Carambola is the star-shaped fruit, yellow or green, with sweet, lightly floral flesh, which is sliced to decorate desserts. Carambola, from Mariage Frères, scents a green tea from Colombia, in the “Thés de Colombie” collection, made up of teas, spices and fruits from that country.

The tea is grown on the slopes of the Andes Cordillera, under sustainable cultivation, on land nourished by the water of snow-capped peaks, which, according to the house, gives the leaves time to develop subtle, intense and fruity aromas. The ingredient list names tea, carambola and flavouring; the blend may contain traces of nuts. It appears in the catalogue under the Jardin Premier label.

The cup is luminous. The green tea gives a fresh, vegetal base and a clear liquor; the carambola brings a soft, slightly tart, faintly floral fruitiness, which is in no way harsh and recalls pear and white grape more than citrus. The whole is cheerful and rich in flavour, mirroring Colombia, and is drunk effortlessly.

It can be drunk at any time of day, plain, and accompanies a fruit salad, a lemon cake, a brunch. As an iced infusion it finds its full place: the carambola and the green tea make a fresh, tart summer drink, to be served over ice with a slice of the fruit itself.

Allow 2.5 g for 200 ml of water at 95 °C and three minutes of steeping, no longer. Carambola is weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from a 5 g sample to a kilo, in a bag designed to preserve its taste; afterwards, store it in a closed box, kept dry, as the pieces of fruit attract moisture.