Paris tea masters Mariage Frères are opening a five-storey tea emporium in Covent Garden

Gavin Hanly 03 September 2018

Updated 3/9/18 with opening date and soft launch offer

What: Mariage Frères

In a nutshell: Luxury tea house comes to London

Summing it all up: France's oldest tea emporium has been operating in Paris since 1854. Now legendary tea company Mariage Frères is coming to London. They'll be offering up five storeys of tea-based wonder in Covent Garden.

The low-down

There may be a sense of coals to Newcastle about the news that a new French tea emporium is opening its first London branch in Covent Garden - but this is very special tea we're talking about. Mariage Frères has been in Paris since 1854, and has been exported across the world - but until now it's only been available in Selfridges and high-end hotels like Claridge's in the UK - so we can expect something pretty special.

They're taking over a five-storey Georgian house in Covent Garden - and here's what's on offer...

The ground floor is the Comptoir de Thé - the tea shop that will have nearly 1,000 varieties of rare teas, from 36 countries, all displayed in their bespoke tins from floor to ceiling in what'll be the longest tea wall in the world. We're pretty sure you'll find tea to suit your tastes.
And if you can't wait to get the tea home, head to the first floor Salon de Thé, which will be open all day - for breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. The kitchen will turn out dishes using tea as inspiration and ingredient. We're promised dishes like "houmous-style butternut squash and Vert Provence® tea with shrimp and orange zest, chickpeas and pomegranate glaze" or "Thai style seared beef tartar with coriander and Lune Rouge Tea" and for dessert, "dark chocolate gateau flavoured with Black Magic Tea, wrapped in gold leaf with a fleur de sel caramel core and red currant coulis". We imagine the afternoon tea will be pretty special.
Head up one more level to the Musée du Thé for tea antiques from around the world - with all manner of caddies, canisters, teapots, tea chests and more.
And finally, if you like to keep tea time to yourself - the fourth and fifth floors have private dining rooms for 30 seated and 50 standing - one of which has its own terrace.

So if you or someone in your life is a little tea-obsessed, you'll know where to bring them.

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