Tea and Champagne with Mariage Freres Love Song Tea

I love tea gifts and when my friend Joanne went to London and brought me back some Mariage Frères Love Song Tea I was jazzed! Thanks Joanne! So this is a mix of a brief review and a cocktail suggestion.
 
First, a sip of history:
 


Founded in 1854 and named for a family with a long history of trading in various goods, Mariage Frères supplied tea and tea accessories to hotels and salons of the noble classes.  The main shop has 650+ teas from 36 countries including rare varietals and their signature blends based in perfume tradition.

---

Love Song Black Tea
 
This tea embodies the romantic notions of Paris to me, with the flavors of roses and almonds in a black blend base. There are actual rose petals and pieces of almonds not just flavoring. There are no further details on the blend on the website, but I found it can be steeped to a deep strength or to a lighter brew by adjusting the amount of tea without losing balance. It is a quite broken leaf so the steep is quick. At 3 minutes, using my usual amount of tea it was quite strong.
 
The blend has a lovely balance between the almond and rose flavors – neither overwhelm the tea blend which tastes like it includes a bold Indian leaf. The sweetness of the blend is brought out in different ways when adding cream and/or sweetener of choice.  I found I could drink this with or without milk if I brewed it light to average strength. The Love Song Tea line includes a green and a rooibos version also.
 
Tea & Champagne
 
We decided to say hello to the New Year with a bubbly glass of fun that includes tea of course.  Mixing champagne (or sparkling wine) with other flavors is hardly new. If you have not yet paired the bubbly with tea you may want to try these combinations for any time you are feeling festive – birthdays, weddings, launching of a new project or just because life is worth celebrating.
 
A very simple, low effort way is pairing a pre-made kombucha of your choice with a champagne/prosecco/sparkling wine. I like the brut or dry versions for a less sweet result. If you put the kombucha in your flute first then pour the bubbly leaving some room at the top you can perfect your mix adding more kombucha or bubbles to taste.
 
Another option is to steep a strong tea of choice to mix with your bubbly. That is what I did with the Love Song black tea.  General suggestion:  Steep double the amount of tea you would usually use for a cup in half the water. Here is the lowdown:
 

• Steep 2 tsp. tea in 4 oz. water for 3-4 min
  
• strain
• Add sweetener while warm if desired (bearing in mind this will be diluted with your bubbly. If you use a sweet instead of dry champagne you may wish to skip the sweetener)
• Chill
• Fill champagne flute 1/3 with chilled tea
• Top with champagne/sparkling wine to 2/3
• Taste and decide whether more tea or more champagne is needed
• Top with a rose petal or include a berry for presentation
  
  

I thought the tea really came through here. I used a brut sparkling wine. I think another great combo would be a dry champagne with a Lapsang Souchong! For those who want the bubbly without the buzz this can be done with a sparking water or seltzer too.
 
I am looking forward to a new year of festive tea adventures to share with you and wish you all many reasons to celebrate in the coming year! Cheers all!