Tea break at Le Café Kousmichoff

Not quite high tea, but good enough. I met a friend, who is a very good designer and photographer, for tea this morning. It ended up being lunch at Kusmi Tea on the Champs-Elysées. I've walked passed the Kusmi Tea store  a few times but only recently learnt that this is their flagship store in Paris, and en plus, that there is a tea house with a terrace beyond the colourful tea canisters displayed in the store.
It does not have the old world feel of Mariage Frères with its wood panelled interiors and that slightly sultry feel to it. In fact Le Café Kousmichoff  is just the opposite - bright decor, Havana-inspired (or is it communist-era inspired?) prints on the wall and an interesting mix of old school black and white photographs. I 'turned tourist' on the waiters and went about taking pictures here, there and everywhere as they tried to get our orders.
As per the blurb at the back of the menu: "Café Kousmichoff offers Franco-Russian fare which is a tribute to the history of Kusmi Tea founded in St.Petersburg in 1867 by Pavel Kousmichoff and established in Paris since 1917."

It serves a mixed menu of patisseries, light salads and even lighter meals of and fish with vegetable dishes. There is a menu du jour which on this day was  a delicious chicken and pepper tart -sorry no pictures, was too busy talking.
I am a coffee person, but I do enjoy the ritual involved in brewing tea. Those colourful teapots displayed  may just turn me into a tea drinker yet. They do serve coffee and have a fully stocked bar, or at the very least vodka from the bottles I saw lining the shelves - unlike Mariage Frères which does not deviate from the strictly tea only from its hot beverage menu.
Do make reservations before you go - We were there early but by the time we ate lunch, the place was packed.

Le Café Kousmichoff
71 Avenue des Champs Elysées
75008 Paris