Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

Fully oxidized tea leaves for a robust cup.


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Dec 13th, '09, 07:38
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Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Baku » Dec 13th, '09, 07:38

I'm tempted by these darjeelings from Mariage Frères:

Happy Valley - SFTGFOP1 Autumn flush (euro 35.00 per 100 g)
Gold Himalaya - Nepal First flush (euro 50.00 per 100 g)

As they're quite expensive and the minimum amount is 100 g, I'm gleaning info before putting my order...

Did you taste them? Any comments?
[maybe Victoria, Olivierco.. I've read here on TC you bought them, but I didn't seek out any remarks..]

Moreover.. even if they come from different regions and flushes, can we compare them? too foolish?

And finally.. I'm used to steep darj for 3.5-5 minutes for the first brew, and a bit more for the following, yielding a still decent second cup and a not to bad third one. So.. what about these teas? Do they perform the same? I guess that for this range of price, having a fair 2nd cup could be crucial.

Baku

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Dec 13th, '09, 14:44
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Victoria » Dec 13th, '09, 14:44

I had a sample of the Gold Himalaya, thanks to Olivier. I haven't tried the Happy Valley. At the time I had the Gold, Olivier also sent along the Saphir and I was so taken with the Saphir I didn't pay all that much attention to the Gold. Although I think he preferred it. When I then made the last of my sample, after I had ordered the Saphir, I remember thinking wow, this is really good.

I don't think you can go wrong with either. And yes, they will stand up to multiple infusions. Just be careful not to order too much, you saw what happened to me and customs, right?

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Dec 14th, '09, 05:09
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Baku » Dec 14th, '09, 05:09

Thanks Victoria
I know you're fond of darjeeling, so I'll take heed of your remark about Saphir too.

Victoria wrote:Just be careful not to order too much, you saw what happened to me and customs, right?
yes...I read your thread, very disappointing... customs clearance could be a true nightmare, and that's the reason why I don't place expensive order from outside Europe anymore.. but living in Europe, I can buy from MF with no fear of extra fees.

baku

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Dec 14th, '09, 07:17
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Victoria » Dec 14th, '09, 07:17

Oh so you are, forgive me, I forgot. Well then!
:) Let me know how the Happy Valley is, I have
been wanting to try one from there. But, I'll pick it
up over here. :wink:

Oh and the Blu Himalayan was a decent, but more
an everyday type cup.

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Dec 14th, '09, 12:58
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by olivierco » Dec 14th, '09, 12:58

I only had the Gold Himalaya (2009 and 2008) Very good and not so expensive as with 2g you can get three steeps (100-120ml for me but you could get more with the same amount of leaves).

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Dec 14th, '09, 14:28
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Baku » Dec 14th, '09, 14:28

Victoria wrote:Oh so you are, forgive me, I forgot. Well then!
:) Let me know how the Happy Valley is, I have
been wanting to try one from there. But, I'll pick it
up over here. :wink:

Oh and the Blu Himalayan was a decent, but more
an everyday type cup.
Never mind!

I've just seen your pic of the Blu Himalayan... it looks fine... and at last, I dug it out on MF... their web site's a maze.

and ok.. I'll let you know something about Happy Valley asap...

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Dec 14th, '09, 14:41
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Baku » Dec 14th, '09, 14:41

olivierco wrote:I only had the Gold Himalaya (2009 and 2008) Very good and not so expensive as with 2g you can get three steeps (100-120ml for me but you could get more with the same amount of leaves).
oh thanks.. glad to hear that you steep it three times (120-130 ml is my usual amount of liquor as I brew in a medium size gaiwan)..
I'll get it for sure.

Dec 14th, '09, 15:32
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by marlena » Dec 14th, '09, 15:32

Is there any American source for Dammann? Oh please, say yes and tell me!

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Dec 14th, '09, 16:12
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Margules » Dec 14th, '09, 16:12

marlena wrote:Is there any American source for Dammann? Oh please, say yes and tell me!
I don't really know anything about Dammann, but a quick google search for Dammann tea found several vendors. Most only had a couple of varieties though, so you may have to search a bit for the exact tea you want.

Dec 27th, '09, 13:27
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by marlena » Dec 27th, '09, 13:27

Duh!!!!! I really meant Mariage Freres.

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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Victoria » Dec 27th, '09, 17:10

No, they are only in France.

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Dec 27th, '09, 18:12
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by Margules » Dec 27th, '09, 18:12

There do appear to be a few US based online retailers and upscale market chains that sell their blends, although I haven't seen the more expensive single source teas.

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Dec 27th, '09, 18:24
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Re: Happy Valley & Gold Himalaya - Mariage Frères

by olivierco » Dec 27th, '09, 18:24

They have some stores in Japan too.

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