Chocolat et Thé

I was walking along rue de Rennes, looking for a hairdresser, when par hasard/by chance I found instead tiny Duo Trio, 88, rue de Rennes 75006. The ultimate chocolat et thé shop...

Their l'ardoise/blackboard sitting out in the street stopped me in my tracks. I love to check out the écriture française. This one was titled Mariage Frères? Ah, they are allowed to carry Mariage Frères thés.

In the vitrine/window - Mariage Fréres tablettes de chocolat. Who knew they made chocolate? And so chic in their black wrappers. And what a beautiful red Tetsubin. I saw Japanese iron teapots all over Paris in May.

Another petite magasin filled with treasures. On your left sit tall red tea tins in a beautiful comptoir de magasin /display case. I asked the vendeuse/saleswoman how long they'd been there, thinking it was years and years. Just 1 year she told me!

In the case are what I call the "sniffing jars". Do tell if you know the correct name. You help yourself and open as many as you want, till you find your dream tea. Just don't mix up those lids.

The vendeuse will weigh out your choice into a small tin or packet. So how come it's perfectly normal in France to take thé with your chocolats? Milk + cookies and apple pie + vanilla ice cream are a given combo in the US. But drinking tea with chocolates? Never heard of it. 

Chocolate connoisseur,Chloe Doutre-Roussel filled me in. Thé is a gourmet's drink in Europe and has been for 5-10 years now. More and more gourmets are choosing tea over coffee. We're talking really good teas, not flavored teas.

The tea connoisseur will seek out the subtilities of the greens, the oolongs, the oxydated (fermented) teas. French chocolatiers secretly agree coffee kills chocolate as does alcohol. Even though they may display alcohol-filled chocolates, well they sell easily.

But coffee bean aromas are too strong for chocolate. No way will you find coffee beans in a chocolate shop. The delicate aromas of tea do not interfere with chocolate. Et voilà. Americans are just getting into fine dark single origin chocolate bars and fine teas are becoming more prevalent, so perhaps it's just a matter of time.

Thé et chocolat is waiting for you in Paris. I hope we won't have to wait too long till we can find this wonderful combination stateside. Meantime I'd like to be one of these théieres/teapots sitting in a chocolate shop gazing out at rue de Rennes.