Today I tried a new tea from Mariage Frères. It is called Iskandar, which is supposedly the Persian name for Alexander the Great. An odd pairing I thought, as this tea seems very feminine to me. It tastes and smells exactly like Flavigny Violet Pastilles. I used to love eating these, but they are a bit perfumy if you're not used to that sort of thing. And I'm not loving the tea so much. It's very well done, but violet perfume is not my first choice for tea flavor. And with such a wide selection in the MF catalog, there are plenty of other blends that I prefer.
If you are a fan of candied violets though, by all means try it. This would be an excellent tea to pair with a rich dessert of some sort. I tried it with chocolate and that seemed to help counterbalance the overwhelming taste of violet fragrance. On its own this tea is somewhat cloying and very "in your face"- nothing subtle about it at all... violet, Violet, VIOLET!
(Edit to add: It has now been two weeks since my initial review and I have to say that Iskandar has really grown on me. Or perhaps my brewing technique is just improving haha. Either way, I find myself craving this blend more and more over time. I think I will have to buy a refill very soon.)
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