On one side, ginger root, pungent and warm; on the other, liquorice root, with a powerful natural sweetness. This Ombelle blend rests entirely on the meeting of these two roots, which Indian tradition readily pairs, and which here answer each other with great precision.

The ginger comes from Nigeria, China and Peru, the liquorice from China and Uzbekistan. Cinnamon sticks, Egyptian and Turkish aniseed, ground coriander and cornflower petals complete the composition, entirely organic. Coriander, an umbellifer whose leaves and seeds are eaten, brings through its seeds a note that is both lemony and spiced.

The dry blend, golden and dotted with the blue of the cornflowers, smells of root and aniseed. The liquor is amber. The balance is successful: the frank warmth of the ginger is at once coated with the sweetness of the liquorice, the aniseed and cinnamon round the mid-palate, and the coriander slips in its lemony note at the finish. No sugar is added: the sweetness comes entirely from the liquorice root.

Naturally caffeine-free, it finds its place after a meal. For one litre: 15 to 20 g, water at 100 °C and five to ten minutes. For a single cup, three or four grams is enough. The longer it steeps, the more the liquorice asserts itself; those who prefer the ginger will stop at around five minutes.

It goes with shortbread biscuits, an orange salad, a few dates. A closed tin, stored in a dry place and in the shade of a cupboard, keeps its fragrance.