Favorite Things: Mariage Frères Tea, Paris

My Paris references are all very old school.

My grandfather had an apartment in Paris, which my father later inherited. It was in the same building as La Tour d'Argent, overlooking the Seine, so my Paris was always old restaurants, beautiful shops, tea rooms and walking everywhere.

One of the things we loved to do was walk from the 5th arrondissement, across the Île Saint-Louis and toward the Marais. We'd wander, shop, stop for something to eat and eventually make our way to Mariage Frères on rue du Bourg-Tibourg.

I must have been about nineteen when I started going there with my father. Mariage Frères had just opened to retail customers after more than a century as a tea importer and wholesaler.

I loved it.

The smell of the tea as soon as you walked in. The old tea crates, scales, scoops and counters. And those beautiful black canisters, lined up everywhere.

My favorite back then was Mango Tea. I loved the tropical flavor and the whole idea of all these different teas and flavors.

Today, I love Marco Polo Blue, with its fruit, flowers and little blue petals. I still love those black canisters too. They are almost as good as the tea.

As a special treat, I still order Mariage Frères through their website and have it delivered to me in New Zealand. It's a little luxury I enjoy.

And there is a nice New Zealand connection. Mariage Frères carries tea from New Zealand, including Maori Noir, from the Waikato. New Zealand also has its own wonderful tea producer, Zealong Tea Estate, just outside Hamilton.

One of the nice things about tea is that it's so easy to take with you. A little bag of your favorite tea and a tea strainer take up almost no room, and suddenly you have a little taste of home wherever you are.

I always travel with tea and a tea strainer. Maybe it's the tea itself, or maybe it's the little ritual of making it. Either way, after a long day of traveling, there is something comforting about making a cup of tea you know and love.

P.S. One more favorite: I also love the jasmine pearls from Mark T. Wendell Tea Company in Acton, Massachusetts, out in the Concord-Carlisle area. It's another very old-school tea company, and their jasmine pearls are wonderful. The little green pearls slowly unfurl in the cup as the jasmine fragrance comes out. I've loved this tea for years.

Apparently, I have a thing for beautiful tea in beautiful tins.

Mariage Frères — Paris

30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg, 75004 Paris

mariagefreres.com — the original Marais tea emporium, with the tea counter, restaurant and tea museum.

Zealong Tea Estate — Waikato, New Zealand

495 Gordonton Road, Hamilton, Waikato

zealong.com — New Zealand's only commercial tea estate, with its own tea room and retail shop.

Mark T. Wendell Tea Company — Acton, Massachusetts

14-A Craig Road, Acton, MA 01720

marktwendell.com — an old-school tea importer and supplier dating back more than a century. They don't have a storefront, but you can order online or arrange pickup from their Acton facility.