Although Paris is known for its cafés serving coffee, it also has a rich and diverse tea culture. Tea was introduced to France in the 17th century, which was given to Cardinal Mazarin to cure his gout. Today, Paris has dozens of tea boutiques and salons that are worth checking out, but here are our four favorite picks.
Maison des Trois Thés
From the outside, Maison des Trois Thés is marked with Chinese symbols, almost hiding the name in French. Opened in the early 1990s, Maison des Trois Thés, just off the Place Monge in the Latin Quarter (at 1 rue Saint Médard), stocks over 1,000 varieties of the highest quality tea. The shelves are lined with tall, black tins of loose tea with Chinese writing on them and the teas are aged in the cellar, which is the largest in the world. Loose tea is weighed the old-fashioned way, via scale with weights.
Good to know: Tea tastings in the shop are available by reservation, offering the traditional tea ceremony method Gong Fu Cha, where each tea is steeped in its own pot.
Lupicia
Lupicia, the largest tea house in Japan, has a stunning boutique in the Saint Germain Quarter (located at 40 Rue Bonaparte). The spacious, 2,000-square-foot shop with a minimalist design has wide aisles filled with a vast variety of over 400 teas, including matcha, Oolong, Rooibos, black and herbal. Teas are exported from the top plantations from around the globe—from South Africa to India, Nepal, Japan and Sri Lanka—and are packaged in round, two-ounce metal tins for the ultimate in freshness. To complete the tea experience, mugs, teacups, strainers and teapots accompany the teas.
Tip: Japanese delicacies and deli products such as sake, noodles, curry, soba, tofu, and desserts are also sold.
Visit en.lupicia.fr.
Palais de Thés
A virtual know-it-all about tea François-Xavier Delmas started his tea company, Palais de Thés, in 1986 with 40 friends. In the following years, Delmas thoroughly learned the tea trade, incorporating a tea school in Paris where students learn to appreciate and prepare tea, followed by the publication of “Tea Drinker’s Handbook” in 2007, co-authored by Mathias Minet. Their bestselling teas include Hammam tea, their specialty, which has notes of green dates, rose and orange blossom and it inspired by the Turkish steam baths, Louvre tea, commissioned by the museum, a black tea with citrus and wild blackberry flavoring, and Tibetan monks’ tea, a mellow combo of green and black tea. There are several locations in Paris, but we prefer the one at 64 rue de Vielle.
Visit www.palaisdesthes.com.
Dammann Freres
It’s apt that the oldest tea brand in France has its flagship boutique at 15 Place des Vosges, the first public square in the city, constructed in 1612. Dammann Freres was started in 1692 under the reign of King Louis XIV—and the towering ceilings of the shop still have the original painted beams from the 1600s. There are over 200 tea flavors offered, and loose teas are stored in tins reaching to the ceiling. The staff is happy to climb on a ladder to get the tea, and let the customers take in the intoxicating scent straight from the tin. Dammann Freres has a selection of refreshing iced tea mixes with fruity combinations. Looking for a gift? Tea aficionados will love their tea gift boxes, beautifully packaged and pre-wrapped.
Visit www.dammann.fr.
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