A Few of MyFavorite Things

Everyone enjoys life's little luxuries, and it's no surprise that many of mine are edible in form. Recently, I was excited to see the Gump's in San Francisco extended their collection of Mariage Freres teas, a really high end, high quality product from France. Tooting their own horn, Mariage Freres claims to be one of the finest teas in the world. Having grown up on great Chinese tea and terrible American tea, I have to say Mariage Freres was the first non-Asian tea that I ever liked. Since then, my favorites have expanded to include Fortnum & Mason and Palais du The.

Gump's sells all their canisters of tea for $24. Bargain shoppers can head to the Pasta Shop in Berkeley or Oakland and get a significant discount by buying bulk (or still get the canisters a little cheaper). Mariage Freres makes fabulous rooibos teas as well, for the caffeine sensitive among us.


Gump's also sells Kusmi tea from Russia. I've only had their smoky samovar flavor, which was nice, But I bought the tea bags, so I don't really have enough info to judge the overall quality of Kusmi. But they get points for gorgeous packaging!