In the “Les Calligraphies du Thé” collection, each tin bears the word “tea” written in the language of a country, and each tea is its portrait. Corée, Thé de l’Aube is the Korean version: a lacquered and screen-printed metal tin containing 100 g of scented green tea, in homage to the Land of the Morning Calm, its woodblock-print landscapes and its palaces.

The green tea is blended with fruity and hesperidic notes, and with real yuzu, whose peppery and slightly tangy accents the house highlights. The declared composition is tea, flavouring, yuzu, vanilla and blueberry, with possible traces of nuts. The house’s Jardin Premier label appears on this tea.

The liquor is clear and fragrant, and the house describes it with an enveloping, soft, honey-like smoothness. The yuzu brings zesty freshness with a touch of pepper, the fruit lingers, the vanilla rounds off the finish, and the green tea keeps the whole fresh and luminous. Nothing sour or bitter, provided the steeping time is respected.

It is an everyday tea, drunk plain, at lunch, with a Korean or Japanese dish, marinated fish, or in the afternoon with a citrus dessert. Steeped and then chilled, it makes a very successful yuzu iced tea.

Allow 2.5 g of leaves per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and three minutes of steeping. La Boutique du Thé, official stockist of Mariage Frères since 1999, offers Corée, Thé de l’Aube in its shops in Bordeaux and Nice; once the tin is opened, keep it closed, dry and away from light.