Being in rural Maine where our options for tearooms and French pastries are limited, one must either make it yourself, travel, or order online! Enter my dilemma on finding good macarons.
In the small circles I travel in, one never finds macarons. Perhaps there are sellers in the Portland area, but I’m only down there once a month and it’s usually after business hours. The best tasting macarons I’ve had to date we’re from Betty’s Tearoom in York, England. I recall I ate the entire small box in one sitting. But Betty’s is in England…
I decided to order macarons online to get a flavor (so to speak) of what kind of quality I could find on the World Wide Web.
Three online companies were selected: two through Etsy and one off their own website.
- Company A in Miami, FL: arrived four days after ordering. Beautifully packaged with a gel pack inserted into insulated envelope to keep cool inside shipping box. $33.87 for 12.
- Company B in Lexington, KY: arrived six days after ordering. Nicely packaged with a gel pack inserted into insulate envelope to keep cool inside shipping box. $33.23 for 10.
- Company C in Rochester, NY: arrived seven days after ordering. Poorly packaged using cling wrap with no gel pack to keep cold. $27.30 for 10.
Obviously, after receiving the first two orders with terrific packaging and cool packs, the third was a big disappointment.
The most important factor would be how they tasted and there was a clear, over-the-top-fantastic winner: La Petite Délicat.
Their Etsy storefront provides only two options of mixed varieties which is where I purchased my 10 pack, but their website offers custom boxes that are baked to order.
Company A had good macarons, but the flavor in the filling was quite bland. Company C appeared to have sent me old macarons. They were tough and crumbly – neither attribute is attractive in a macaron.
The flavor and texture of the La Petite Délicat macaron was amazing! Light, with a slight crust on the outside and the fillings for every individual maracon was outstanding. They actually tasted like what they were called, where the other two companies had very bland , or almost non-existent filling flavor.
Yes, I KNOW I can make my own. But with a shaky hand and never having good luck with piping bags, why go though the hassle, cost, and disappointment of trying and trying to make them myself when someone else in Kentucky has already perfected the process and created something so good?
Yes, the shipping charges are a bit much, but I am now willing to pay a little extra for some special, tasty treats when I would like to indulge from time to time with my tea. And I will surely be ordering from La Petite Délicat again!
A macaron (pronounced mack-a-ROHN) is a confection made up of two round, flat, almond-flour-based cookies sandwiching an emulsified filling like ganache or jam. Any variation in color or flavor is simply a variation in the filling, plus some food coloring added to the shells.
A macaroon (two os; pronounced mack-a-ROON) is a mounded cookie made with shredded coconut and often dipped in chocolate.
Tea, Travel & Brain Aneurysm Awareness 
