One of the great things about living here, in addition to being surrounded with the incredible beauty, is all the free things you can do. The Musee du Quai Branly just next to the Eiffel Tower announced that they would be offering a free Chinese tea ceremony on this past Sunday. This activity coincided with their exhibit on Chinese culinary traditions, that I decided to put off till later. During the summer the museum has other free offerings in their lovely garden from musical siestas to learning tango. The tea tasting sounded really good to me though, as I know very little about tea in general, much less tea ceremonies. It is not because I do not enjoy them, I do, but teas have their own aura of complexity, as one might find with wines. In flavored teas, I am more of a sniffer I guess, than a tea taster, because I find the aroma of tea more captivating than the actual taste. Tea salons are abundant here in Paris from Mariage Freres , Kusmi russian, to boutique/salons offering ultra expensive and hard to find Asian teas that cost beaucoup for just a few grams. There are tea aficionados, who rightfully hold court with their knowledge in these salons and can be as uppity as wine snobs. Tea like wines are vast and varied and I did not know that some are aged as some wines.
Free events are not free with your time of course, and this holds even more true here in France with their typical disorganization. As usual it was a goose chase to find out where to go to first get a little piece of paper allowing you in. Three guards sent me in differing directions, until the fourth, bless him, set me on due course. Standing in line long enough to hear disgruntled french visitors complain, then leave, I finally was able to clutch my little ticket and sent off to wait in yet another line. The French love to make you wait in multiple lines. Just one is never enough to frustrate you I think, which they seem to derive covert pleasure in doing.
La Maison des 3 Thes over in the 5th arrondissement is considered to have a vast selection of chinese teas and some of the rarest and most expensive. They presented Kang Zhuan, which comes in a compressed brick, that was cultivated in 1992! Having been carried on the backs of Tibetans half a day, in was stored for 20 years in a Thibetan monastery at 4000 meters altitude. Mon Dieu! Can you imagine those tea leaves soaking up all that meditative energy for over 20 years? A tea with a real history here!
The ceremony seemed much less ritualistic than a Japanese one, and concentrated more on the preparation of this special tea. Evian water was used as the infusing medium of course, but what surprised me was that the first water to hit the leaves, was quickly poured off with the explanation that it was used only to wet the leaves, so as they would be more infusible. Each of us was presented with very small bowls of this precious amber liquid. The aroma was very subtile, but on the tongue was a dense smokiness, soft and reminiscent of mushrooms. Extremely pleasant with none of the tannic bitterness found in young teas. All in all, very worth the wait for such a treasured treat. At only 50 euros a pound, I probably won’t make a bee line to buy some, not because it isn’t worth the price, it is considering its rather very long treacherous history.
Feeling the resolute calm of my little free infusion, I floated awhile in the adjoining garden before hopping on bus 42 headed home . A needed correspondence left me somewhat stranded in the 15th arrondissment on Rue St Charles. Instead of waiting around a bus stop for over 25 minutes I decided to walk around and explore , as the area had looked interesting with various food boutiques, including the renown Beillevaire cheese shop which unfortunately was closed.
Before long I stumbled into a window full of fluffy delectable looking mounds, each covered with billowing clouds of whipped cream and shavings of white or dark chocolate, or what looked like coffee. Betwixted at the strange site to see only one type of pastry on display, I ventured in amazed, and curious. Although I enjoy looking in the windows of passing patisseries, I rarely go in to buy. I prefer instead to make my own if I am longing for something sweet to eat.
Frankly I had never heard of Merveilleux de Fred before, which surprised me as I usually keep up on those sort of things. After questioning what they were and how they were made, I was seduced enough to buy one. With provocative little names such as the L’Impensable, or unimaginable and L’Incroyable , or unbelievable for the one filled with speculos cream and covered with white chocolate. I chose the l’impensable, the one studded with coffee meringue bits. Not being able to resist tasting it before I got home, I discreetly tried to hide my pleasure of the soft whipped cream on my lips perfectly contrasted with little crunches of meringue. Just pure ecstasy! Sumptuous enough to have made even Marie Antoinette swoon!
Frédéric Vaucamp , who used to be associated with Lenotre, set up his first boutique in Lille. They told me the original Lilloise pastry was always a chocolate covered meringue, but Fred expanded on the idea and now has several shops in LIlle, Paris, and one in Bruxelles. He obviously must have a sensuous side to him with these divine pastries that look like plump cream covered breasts. Fred could certainly cash in and satiate some common male fantasies here!
My little sunday adventures of pleasure made me think of the importance of needed indulgence. Little sensuous moments of life to be revered are worth searching out on a daily basis. Every day I make it a point to seek something to bring me joy, however small. This is something I had to learn to do, as it did not come naturally. We are always waiting until the perfect moment, or perfect place, when it is up to us to create these pleasurable moments. Rarely does life throw us those jewels on silver platters, but they are everywhere in our own imagination and fantasies. We just have to seek them out. At times you just have to throw caution and discipline to the winds and live gregariously!