Mariage Frères

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Mariage Frères is one of the finest well- known French tea companies, based in Paris. It was officially founded on June 1, 1854.

[edit] Origins

In 1660, the Compagnie des Indes and Louis XIV appointed Nicolas Mariage, a specialist in and traveler to the Persian countries, to convince the Shah of Persia into commerce with France and their products. At the same time, his brother Pierre Mariage, is sent as a special envoy to Madagascar for this same purpose.

More than a century later, one of Pierre's descendants, Jean-François Mariage is head of a colonial commercial company of tea, spices and food products based in Lille. In 1820, Jean-François's three sons, Aimé, Charles, Auguste and Louis, established a family firm. In 1845, Aimé and Auguste opened in Paris, another firm, now called Auguste Mariage et Compagnie, on rue du Bourg-Tibourg. On June 1, 1854, Aimé's sons, Henri and Édouard, started the first importer of French tea in the same building.

In the following years, Mariage Frères became well known as the most important purveyor of tea and its products for tea houses, hotels and for the Parisian high society during the Second Empire.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Today

In the 1980's, after its previous decade of somewhat decay due to financial troubles, the first Mariage Frères store in Paris opened on 3 bis rue du Cloître Saint-Merry, now closed. The store will eventually be transferred to its historic headquarters on 30 rue du Bourg Tibourg.

One of Mariage Frères main particulars is that it has never advertised its products in any of the countries which imports their teas. Mariage Frères tea is now available for sale in various high-end stores throughout the US and in some online boutiques.