Bruits de Palais N°63

bruits de palais “Aluıays drink tea as if it uıere life itself, uıithout letting the flavors disperse!”

Lu Yu

63

January 2014 | n°

Join the refill revolution!

Introduction to tea tasting Houı jasmine tea is made Shopping & neuı items

Contents 3 •

Editorial

4 •

Join the refill revolution!

6 •

Introduction to tea tasting

10 •

Tasting notes

Darjeeling Margaret's Hope DJ 512 Tippy Clonal

12 •

Grands Crus

14 •

Houı jasmine tea is made

16 •

Shopping & neuı items

18 •

19 •

Théophile benefits

Recipe

Tea often comforts and soothes, it gives us a moment to ourselves which is always a great pleasure. It is also a time to share, when tea tasting becomes a precious moment, an opportunity to talk, to allow each person to express their sensations and impressions.

Just as we share a cup of tea with friends, Bruits de Palais lets us share our passion for tea with you.

We reveal the secrets of good tea tasting through the knowledge and images of our experts. We unveil our favorites with the limited-edition selection of Grands Crus. And most importantly, we help you enjoy the full potential of your teas in your day-to-day life. We want to share the whole tea lifestyle with you.

From year to year, from issue to issue, every time we produce a new Bruits de Palais, we rediscover this pleasure of telling you about tea.

We wish you an excellent year in 2014, full of delicious flavors and special moments shared over a cup of tea!

The team at Palais des ThĂŠs

3 •

Join the refill revolution!

In recent uıeeks you uıill have noticed there’s a neuı, greener uıay to buy tea in Palais des Thés stores, thanks to our refill revolution!

Respect for the environment has been important to us ever since Palais des Thés was founded: through our constant presence on the ground, we have been able to have a direct influence on plantations and factories.

Now, we invite you to take part in our refill campaign to reduce the consumption of packaging when buying tea from our stores.

1

2 We encourage you to refill your canisters directly, whenever you can, when buying tea 1 .

In addition, our tea refill packs are now aluminium-free and made only of recyclable materials (paper and plastic) 2 .

These packs allow you to refill your canisters at home 3 .

3 4

4 •

To make life easier, we are helping by offering different types of round canisters, as well as magnetic label holders to identify your teas: these can be used in conjunction with the label you receive when you purchase your tea 4 .

Fully recyclable, aluminium-free tea refill packs!

Magnetic card holder to identify your tea.

Green / white box 100g / 3.5 oz ref.V416. / ref. V417.

Affordable refillable metal canisters to get you started.

Magnetic card holder ref.W001.

Introduction to tea tasting For all tea lovers, learning to taste tea is first and foremost about learning to savour and appreciate it with all five senses.

Here are five key tips to ensure you get the most from your tea!

1) Learn about the tea and how it should be prepared.

In order to taste a tea as it is intended, you must understand its characteristics. There are as many ways of making tea as there are varieties of tea.

Depending on its color and origin, the season, and the quality of the harvest, tea will require different quantities, steeping times, temperatures, and even water qualities to produce the best result.

Because tea is so diverse, different varieties are also more appropriate at different times of day.

That’s why we provide all the information you need to best prepare each of our teas.

3) Pay attention to what you’re tasting!

Based on all these different sensations, our brain forms a unique image of what is being tasted, a sort of synthesis enhanced by two additional dimensions: whether we enjoy the tasting (or not), and elements of language (the words we use to describe what we’re tasting).

Teasing out which aspects of this complex experience come from the senses, from our conscious thoughts (words), and from our enjoyment is an important step in learning to taste.

The best tasters are those who can dissect this unique image and understand the relationships between its three aspects: sensory, verbal, and emotional.

6 •

2) Awaken

your senses!

The action of tasting is more complex than you might expect, and each tasting calls on our senses to different degrees.

First of all, looking at a cup of tea involves our vision, as we see an initial image of what we are about to drink. Then, as we inhale the scent of its contents, we form our first olfactory impression. Contact with our lips and mouth tells us the temperature of the liquor and provides other information about the way it feels (texture). Once the tea is in our mouth, the tongue tells us about its flavors. And finally, a myriad of aromatic substances are perceived when we exhale through the nose just before swallowing: this is called retro-olfaction. Interestingly, this mechanism is what allows us to perceive most of what we "taste."

To see for yourself, take a sip of tea and then plug your nose as you drink it. It will seem very bland!

All our senses come into play when we taste tea, and being aware of this lets us appreciate the moment even more.

Tasting in a group helps us express what we experience more easily.

It is also a wonderful opportunity to share the moment with others.

7 •

woody, round 4) Express your sensations!

When we taste something, our natural reaction is to say "I like it / I don’t like it" or "it’s good / it’s not good" and leave it at that. After all, taste and smell depend more on our emotions and reactions than our other senses do. When tasting, we must move past this emotional response temporarily to become aware of what we are really feeling.

In this process, words are valuable tools that help us focus on our sensations. By expressing them methodically and naming them as specifically as possible, we advance in the art of tasting.

And as surprising as it may seem, the more accurate and nuanced a description we can give, the deeper our perception will become—and the more we’ll enjoy it!

5) Share your impressions!

As we hone the art of naming our sensations, we are also learning to share them, which can be one of the greatest joys of tasting.

Comparing our sensations with those described by other people pushes us to consider what we feel in even more detail, which considerably enhances our own perceptions.

A group tasting should always begin silently, so that everyone can concentrate on their own sensations. It is often handy to have a tasting sheet where you can write down all your impressions. Next comes the sharing phase, when everyone describes their experience, giving the others a chance to detect scents or flavors that they had not necessarily identified.

Discover our introduction to tasting tea sets on page 16 of this Bruits de Palais, in stores or on our website at www.palaisdesthes.com

8 •

To help your tasting experience and extend your knowledge, try our new introductory tasting sets to discover all types of tea and appreciate the pleasure of learning and sharing.

Signature Classics set ref.DCT10A.

Every tasting is a unique and special moment, when time seems to stand still.

This is one of the many and beautiful mountains in Darjeeling on which tea grows, whatever the season. Tea plants do well on this sloping terrain because they dislike water stagnating around their roots.

Tasting notes Darjeeling Margaret's Hope DJ 512 Tippy Clonal This is a third-flush Darjeeling, from the autumn harvest, the last of the year.

Autumn teas are often not as good as the earlier pluckings, but there are some remarkable exceptions.

This batch is one of the few Grands Crus of autumn 2013.

Dry leaf: Appearance: lightly rolled leaves with lovely downy buds.

Colour: coppery and golden.

Aroma: pronounced notes of fruit, wood and vanilla, before developing a fresh floral accent and hints of honey.

Infusion: Aroma: floral to start (rose, peony) sustained by round, sweet notes: vanilla, pronounced fruit (stewed fruit, yellow fruit, mango), with hints of wood and honey.

Origin: Darjeeling Colour: black tea Infusion time: 3’30 - 4’30 Infusion temperature: 85°C - 90°C / 185°F-195°F

Liquor: Colour: clear, gleaming coppery orange.

Texture: initially smooth and full in the mouth, becoming thick and velvety.

Flavours: a hint of sweetness to start, then a touch of acidity which develops in the middle of the mouth.

Aroma: initially the notes are floral, smooth and powdery (rose, peony), sustained by very sweet notes: vanilla, fruit (stewed fruit, yellow fruit, mango, fruit paste), coumarin, almond (frangipane). A finish of wood and chocolate.

Aromatic profile and length in the mouth: sweet and elegant. A continuous succession of notes, with a sweet finish of vanilla, fruit, wood and chocolate notes.

Our opinion: this is a sweet plucking with an incomparable floral bouquet, sustained by woody notes and a lovely velvety texture. The profile is similar to the first-flush plucking of 2013 from the same garden, with a delicious note of stewed fruit, characteristic of thirdflush Darjeelings.

ref.0176.

www.palaisdesthes.com

11 •

Grands Crus Extract from our selection

1

2

Lao Pu Erh XO - Grand Cru 1999 ref.2136.

3

4

12 •

Bourgeons de Pu Erh - 2012 ref.2132.

LAO GONG TIN PU ERH - 2004 ref.2135.

5

GONG TIN PU ERH – 2012 ref.2131.

Warning!

All the teas presented in these pages are rare and ephemeral teas, harvested in very small quantities and available at a given moment without the guarantee of a sustained supply. Available until the batch have gone, these teas may therefore go out of stock very quickly.

BU LANG PU ERH - 2012 ref.2134.

Also find full details of the tasting notes for these teas on-line at www.palaisdesthes.com

LAO PU ERH XO - GRAND CRU 1999 This is an exceptional Pu Erh from 1999. Its powerful, aromatic bouquet is a sign that it has been aged properly. Sustained by a thick, full texture in the mouth, it develops all the characteristics of an aged tea, with hints of undergrowth, tree moss, mushroom and liquorice. Unusually long in the mouth, this is a stand-out tea that keeps all its promises, especially when prepared according to the Gong Fu Cha method.

BOURGEONS DE PU ERH - 2012 This spectacular plucking is made up almost entirely of magnificent downy buds. With its aromas of malt and leather, this is an unusual tea with delicately sweet and slightly umami flavours. The tasting finishes with a flourish on a fine, delicate note of astringency. ref.2132.

ref.2136.

LAO GONG TIN PU ERH - 2004

GONG TIN PU ERH – 2012

This Pu Erh, which is celebrating its 10th birthday, must be tasted to appreciate its original qualities. Of a very high quality, it stands out from other Pu Erhs, in particular for its lively, powerful characteristics and rough appearance. This batch has lovely woody, liquorice notes that are powerful and lively, developing in the mouth right from the start.

An unusual, unmissable tea!

A magnificent, very regular, very well rolled plucking, scattered with golden buds. This batch will delight lovers of Pu Erh with its notes of undergrowth and mushroom, and its deliciously smooth, full texture in the mouth.

Try it now! ref.2131.

ref.2135.

YI PI PU ERH - 2012

BU LANG PU ERH – 2012

The leaf, infusion and liquor of this Pu Erh shows all the characteristics of a very high quality loose Pu Erh. The round texture and notes are perfectly balanced. It develops classic aromas of damp earth, liquorice and mushroom, with a lovely delicate quality.

This Pu Erh with large crumpled leaves develops marine hints from the start, followed by sweeter notes of undergrowth, along with vanilla and caramel. A very fine batch with an almost sweet profile – an ideal introduction to fine Pu Erhs.

ref.2133.

ref.2134.

GREEN PU ERH CAKE - MENG HAI XO GRAND CRU 2007 - 357G This is a well matured green Pu Erh cake (six years old), which already has a truly wonderful aromatic palette. Well balanced, lively and well structured, this tea has a good presence in the mouth thanks to its delicate astringency. Its vegetal, zesty, animal notes, typical of green Pu Erh, are softened by the notes of undergrowth and moss from the fermentation. Note for connoisseurs: this cake is one of our favourite teas of the year. Prepare according to the Gong Fu Cha method.

BLACK PU ERH CAKE - MENG HAI SHU CHA 357G - 2011 With plenty of buds, this black Pu Erh cake has a lovely rich aroma with harmonious notes of damp wood, mushroom and liquorice. This appealing batch has a very smooth finish in the mouth, and a delicate astringency.

A wonderful black Pu Erh experience! ref.C284.

ref.C287.

Our selection of Grands Crus is renewed and extended in line with our travels and discoveries.

In order to find out about our arrivals as soon as possible, we invite you to register for our newsletter on our website, www.palaisdesthes.com

13 •

Houı jasmine tea is made When drinking jasmine tea, many people don’t realise the meticulous uıork and sheer poetry that goes into creating this delicate blend.

A Chinese speciality, jasmine tea is one of the oldest and most popular scented teas.

It is obtained by mixing tea leaves with freshly picked jasmine flowers. With its incredible ability to soak up aromas, the tea becomes impregnated with the delicate scent of the fresh flowers.

The finest jasmine teas are made in two stages.

In the spring, tender shoots of green tea are plucked by hand and processed. Depending on the type of tea to be scented, the leaves are shaped in different ways.

For prized Jasmine pearls, green needle tea leaves are rolled by hand into ball shapes.

The precious tea is then stored for a few months until the end of August, when the jasmine harvest begins.

The harvest lasts just a few days; the flowers are picked in the early afternoon and stored in a cool room. When plucked, the flowers are closed and do not have a pronounced scent. But a few hours later, as night starts to fall, an extraordinary phenomenon takes place: the flowers gradually open and fill the air with their intense fragrance. By dusk, their perfume becomes almost heady.

Then the process of scenting the tea can begin: the flowers and leaves are brought into contact by being spread in even layers. They are then left for the whole night so that the tea leaves capture the fleeting fragrance of the jasmine flowers.

It is a wonderful alchemy between two ingredients of superlative quality. The next morning, the jasmine flowers are separated from the tea leaves before they make the leaves bitter. With the finest teas, like Grand Jasmin Mao Feng, the final flowers are removed carefully by hand to ensure none remain.

The scenting of the tea leaves is repeated the following night with more freshly picked flowers. The process can be carried out once, twice, and up to seven times for Jasmine pearls!

Find all our jasmine teas in store or on the website at www.palaisdesthes.com

The tea and flowers are combined at night due to the special properties of the jasmine flower, which only opens to release its incredible fragrance in the evening.

Jasmine pearls ref.248.

Grand Jasmin Mao Feng ref.249.

14 •

The finest jasmine teas in the world are produced in southern China, in the beautiful province of Fujian, at the end of the summer.

The jasmine flowers are picked in the traditional way in August, sometimes in scorching heat.

These are Jasmine Pearls. the “pearls� are shaped by hand into small balls. Curled over on themselves, the tea leaves retain the delicate fragrance of the jasmine flowers.

Shopping & neuı items Introduction to tasting sets These box sets contain 10 tubes of different teas and an introduction to tasting.

Each tube contains enough tea to make a pot for six to eight cups.

Signature Classics This set contains 10 tubes of single-estate or flavored teas: Big Ben, Grand Yunnan Impérial, Margaret’s Hope, Long Jing, Tamaryokucha Impérial, Thé du Hammam, Thé des Lords, Thé des Moines, Fleur de Geisha, Rooibos des Vahinés. ref.DCT10A.

Green teas This set contains 10 tubes of single-estate or flavored green teas: Long Jing, Mao Feng, Impérial Genmaicha, Sencha Ariake, Tamaryokucha Impérial, Thé du Hammam, Grand Jasmin Chun Feng, Green of London, Thé des Alizés, Thé des Sources. ref.DCT10B.

Flavored teas This set contains 10 tubes of flavored teas: Blue of London, Thé des Amants, Thé des Lords, Thé des Moines, Thé des Vahinés, Thé du Hammam, Fleur de Geisha, Thé des Alizés, Vive le thé !, Thé des Songes. ref.DCT10C.

16 •

Single-estate teas This set contains 10 tubes of single-estate teas: Grand Yunnan Impérial, Long Jing, Pu Erh Impérial, Genmaicha, Sencha Ariake, Butterfly of Taiwan, Grand Himalaya, Margaret’s Hope, Assam Hattiali, Saint-James. ref.DCT10D.

Tea miniature set

Lovers

Valentine’s Day Limited Edition A new elegant and romantic set containing the three Thé des Amants recipes as well as pink sugar hearts (100% natural cane sugar).

Three miniatures of 30g (1.06 oz) of Thé des Amants black tea, Thé des Amants green tea, rooibos des Amants and 36g (1.27 oz) of sugar hearts.

Scented Blends

Pure Indulgence

A selection of four of the most popular blends from Palais des Thés.

A selection of four tea miniatures from Pure Indulgence, the collection created

by Palais des Thés.

Four miniatures containing 30g (1.06 oz) of Thé du Hammam, Thé des Moines, Fleur de Geisha and Thé des Lords. ref.DBM01.

Four miniatures of 30g (1.06 oz) contain: Lemon, Icy Mint, Orange Blossom and Pear. ref.DBM02.

Pure Indulgence teas are the result of a long development process; each one is based on a high-quality tea and a single natural ingredient.

ref.DBM04.

Colorfull tea collection This is our new collection of stackable canisters: the finest scented blends created by Palais des Thés, in homage to the travels that inspired them: Tibet, Japan, Russia, Turkey and more.

Thé des Moines

Fleur de Geisha

Thé des Lords

Inspired by a Tibetan recipe, this rare blend has a unique floral flavor.

A delicately flavored green tea, composed as a tribute to the women of Kyoto.

ref.DV898T. 100g (3.5 oz) canister

ref.DV309T. 100g (3.5 oz) canister

Sprinkled with safflower petals, this tea boasts the most intense bergamot flavor of all the Earl Greys.

Thé des Vahinés

Goût Russe 7 agrumes

Thé du Hammam

This green tea with notes of vanilla and almond is sprinkled with rosebuds.

A beautiful tea with a warm, floral bouquet!

A remarkable black tea blend with zesty flavors evoking the 7 famous citrus fruits.

Inspired by a traditional Turkish recipe, this green tea smells of orange blossoms, roses, berries, and the flesh of green dates.

ref.DV883T. 100g (3.5 oz) canister

ref.DV494T. 100g (3.5 oz) canister

ref.DV802T. 100g (3.5 oz) canister

ref.DV861T. 100g (3.5 oz) canister

Thé des Alizés A green tea subtly flavored with exotic fruits and peppered with flower petals. ref.DV862T. 100g (3.5 oz) canister

Thé des Concubines Blend of black and green teas flavored with fruits and flowers.

Sweet and fruity, it tastes of cherry, mango and vanilla. ref.DV864T. 100g (3.5 oz) canister

17 •

Recipe Cookies with matcha and white chocolate

Serves 6 : |1|

Ingredients

85g (3 oz) butter 200g (7 oz) flour ½ sachet baking powder 150g (5.3 oz) blond sugar 2 teaspoons culinary matcha 1 egg 150g (5.3 oz) white chocolate Pinch of salt

|2|

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F).

Melt the butter in a bain-marie.

In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

Add the matcha.

Beat the egg in a separate bowl, add the melted butter to it and mix.

Incorporate this into the first bowl and mix.

Add the white chocolate, broken into small chunks.

Shape the dough into small balls using a teaspoon.

Place them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and flatten.

Bake for 5 minutes for chewy cookies and 8 minutes for crunchy ones.

18 •

Matcha pâtissier (baking Matcha) ref.C232. 50g (1.8 oz)

The Théophile card The Théophile card gives you access to a number of benefits, available on our website, mail-order purchases and in Palais des Thés stores:

- enjoy a 10% discount on all purchases for one year (except books: maximum legal discount of 5% applies), - take advantage of preferential rates for a number of special offers and receive exclusive gifts, - receive our Bruits de Palais newsletter, giving you a sneak preview into new teas and keeping you up-to-date with the latest tea-related news…

By spending €80 on loose tea in the year, you automatically renew the benefits of your card for the following year.

Important: each time you visit the shop, remember to present your Théophile Card so that your purchases can be recorded. For your orders on the Internet, register your card in your customer account. For your orders by post, write your card number on your order form. The Théophile Card cannot be used in the United States.

Our shops IN FRANCE:

STRASBOURG 124 Grand’Rue - 67000 Strasbourg

AIX-EN-PROVENCE 1 rue Chabrier - 13100 Aix-en-Provence NEW

NEW

RENNES

3 rue Jules Simon – 35000 Rennes 63 rue de la Pomme - 31000 Toulouse

BORDEAUX

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TOULOUSE

GRENOBLE

18 rue Saint-Jacques - 38000 Grenoble

IN THE WORLD:

LILLE

6-8 rue du Curé Saint-Etienne - 59800 Lille

BRUXELLES

place de la Vieille Halle aux Blés 45 - 1000 Bruxelles – Belgium

LYON

3 place Saint-Nizier – 69002 Lyon

BRUXELLES

chaussée de Charleroi 25 - 1060 Bruxelles – Belgium

MARSEILLE

57 rue Paradis - 13006 Marseille

DUBLIN

31 Wicklow Street - Dublin 2 – Ireland

MONTPELLIER

37 rue Saint-Guilhem – 34000 Montpellier

LIEGE

rue du Pot d’Or 30 - 4000 Liège – Belgium

MULHOUSE

« La Galerie » - 54 rue Sauvage - 68100 Mulhouse

LJUBLJANA

Stari trg n°11 - 1000 Ljubljana - Slovenia

NANTES

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NAMUR

7 rue du Collège - 5000 Namur - Belgium

NICE

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NEW YORK

194 Columbus Avenue (68th and 69th),

NIMES

2 plan de l’Aspic - 30000 Nîmes

Upper West Side - NY 10023 - United-States

PARIS 3

64 rue Vieille-du-Temple - 75003 Paris

NEW YORK

156 Prince Street, New York, NY 10012 - United-States,

PARIS 6

61 rue du Cherche-Midi - 75006 Paris

OSLO

Hegdehaugsveien 32 - 0351 Oslo – Norway

PARIS 14

25 rue Raymond Losserand - 75014 Paris

OSLO

Sandvika Storsenter Brodtkorpsgate 7 - 1338 Sandvika - Norway

PARIS 16

21 rue de l’Annonciation - 75016 Paris

TEL AVIV

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PARIS 17

36 rue de Lévis - 75017 Paris

TOKYO

5-24-2 Okusawa Setagaya-Ku - 158-0083 Tokyo – Japan

Mail Order Department www.palaisdesthes.com

François-Xavier Delmas’ blog: www.discoveringtea.com

19 •

Valentine's day limited edition Miniature set Discover this attractive set containing three miniatures of Thé des Amants (black & green teas and rooibos) and a box of sugar hearts. A romantic and mouth-uıatering gift for Valentine's Day. Lovers – 3 miniatures of 30g (1.06 oz) of Thé des Amants black tea, Thé des Amants green tea, rooibos des Amants and 36g (1.27 oz) of sugar hearts. ref.DBM04.

www.palaisdesthes.com

Photo credits: Palais des Thés photographic background: François-Xavier Delmas. Except: Frédéric Lucano p1, p2, p3, p4, p5, p7, p9, p20 ; Kenyon Manchego p2, p5, p11, p12, p16, p17; Charly Poupin p8, p14, p18 ; Marc Brunet p17 — Design: A & Mcreative — Bruits de Palais is printed on paper from sustainably managed forests. It is certified as being whitened whith a chlorine-free bleach. 100% vegetal inks.

Lovers