TeaThéTcha: A Great New Spot for Tea

Patrick Barbés has opened his terrific new comptoir de thé and salon de thé in the 13th eme near metro Glaciere. Tea lovers and tea salon fans will remember Patrick's lovely L'Artisan des Saveurs in the 6th which for many years served top quality pure and blended teas and irresistible patisserie, delicious weekend brunches, and lovely light lunches. Patrick took a couple of years off to write a book on fine tea. TeaThéTcha is the home of his welcome return to the Paris tea scene. He sells over 100 pure and blended teas and tisanes and serves an extensive selection from the major tea growing countries of the world. His ability to make deeply delicious patisserie (often with a tea flavor or component) has not diminished one bit during his hiatus. I visited the contemporary feeling, light, comfortable salon in late October and loved his seasonal patisserie that encompassed Pu Ehr flavored icecream atop a rich, buttery sable pastry, surrounded with cassis coulis and accompanied by three plump fresh figs that had been poached in cassis. Perfection on a plate. Attractive too! The tea Patrick recommended was a 'Grands Jardins' from China, Panyong D'Or, and it matched the fabulous dessert perfectly. Teas run 4.5 E to 5.5 E, patisseries run 5.5 to 7 E.

The salon du thé is open and serving tea and various patisserie, all made by Patrick, from 2:30 through 7 pm. You can stop in to buy tea from10 a.m. onwards. Closed Sundays. Metro: Glaciere, Bus #21 or #62. It is a short bus ride out from central Paris and worth every kilometre!