French Chef's Tasting Tea (article)

French Chef Gagnaire Samples London's Finest Teas in Taste Test

By Richard Vines

Jan. 7, 2009. (Bloomberg) -- Pierre Gagnaire, the Michelin three- starred Parisian chef, is passionate about tea. It's an enthusiasm shared by Mourad Mazouz, with whom he co-owns Sketch, the exotic London venue where you might enjoy a pot of Earl Grey with bergamot oil.

The two joined forces for a blind tasting of store-supplied white, green and black varieties, prepared by Sketch's Japanese tea maker, Chie Nagao, who works with the care of a sommelier. Gagnaire and Mazouz are friends as well as business partners and laughed and chatted happily in French and English throughout the tasting of 12 teas, which lasted for about an hour.

Gagnaire and Mazouz both emphasized that a small variation in the ratio of leaves to water, the length of time in the pot or the water temperature might produce widely differing results. This occurred in the case of one entry, from Fortnum & Mason, which they asked to be remade after finding it too bitter.

Here's some of what they had to say and their marks out of 10, which they agreed by splitting the difference between their scores. Fortnum & Mason Plc was the winning retailer, while the top individual teas were from Fortnum and Selfridges Plc. The other entries came from Whittard of Chelsea Plc, bought by the private equity firm Epic on Dec. 23, and Harrods Department Store Co.

White Tea

WHITE TEA: Fortnum & Mason Peppermint & Yunnan, (100g), 15 pounds ($21.93):

MM: "It smells minty. It's what you drink when you're sick before you go to bed. Your grandmother will do that. That's my feeling, which is fine for the memory of your grandmother." PG: "It's good but it's not tea. It smells good and the taste isn't bad. It's the first time I've drunk something like that." 5/10.

Selfridges (Rare Tea Co.) White Silver Tip Tea, (25g), 6.99 pounds:

MM: "I want to look at the color of it. Ah yes. The smell is OK but there's no taste. It's complicated to judge because so much depends on how long it's been brewing before being served." PG: "There are so many variables." MM: "We are French, so we're not specialists, but we love tea. This one doesn't interest me personally." 4/10.

Harrods Jasmine Silver Needle China, 20 tea bags (36g), 7.95 pounds:

MM: "White tea needs to be delicate, subtle, not too strong: agreeable, comfortable in the mouth. This one I really like." PG: "I try in my restaurant in Paris to serve tea but it's so complicated. It depends on the water and even the quality of the pot. You should serve the same tea in the same pot. This one is pleasant. It's not harsh. It's a pleasure to drink." MM: "It's tea bags? Maybe we know nothing." (Laughs.) 7/10.

Whittard of Chelsea: Lemon Rose White Tea Silver Tips, (50g), 4.80 pounds:

PG: "The color is strange; very, very strange taste. It's lemon rose? It's much too strong for me. This isn't real white tea. It's a mixture of things." MM: "It's not bad but I'd never drink this. It sticks to the tongue. Not very pleasant. It has a very pleasant smell but to drink it, less so." 5/10.

Green Tea

GREEN TEA: Selfridges (Rare Tea Co.) Green Whole Leaf Tea, (25g), 5.99 pounds:

MM: "For me, it's too clear but it may not have infused enough. I drink green tea because it's hot water with a little bit of taste. This one, I think it's not a great quality of green tea but it's not bad. I will drink it." PG: "It's clean, drinkable." 5/10.

Harrods Gunpowder China tea, 20 tea bags (50g), 6.95 pounds:

PG: "You really need to categorize by price because if we mix many different teas, it's like boxing or golf or judging a Volkswagen against a Rolls Royce. We prefer the first one. This isn't straight. It's confusing in the mouth. It's a bit strong in taste but not strong in the mouth. The tea looks very dry." 4/10.

Whittard of Chelsea River Clouds Green Tea, (50g), 10.80 pounds:

MM: "I like it." PG: "Me, too." MM: "That, for me, is a green tea. It has a dry-leaf feeling but it's pleasant in the mouth. It sticks on the tongue in a nice way." PG, draining his cup: "I agree. It is well structured. It's proper green tea." 7/10.

Fortnum & Mason Gunpowder Green Tea, (125g), 6.25 pounds:

Mazouz said it was very, very bitter and he couldn't drink it, so they asked for a fresh pot. MM: "It's not bad now. I was going to score it 2/10 but now it is smooth and delicate. I wouldn't drink it before. Timing is everything. The temperature of the water is also very important." 6.5/10.

Black Tea

BLACK TEA: Harrods Darjeeling Castleton Muscatel, (50g), 15.95 pounds:

MM: "Not for me. Not bad but it's not my cup of tea. It's not memorable." PG: "I like it. It's a comfortable tea. You serve that with cakes. It's perfect for breakfast or afternoon tea." 6/10.

Whittard of Chelsea Badamtam First Flush Darjeeling, (125g), 8.50 pounds:

MM: "This one is more delicate, tasteful, smooth. It's agreeable: light, smooth and really pleasant in the mouth. Not too harsh. Good on the nose. But the infusion, the water, the timing are so important for tea. I like that. They made a lot of effort." PG: "It's a good tea." 7/10.

Fortnum & Mason Fortmason (black) tea scented with orange, (250g), 8.25 pounds:

MM: "Nice color. Smoky. What did they add? Orange? I don't get the orange. For me, it's more flowery." PG: "Nice taste. Very nice taste. Good. Very pleasant. It's Fortnum & Mason? I'm, pleased because I like them a lot. They make a lot of effort." 8/10.

Selfridges (Rare Tea Co.) Oolong China Tea, (50g), 6.99 pounds:

MM: "It doesn't seem like black tea." (He's right, it's halfway between green and black.) "I like it: very, very nice. It's a melange, very pleasant. Can you give us more?" PG: "It's good. Very nice." 8/10.

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.