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.

The men behind Mariage Frères

In 1983, Henri Mariage’s grand-daughter, Marthe, took two young tea enthusiasts under her wing. Kitti Cha Sangmanee and Richard Bueno were determined to uncover all the secrets of grand teas. In a matter of years, working day and night, they created a whole new world by opening up the firm’s retail business. They pioneered the concept of a “house of French tea” that incorporated retail outlet, tea room, and museum—a typically French blend of commerce, taste, and intellect.

Today, “French tea” still implies non-stop creativity. Sangmanee, accompanied by Franck Desains, travels some 60,000 miles all across the globe every single year, tasting over 2,500 teas in a rigorous quest for the rarest of teas.

The two men constantly push deeper into terra incognita, seeking special conditions, rare species, or imaginative combinations of varieties from places like the Laotian jungle. This relentless quest has also meant fruitful contact with planters, yielding some wonderful new teas with evocative names such as Fleur de Darjeeling (Darjeeling Flower), Brumes d’Himalaya (Himalayan Mists), Opium Hill, and Thai Beauty. Connoisseurs recognize these teas as one-of-a-kind creations.

In fact, Sangmanee has produced several hundred blends of tea and tea-based products. He is veritable composer of teas, creating original harmonies like a musician, and every season he encourages the emergence of new varieties of tea in collaboration with the most reputable planters

source: Wickapedia