Was, am, and always will be the macarons fan, while me discovering the cute chocolate shop Jean-Paul Hévin at côté cour, 231 Rue de Saint-Honoré, is one of the unexpected mini adventure when walking at Paris rive droite. After a group of American tourists’ shopping, the macarons set of 5, chocolate tablette, sachet palets lait and caramel chocolate bar are coming home with me.
Teatime in gloomy October with Jean-Paul Hévin from France, Jules Destrooper from Belgium and wild berry green tea from Finland, is the best remedy to stay in delight at very dark moments. Born in 1957, Jean-Paul Hévin, is a French manufacturer of high-end chocolate, who operates stores in Paris, Japan and Hong Kong, has been winning gourmet and pastry awards since 1979. The macarons set of 5, wrapped delicately with plastic stand on golden ribbon, offers crunchy texture but less level of sugar taste. With dark chocolate ganache, Normandy delivers the smell of coffee and sweet of caramel, Cremè Brûlée owns creamy vanilla biscuit and smooth bites, while Praline offers almond sprinkles and milky taste. Jean- Paul Hévin differs from Ladurée, is that the macarons ganache largely based on fine quality of cacao, could be up to minimum 74%; while even combining double-tone biscuits for each piece, the collection of macarons is in brownish hues rather than pinkish kawaii from Ladurée.
For the chocolate, I love Jean-Paul Hévin sachet palets lait milk chocolate (cocoa maximum 40%) together with macarons, the slim and cute packaging is easy to insert one or two in daily sac and supply my energy whenever I crave for. Chocolate tablette is a perfect souvenir idea, from plain milk to 81% of cocoa, there are various selection from Jean-Paul Hévin chocolate shop. I reserve cocoa 74% Trinidad/Ghana/Ecuador tablette for my teatime, which, the woody and spicy notes, fresh and fermented bean taste balanced and persistent in the mouth, is perfect with wild berry green tea.
In order to balance the sweetness and reduce the bitterness from macarons and cocoa, wild berry tea from Théhuone (tea house in Finnish) with ingredients of elderberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberry leaves provides breezy odor, fore the brewing boiled water only requiring 80 Celsius degrees after 4 minutes, perfect together with Jules Destrooper waffle biscuits, for the switch of light and airy taste. The special vanilla ingredients from Jules Destrooper butter waffle, is that Bourbon vanilla pods, originating from the biological cultivation of the vanilla orchid in Madagascar, releases much more flexible and soft smells than the generally dry pods you get from the market.
As for the porcelain to enjoy wild berry green tea with a spoonful of rose buds from Varna, Bulgaria, I go for Kaiser Porzellan, established from 1872, Germany, discovered at second hand shop in Helsinki, a 80 ml cup decorated with royal blue of bell flowers, on the edge of cup mouth glazed a copper golden trim. In Germany, most of teacups or saucers are made with hard porcelain. Its main characteristic consists of a high percentage of kaolin (50%) and feldspar icing, which only melts at a temperature of 1,400-1,500 Celsius degrees. This leads to an extraordinary hardness of the glaze, as well strength of the body of teacup or saucer itself. For the macarons and waffles, I match the Kaiser teacup with Lomonosov ceramic plates, in order to create a royal blue tone of tea table.
Teatime in October after Paris trip, is dark chocolate, wild berry, milky waffles, tiny porcelain with together dried roses in between.
