Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Description:
Feverfew chamomile is a small and simple plant without chi chis. With its flower fragrance, it offers a fresh and comforting tea, breathing the fresh air. A very light yellow color, almost transparent and a light, honeyed flavor: chamomile, it is nature in all simplicity, that where lies happiness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little apprehensive about this chamomile because when I opened the packet, I could see that the blossoms have been crushed and it looked a little more like chamomile dust rather than chamomile flowers. It looked a lot like what you’d find if you opened a grocery store offering of bagged chamomile tisane.
And that’s the stuff I’m not crazy about. I’ve come to a point where I enjoy whole blossom chamomile, but the dust in most tea bags that you can buy in the grocery store? No thank you.
But I decided to go into this experience with an open mind. I mean, who knows? Maybe I’ll like it. I won’t know though, until I try it. (That’s what I keep telling my daughter when it comes to trying new foods, anyway.)
I steeped the tea bag in 6 ounces of water that had been heated to 195°F for eight minutes. Normally, I’d go ahead and steep it for 10 minutes, but because this had been crushed to a powder, I decided to go with just 8 minutes.
I’m glad I did. The flavor is strong and I don’t know that I’d like it much if the flavor were any stronger. As it is, this is alright. It has a light, apple-y flavor and sweet nectar-y, honey-like flavor. It’s soothing. It’s pleasant.
Let’s face it, chamomile will never be my favorite. It just won’t. But I like it better than I used to. This at least tastes fresher than what I’d get from the supermarket. (Who knows how long that stuff has been sitting on the shelves!) And as far as chamomile goes, this isn’t too bad. It’s relaxing me and that’s what I needed it to do because I have to get up early in the morning and as it is, it’s pretty late. I needed something that was going to help me unwind and catch those zzz’s so that I can be bright-eyed tomorrow.
Not a bad cup and effective at relaxation.
Infusion des Marmottes Tisane from Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Description:
Created in 1976, this is the first composition of two marmots. This herbal tea to ruby and tangy taste is the sweetest and most mysterious of all. Seven plants were found, but the dosage is one that will remain well buried in a hidden family secret terrier gallery . . .
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I think that this is the blend that started the company (or so I’ve been led to believe by the above description). It is a combination of linden, verbena, peppermint, hibiscus, chamomile, rosehip and orange blossoms.
To steep this blend, I heated the kettle to 195°F and used about 6 ounces of water to 1 teabag and left it to steep for 8 minutes. It’s a little longer than I typically steep a blend with hibiscus in it (usually I steep it for 6 minutes, tops!) but because I didn’t see a lot of ruby colored leaves through the teabag, I hoped that I wouldn’t be left with a cup of tisane where the hibiscus completely took over.
Fortunately for me, there doesn’t seem to be a heavy amount of hibiscus to this blend. The color of the brewed liquid is lightly “rosy” but not ruby red the way that heavily hibiscus-ed blends often are. It also doesn’t have the thick texture (or pucker-y tartness) of a heavily hibiscus-ed blend.
This is a surprisingly balanced combination of the eight ingredients. The two ingredients that I expected to overpower the others – the aforementioned hibiscus and the peppermint – do not knock out the other components of this blend. Peppermint can often be a rather strong presence in a blend when added with too heavy a hand. Here, the peppermint tastes light. It is crisp and adds a cool flavor to the cup without overwhelming the other flavors of the cup.
The linden, chamomile and orange blossom add just a whisper of floral essence to the cup while the verbena adds a hint of citrus.
The overall flavor of the cup is subtle and herbaceous. Do I like it? It’s alright. Not the best tisane I’ve ever tasted but certainly not the worst either. I think I rather prefer some of the other tisanes that I’ve tried from Les 2 Marmottes, but this isn’t terrible. It’s a gentle cuppa, nice for later in the evening when you’re wanting to wind down and relax. I think it’s best served with a little drizzle of honey to the cup – it makes this a very soothing and calming drink.
Reine Des Prés Tisane from Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Description:
Draped her velvet dress and crowned with delicate flowers, it emerges from this plant a benevolent sovereign sweetness. When she let them approach, it is possible to leap at his flowery fragrance . . . this is a sweet herbal notes to sing the melody of the long summer evenings.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I remembered meadowsweet was one of the ingredients in the Retour a La Ligne blend (also by Les 2 Marmottes), but I really can’t remember having a pure meadowsweet tisane as this is until now, so I was interested in trying it. If nothing else, it expands my repertoire of herbs and their flavors.
So, I didn’t really know exactly what to expect from this tisane. When I go into a tisane tasting like this – without any significant first hand knowledge of what the herb tastes like – I’m a little apprehensive (to say the least!) but I’m very happily surprised by this Reine Des Pres! This is really quite tasty!
It’s a near perfect combination of flowery and herbaceous tastes. I taste a pollen-y, delicate flowery taste, and I can taste herb-y flavors in there too. But mostly what I taste is SWEET. This is deliciously sweet, like honey!
I steeped the tea bag in 8 ounces of near boiling (195°F) water for 10 minutes, and the result is a golden amber colored liquid that smells sweet and a little bit like a meadow of wildflowers. Now, I can’t say that I recall the last time I was in a meadow of wildflowers. I can’t even say that I’ve ever been in a meadow of wildflowers except for maybe in my daydreams. But on those days when I had those dreams, this is what I imagined that meadow of wildflowers to smell like.
Sweet, reminiscent of pollen, honey, and delicate hints of flower. Notes of herb. It’s really quite enjoyable to sip. It feels quite soothing and relaxing. And as I sit here, sipping this tisane, I wonder why it is that I’m only just now trying a pure infusion of meadowsweet.
How is it that this is an herb that escapes the notice of many a tea blender? It’s quite delightful, and I think that more tea blenders should be adding this to their blends. I can imagine how much more tasty it would make blends with some of my less than favorite herbs like ginseng or chamomile or hibiscus, and with it’s honeyed taste, I think it would amplify those honey notes of rooibos and honeybush.
I hope to find more teas and/or tisanes with meadowsweet in them … I’m enjoying this!
Thym Tisane from Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Description:
Thymus in Greek means ‘perfume’. Our friend thyme took its name in the pure sense. Not for him the discretion! Wherever he goes, he makes his presence felt, with a hint of camphor to assert its explosive character. Like any clear-cut personality, we love or hate. No half measures! For those who can appreciate it will be the friend you expected. Its natural mover will take care of clutter. His explosive side waltz send your sworn enemies of winter. A superhero among plants.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Thym tisane smells like my spice cabinet! It smells like what I smell when I open the door to my spice cabinet. And that makes sense, since this is 100% thyme.
And while I can’t recall having a tea with thyme in it (I may have, it’s just that none come to mind), as I sip this, I’m really digging it! I’m liking it a lot more than I expected to. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it as a tisane.
I mean, I like thyme as a spice, and it’s an herb I turn to every Thanksgiving to add just the right flavor to my turkey. It’s great in meatloaf and I also add it to the crock pot when I’m cooking a pork roast. But, I never really thought to steep it and drink it in a tisane, and to drink a tisane that is 100% thyme, nope, I can’t say that I’ve ever really considered it until I received this sampling from Les 2 Marmottes.
But I like this! I like it a lot! It has notes of mint and clove with a pleasant woodsy flavor that I’d describe as something between pine and cedar. It’s a little sweet and it’s savory and it’s definitely different.
It’s really tasty!
Boost Et Moi Tisane from Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Description:
Guarana, ginseng, ginger: a trio 100% plant explosive vitality! In addition, these pêchus ingredients are not the only stars. We have put together a stunning blend of subtlety by slipping rosehips for its fruity taste, lemon balm for its sweet and aromatic flavor and tangy hibiscus note and its beautiful ruby color. A lively and rich in aromas tea for a day full of pep.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have enjoyed the adventure of these teas and tisanes from Les 2 Marmottes. Since I can’t read most of the packaging, I have to turn to the website and Chrome’s ability to translate the French language to know what the tea is all about. It makes for an interesting tea moment.
When I grabbed this Boost Et Moi … I visited the website to see what ingredients I would be encountering with this blend. Here’s what the translated website lists:
- Hibiscus Flower
- Rosehip
- Melissa
- Guarana
- Ginseng
- Ginger
I wish that there wasn’t hibiscus in this. Fortunately the hibiscus imparts very little of its tart flavor, mostly it seems it is there for a berry like flavor and the vivid ruby color and a bit of texture. I’m glad that it’s not a syrupy texture.
There is an interesting contrast of flavors in this blend: a distinct herbaceous note with a slight earthy character from the ginseng. There is a touch of lemon-y taste from the Melissa, and the Guarana adds a slight bitter note. I like the peppery zing of ginger.
This is the third tea/tisane that I’ve tasted from Les 2 Marmottes, and it’s probably my least favorite of the three. I would rather the hibiscus not be in there, and I’m not wild about ginseng. That said, this is not an unpleasant functional tea, but I don’t know that it’s one that I’d reach for to drink every day. I do like the burst of energy that this tea provides, though.
Overall, this is alright, but not my favorite of these little adventures that Les 2 Marmottes has taken me on.