…
I wanted to taste this one for ages so here it is !
I am terrible with vanilla : I had too much vanilla teas or ice creams made with a stupid artificial vanilla now I am suspicious.
I generally refuse any vanilla ice cream except those of 2 or 3 brands and I do the same with teas.

Knowing Mariage Frères I was sure the vanilla was a good vanilla and I am not disappointed at all.
This is a sumptuous Bourbon vanilla…meaning the Vanilla comes from the following islands ONLY : La Réunion, Mauritius,Madagascar or Comoros. This is the same Vanilla as the one used in Wedding Impérial but of course here no caramel and the tea base is not an assam but probably a Chinese tea and it is so mellow, awwwww love it !

This blend is perfectly balanced between the flavour and the tea base.
I think it can become one staple.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 45 sec
Sil

aaaaah! i need to try this one lol

Shmiracles

i will buy this. i will i will.

momo

This is the only one I got to bring back from Paris, it is my favorite vanilla. I wish I could taste right now, I really want some now :(

ohfancythat

Sounds amazing! :)

Ysaurella

yes it is especially if you like real vanilla :)

cteresa

I love Vanilla though like you, I am picky!

Have you checked out Black Orchid as well? I was comparing both recently and ended up deciding for Black Orchid, but keep wondering about Vanille des Îles – they must have something different!

Ysaurella

nope I didn’t try Black Orchid as I thought it was more a floral tea (until I read your review recently !)
I’ll add a sample of Vanille des Îles in your envelope :)

cteresa

Oh, but you do not have to! Or swap for some of the others then – I added no extras, could not think of anything (well, must buy more teas). But I now wish i had included Black Orchid or the humble clipper teabags.

Ysaurella

No prob Teresa, I’ll add this one for sure I am always very happy to see your reviews about the teas I sent – you can detect all the flavours and describe them so well, it’s a pleasure to read your posts.

cteresa

That is a great compliment, thank you!

Hallieod

I agree with you, Ysaurella! But yours are very good reading too!

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85
807 tasting notes

Another excellent sampling from Amanda this has been on my shopping list and will remain there now that I finally got to try it it is worth the purchase! Creamy vanilla black tea – what more needs be said other than it is a VERY GOOD vanilla!

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89
6768 tasting notes

Another one from Amanda! She spoiled me!!!

I have been wanting to try this for a long time! It was worth the wait!
I’m on my 2nd cup and it’s lovely. It’s a nice black tea base – medium strength and even from start to finish with a different sort of a vanilla flavor…it’s vanilla but….sugary-frosting like…but isn’t really creamy, per say. It has a toasted-bread like flavor right at the end of the sip and lingers slightly into the aftertaste but the vanilla kicks in again by then. It’s unlike other vanilla’s I have tried and it quite special. Neat flavored black tea :)

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96
37 tasting notes

This tea is awesome.

Dry the leaves are quite large are smell of a natural, soft, sweet vanilla definitely not overpowering or artificial.

Hot the smell is divine it’s a vanilla teacake cooling on a windowsill.

The ‘tea’ component is very light, and as far as away from bitter as you can imagine. I infused it for quite a long time and seemed it to make the tea sweeter rather than stronger which was awesome!

The vanilla is a sweet vanilla – very sweet and so tasty.

It’s the perfect afternoon tea. Absolutely delish! I highly recommend this to everyone. :)

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Devilish

Oooo sounds so yummy!! Why can’t it be found in Hong Kong?? :(

Winter Salo

It is yummy – it’s so light and sweet it’s perfect.

If it’s any consolation I can’t find the tea here either! My friend bought it back from France and I almost wish she hadn’t shared it with me – I tried to go from this to my normal vanilla tea and was very, very disappointed this morning.

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