Paris
Carol's Paris Tea Journal:
What a blessing I had to join Kay Snipes and Terri Eager with their fun
mother Lenora Thompson on a Tea Room Trip to Paris April 10-18, 2002.
I met the group (flying from Atlanta) in the Paris airport with their
gracious guide Martha Blackburn from Valdosta, Georgia. I enjoyed our
small l'Hotel de Seine in the St-Germain-des-Prés area on the left
bank. I would stay there again—small quaint, country french decorated
rooms. I especially liked their bathrooms and their friendly staff. Sometimes
we struggled with the unusual keys and had to help each other get into
our rooms. I felt very safe in that neighborhood.
Every day Martha took us to a different part of the city where we saw
the sites, visited a tea room for lunch, and shopped along the way. Many
days, we ended up at two tea rooms—one for lunch and another during
that 4:00-5:00 p.m. slump. I will only mention my favorites. Of course,
in Paris, practically every restaurant has a Salon de Thé sign
on its doorpost.
The first memorable tea room for me was Ladurée. We visited the
oldest one on the Rue Royale for lunch and a larger one on the Champs-Élysées
later that afternoon. I was most impressed with the delicious macaroons
in many flavors. I purchased a whole box for myself and ate them all!
(I learned they taste best in the first three days.) In France, men feel
very comfortable in Salons de The—perhaps because they are not overdecorated
or too feminine or frilly. The French especially like perfumed or flavored
teas.
Another highlight of our first full day was our visit to Fauchon, the
famous food place. The 3rd floor of their largest store was nothing but
tea, spices and tea accessories. My favorite purchase was a 3-minute silver
hour glass tea timer. They also had a 4-minute one. All of their teabags
were sachets cristal or silk like tea bags. I've also enjoyed very much
confitures de bar-le-duc Dutriez or a delicious wine jelly from their
food section. The Croquants Cacao et Chocolat Noir wafers are excellent
also.
We didn't have tea in Fauchon's Salon de The, but I want to do that on
my next visit. That was the only place that we saw three tiered servers
like we see in England and the US along with sugar tongs. The french serve
sugar cubes, and it's perfectly polite to retrieve them with your fingers.
I guess it's similar to putting your delicious french bread on the table
with no bread plate!
The most exciting tea experience for many of us was our visit to Mariage
Frère on rue du Bourg-Tibourg (hidden in an alley) in the Marais
area. This is one of France's oldest tea establishments since 1854. The
front was bustling with many people purchasing tea with the Salon in the
back. It was very exotic, Moroccan in style with men servers dressed in
all white coats and ties and little knowledge of English. I had the Mandalay
Brunch—an aperitif, fresh squeezed orange juice, pot of tea, most
delicious salad (greens, tiny green beans, duck pate in a thin crisp shell
with hazelnuts and a sweet dressing), and a choice of a dessert from the
dessert tray (all made with their teas). Choosing a tea from their exhaustive
list was overwhelming. They served us delicious jellies made from their
tea along with the scones and rolls. (This was the only scone I experienced
in France!) I enjoyed this salad so much that the next day I ended up
at their other store near our hotel and had it again with two of our group
who missed the first visit. My favorite purchases here were their new
tea Alexandra David-Neel (Chai like), teacup with their logo, Noel jelly,
and two unusual-shaped tea tins. Both of their stores had tea rooms. The
one on the left bank had more extensive tea accessories and a tea museum
in the basement.
The day we visited the Eiffel Tower, we were pleasantly surprised to
find Les Deux Abeilles (The Two Bees) hidden in a residential neigborhood.
Inside the lighted botanical, sunroom-like cozy restaurant I experienced
my first really hot pot of tea in a Brown Betty. They served Dammenn tea
which I'd never heard of and ended up being my favorite tea brand from
France. I enjoyed their breakfast blend of Assam, Ceylon, and Oolong.
We all experienced a delicious lunch and, of course, dessert which we
did every day! I also had a Citron presse (the french lemonade) served
with a glass of freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/3 cup), a pitcher of water
and loose sugar to mix just as I liked.
Our last day we discovered a small restaurant and Salon de The called
L'Artisan de Saveurs on th rue du Cherche-Midi, very near the very nice
Bon Marché (department store & gourmet grocery with lots of
tea and sugars of every kind). I think it was here I enjoyed my favorite
meal—lamb topped with a very light mashed potato mixture of sweet
potatos and vegetables with the perfect sauce. The French food was subtle
and just right. I never felt full, just satisfied. We tried to buy their
delicate white porcelain teapots from Germany. They had a tiny hole on
the bottom of the spout, which we decided was to keep the tea from dripping.
I will definitely go back here when I return.
We enjoyed our lunch at the restaurant atop the Jean-Paul Hévin
Chocolatier on rue Saint Honoré, but the highlight was the chocolate
desserts. Notice in the photo the dessert menu with life-size photos of
all the desserts on both sides. We only made gutteral sounds while eating
and finished every bite. My husband loves me dearly for returning home
with some of these chocolates for him.
I also enjoyed hot chocolate at a few places which is a definite must—a
small pitcher of very dark thick hot chocolate, another pitcher with hot
milk and a cup to mix as I like, just like you imagined in the movie Au
Chocolat!
I could go on and on. I definitely want to go back and take my husband.
We were there 25 years ago, but that's a long time. Some of the highlights
for me were: Vivaldi strings concert at la Sainte Chapelle Chapel, the
Musée d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, Mariage Frères, evening
ride down the Seine, fun shopping for tea accessories and great prices
on crystal jewelry, the macaroons and french bagettes, les yummy Craquelines
(chocolate delights purchased at Legrand Filles & Fils), buying my
husband a Dupont pen, and, of course, my new friends. If you have any
questions or new things for me to do on my next trip to France, please
feel free to email me at carol@teatreasures.com. A good resource for tea
rooms in Paris is Carole Manchester's French Tea.
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