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 Redefining Orthodox
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Healing the Earth
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Chongbin Zheng
Modern Teapots
Steeped in Tradition
Monkey Kings,
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The French Say Oui to Tea
A Look at the Tea
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Life in Tea
Moroccan Mint Tea
The Drink of
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Honeybush
South Africa's
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Tea-Tray in the Sky
Cambridge &
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From the Publisher
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Tea Industry
Directory 2002
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The French Say Oui to Tea
A Look at the Tea Scene in Paris
by Karen Burns
Not so long ago, say pre-1990, a good cup of tea was hard to find in Paris. Coffee
has long been the national drink in France, a consequence of the colonial era
that saw England acquiring the tea-producing regions of China and India, while
France was reaching into the coffee and cocoa lands of South America and the Caribbean.
But today, while coffee could still be called king in France, tea is an object
of keen interest among many young French gourmets. This is particularly true in
Paris, home to a tea drinkers' club, tea schools, an annual Tea Expo, and nearly
150 tearooms.
Part of France's tea evolution may be due to the country's famous
fascination with all food and drink. Another factor is the country's energetic
marketing of fine teas, primarily the work of high-end retailers such as Mariage
Freres, the oldest French tea importer and promulgator of the "art" of French
tea. "The French are curious and adventurous in matters of gastronomy," says Philippe
Cohen-Tanugi, spokesman for Mariage Freres. "Since France has never been a major
tea-drinking country, we have not developed any fixed traditions regarding tea,
and this means we are open to new flavors and new techniques of preparation."
 Whatever
the reason, tea consumption in France is on the rise, increasing by more than
20 percent in the last 10 years, according to the International Tea Committee.
The most tangible sign of tea's popularity is the number, variety and quality
of the country's tearooms. Paris, in fact, boasts more tearooms than any other
European capital, including London. Parisian theophiles (there is actually a word
in French for "people who love tea") can avail themselves of an astonishing array
of tea traditions: English, Chinese, Japanese, Moroccan, Viennese, Tibetan, and,
yes, even French. Tearooms are found in all sorts of unexpected venues, from museums
and designer boutiques to hair salons and chocolate shops.
The quintessential French tearoom is represented, not surprisingly,
by Mariage Freres, which operates three venues in Paris. The 500-plus teas listed
on the menu are all prepared according to Mariage's "Five Golden Rules for Making
Tea Successfully," the most important of which is the removal of tea leaves from
the teapot once an infusion is complete. "It is our only orthodoxy," insists Cohen-Tanugi.
He goes on to explain that there is "no tea snobbery at Mariage Freres. All stages
of enjoyment of tea are respected and welcome."
Mariage's "art of tea" also emphasizes quality of ingredients,
elegance of presentation and diversity. These elements are found in most Paris
tearooms, whether they feature European or Asian styles of tea service. Whatever
the orientation, most tearooms offer the basic components of a "French tea," which
consists simply of a pot of tea and a patisserie. A good example is found in the
chic 6th arrondissement at the tearoom L'Artisan de Saveurs, where the French
art of tea has reached a kind of apotheosis.
The proprietor, Patrick Loustalot-Barbe, is fastidious about his
tea preparation. When brewing a tea, he doesn't measure the leaf, he weighs it.
He closely monitors water temperature, making sure, for example, that it is slightly
cooler for greens. He uses only loose tea, he carefully times each infusion and
he always removes leaves from the pot before serving.
Interestingly, the French thirst for tea quality and diversity
can be best satisfied at an Asian-style tearoom, La Maison des Trois Thes, located
in Paris's Latin Quarter. Yu Hui Tseng, the proprietress, is one of the world's
few Chinese masters of tea and the only woman to bear the designation. She claims
to have introduced the gong-fu ceremony to Europe, and in her tearoom, she offers
hundreds of rare green, black, white, and oolong teas, mostly from plantations
in Taiwan, her place of birth. She views her enterprise more as a means of education
than business, telling visitors, "This is a place to taste, learn and ask questions.
We love to share our knowledge."
 In
recent years, French tearooms, particularly those in Paris, have benefited from
an increasingly active "tea culture," represented in part by the Club des Buveurs
de The (Tea Drinkers' Club). Founded and still led by journalist Gilles Brochard,
the club lobbies tearooms to serve only high-quality loose tea in the manner prescribed
by Mariage Freres. Its more than 100 members organize tea tastings, lectures,
literary contests, exhibitions, and tours to porcelain manufacturers. Recently
they helped establish similar clubs in Tours, France, and in Italy. On January
1, 2000, they issued a "European Tea Drinkers' Charter," under which signers promise
to be ambassadors of tea and to promote and defend loose tea in all its forms.
"I started the club to create a group with very diverse activities—cultural
and a little scientific at the same time—but very focused on the product itself,"
says Brochard. "I wanted to create more than a club for tasting tea. I also wanted
to promote cultural gatherings and sponsor visits to exhibitions—to create a
veritable force around tea." Next spring the group will celebrate its 10th anniversary,
quite an accomplishment in a city more associated with coffee than tea.
Since the Club des Buveurs de The became active, a number of "tea
schools" have sprung up. The first, the Universite du The (University of Tea),
was sponsored by the Club and offers evening classes covering tea ceremonies,
cooking with tea, 19th-century tea services, tea production, the importance of
water in tea preparation, and more. Students range from aspiring tearoom owners
to people who simply want to learn more about tea. Those who complete 30 lessons
receive a "master's degree" at the end of the scholastic year.
Other tea schools include an "Ecole du The" (School of Tea) at
the tea boutique Le Palais des Thes, and a regular series of classes at Bernardaud,
the French porcelain manufacturer. Sessions at the Ecole du The cover the origins
of tea, how to taste tea, the arts of gong-fu (Chinese) and chanoyu (Japanese)
ceremonies, and how to prepare authentic Moroccan mint tea. The school has even
sponsored a 10-day tour of the tea plantations of Sri Lanka.
Classes at Bernardaud focus more on tea equipage—a lecture called
"Evolution of the Tea, Coffee and Chocolate Cup Through the Ages" is one example—in
addition to general information about tea. The company, which runs an elegant
tearoom on Paris's rue Royale, also offers a patisserie series, where potential
tea hosts and hostesses can learn how to make some of the tarts and cakes typically
served with tea in France.
As if all this weren't enough, a first international Tea Expo took
place in Paris last year and attracted more than 65,000 visitors. The four-day
show featured 87 exhibitors from 15 countries, all focused on themes of tea art,
culture and health. In conjunction with the Expo, an International Scientific
Conference on the Beneficial Effects of Tea on Health also convened, offering
doctors, nutritionists and researchers an opportunity to meet and exchange information.
This year, the Tea Expo expects even more visitors and exhibitors.
In a sense, Paris has become quite a tea capital. While most cafés
and restaurants still offer only mass-market teabags, in many circles tea is talked
about, argued over and savored with a seriousness the French have traditionally
reserved for wine. Maybe it's simply coming full circle. After all, tea arrived
in France in 1636, 22 years before it appeared in England. And it was actually
a Frenchwoman, the Marquise de la Sabliere, who in the 17th century first thought
of adding milk to tea (this "French touch" was quickly adopted by the English).
L'heure de the (teatime) has become part of French life, a ritual that promises
to continue. "We live in a time when tea and its virtues have never been talked
about more," writes Gilles Brochard in his newest book, La Boite a The (The Tea
Box). This is certainly true in Paris.
MARIAGE FRèRES
Five Golden Rules for Making Tea Successfully
Rule #1:
Preheat the teapot and strainer.
Rule #2:
Measure the tea into a warm strainer and let it stand a few moments to allow the
steam to begin developing the leaves' aroma.
Rule #3:
Pour simmering (not boiling) water over the leaves. For white and green teas,
the water should be just under simmering.
Rule #4:
Let the tea steep according to the size and variety of the leaves.
Rule #5:
Remove the strainer with leaves. Stir and serve.
Karen Burns is a freelance writer who divides
her time between the U.S., where she lives in Kirkland, Wash., and Paris.
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