At 2,360 metres above sea level, a garden that Mariage Frères describes as charming produces the fine leaves of this Darjeeling Himalaya, which the house calls the summer's venerated tea and offers here in a box of thirty cotton muslins. Darjeeling, at the foot of the Indian Himalayas, produces some of the finest black teas in the world, and the summer flushes bring the roundness and muscatel note that enthusiasts seek.

The round, traditional muslin leaves room for the leaves to open and for the water to circulate, which respects a tea of this quality far better than a paper sachet. It is a plain black tea, with no added flavouring; the full list of ingredients is on the packaging and on this sheet, and the tea carries the Jardin Premier label in our catalogue.

The infusion is brilliant and flavourful, with a clear, amber liquor. The cup is fragrant and smooth, with that fruity roundness and those muscatel notes that define a summer Darjeeling; the tannins are present but fine, and the finish is long, a little sweet in appearance, without the slightest heaviness.

It is, according to the house, a great afternoon tea, the five o'clock tea. It is drunk plain, without milk or sugar, which would spoil its finesse, with scones, a fruit cake or a raisin tart. It also goes with a hard cheese. It is, however, too delicate for sweetened iced tea, but works well as an unsweetened cold infusion.

Allow 1 muslin per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and five minutes of infusion. The box contains 30 muslins, or 75 g of net tea; keep it closed, away from light and odours, to preserve the muscatel finesse.