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With chocolates like the Maïko (ganache infused with ginger) or Arenguy (ganache infused with the zest of grapefruit, orange and lemon) you cannot help but swoon when biting into one of La Maison du Chocolat's delights.
La Maison du Chocolat : 19, rue de Sèvres Paris 6ème, amongst other locations.
From Magnolia Bakery, 401 Bleeker Street, NYC.
Eaten on a sunny January day in the park across the street from the bakery.
Ah, tea time! That wonderful moment at 4pm where you spend 25£ on thousands of grams of carbs and caffeinated beverages while listening to John Tesh-esqe tunes played by a gentleman in a tuxedo seated at a grand piano.
Ribbit and I were in London last month, and while there indulged in a lovely and copious afternoon tea at The Lanesbourgoh Hotel's Conservatory Restaurant at Hyde Park Corner, an ornate tea room under a glass atrium and decorated in a Chinoiserie theme.
The habit of taking Afternoon tea is said to have begun during the Victorian period or mid 19th century, when people generally ate dinner at 8 or 9 pm. Consequently, in the late afternoon, they often became hungry and so the story says, Anna the Duchess of Bedford requested to have tea and light fare in her boudoir. The trend caught on when the actress Fanny Kemble hosted afternoon teas, and along with the fancy sandwiches, crumpets and other sweets, established a complex set of rules and etiquette.
Once reserved for the upper classes, "taking tea" is now a moment enjoyed by all classes of Britons and around the World.
Ribbit and I shared one Lanesborough Tea (28£) which came with a pot of tea, a dozen tea sandwiches, 3 tea cakes, 3 French pastries, and scones with clotted cream and jam.
- tea sandwiches:
* crab salad on brioche
* egg and watercress on white bread
*curried chicken on wheat bread
* smoked salmon on white bread
-tea cakes
* lemon poppyseed
*gingerbread
*banana bread
- French pastries
* tarte aux fraises
*filo pastry filled with ganache and dipped in dark chocolate
*macaron with fresh raspberries
The menu featured 8 different blends of tea, from the most traditional Earl Grey, to strawberry (Ribbit's choice) and Rose (my choice) served in lovely silver tea pots and delicate bone china tea cups with a flower motif.
We spent a relaxing 2 hours savoring the cakes and sandwiches, enjoying the warm afternoon sun shining through the atrium (yes, there was sun in London) and resting our feet after a long day of sightseeing. I highly recommend taking afternoon tea while on a trip to London and rest assured, it is not merely a treat for tourists --we saw men in suits talking business and a group of friends celebrating a baby shower.
The Lanesborough
Hyde Park Corner
London SWIX 7TA
And one need not go to great expense to take afternoon tea at home...
I often take a cup of tea at the end of a long day of work or class or when I sit down to work on a knitting project. A long-time bagged tea drinker, I switched to loose-leaf after a visit to Boston took me to TeaLuxe, a tea bar located at Harvard Square (I believe there is a shop on Newbury St as well) where I marveled at the hundreds of different types and blends of tea. Since then, I haven't looked back. And for those of you who believe tea bags are cheaper -- I invite you to read this post at Chez Pim . Not only does Pim bring up the important point of the ecological mess that bagged teas are wreaking on the planet, but bagged teas are generally filled with the lowest quality of tea -- called dustings -- and cost more per gram than loose leaf.
If that isn't enough to make you change your mind, perhaps this will:
The tea you see here is called Montagne de Jade by the infamous French tea company Mariage Frères . Opening the tin tea jar is like sticking your nose into a bouquet of flowers which happen to be next to a platter of fresh fruit. Besides its appealing physical attributes (the tea leaves are mixed with brightly-colored edible flowers), the tea blend is quite original in that the leaves are green tea leaves. Generally with this bold of a blend, we would be more accustomed to a black-tea blend. This ingenuity is how this tea house made its name.
Mariage Frères has hundreds of whimsical and unique blends, and I encourage you to stop by their store and tea salon on rue du Bourg-Tibourg in the Marais on your next visit to Paris. (I have also seen their teas at Dean and Deluca).
Mariage Frères 30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg 75004 Paris 01 42 72 28 11
Some of my favorites
-Oriental: a mild black tea with notes of jasmine,rose and mandarin orange
-Marco Polo: a fruity black tea from China (and one of the maison's best sellers)
-Nil Rouge: a naturally decaffeinated red tea with citrus notes
-Esprit de Noël: a spiced Christmas blend with orange rinds and vanilla.
And to steep your tea, I highly recommend the Japanese Bee House tea pots which come with a mesh strainer, are dishwasher safe, and are available in a host of fun colors. I purchased mine from the TeaLuxe website.
Bon AppéTEA!!!
