When he travelled to the ends of the earth in search of the finest crus, or visited his clients to share his discoveries, Henri Mariage carried a tasting set. One example is kept at the tea museum of the historic house, rue du Bourg-Tibourg, in Paris. The Grand Coffret Henri revives this “treasure chest” in the form of eighteen round tins.

Each tin reproduces the designs of the 19th-century labels, on which Henri Mariage wrote the names of his teas with a goose quill and violet ink. The set traces the great families of the house: grands crus, blends and fragrant compositions, across eighteen stops, for a total net weight of 302 g.

It includes the pure teas: the white tea Yin Zhen, the yellow tea Huang Cha, the green Gyokuro Kansai, the blue Opium Hill, the Darjeeling Delight Haute Couture, the smoked Lapsang Chinbara and the aged Pu-Erh Fleur de Thé. Then the fragrant compositions: Perle de Thé Suprême, green tea scented with jasmine flowers, Chaï-Chandernagor, French Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey French Blue, Marco Polo Sublime, Lune Rouge, Casablanca, De-Stress Tea, Ruschka Blue, Opera Blue and Brume de Rose. The quantities, from 8 to 25 g depending on the tea, are enough for several cups of each.

This is a gift for anyone who wishes to understand the house as a whole, from the purest cru to the most fragrant composition, or for anyone still torn between a green, a blue and a black. Each tea is prepared according to its own parameters, indicated on the tins.

The Grand Coffret Henri is offered in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, official stockist of Mariage Frères since 1999, and our advisers will gladly guide you through the order of tasting.