Medium-sized leaves, rich in tips, those pale buds that mark fine harvests: Darjeeling Orange Valley from Mariage Frères is a plain black tea of grade FTGFOP1, from the first harvest, that of spring. The house describes it as a tea of great quality, and makes it a great tea for the day.

The grade says it all about the leaf: Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, first choice, that is to say whole, fine leaves with a fine proportion of golden buds. The composition is simply black tea. The tea appears in the catalogue under the Jardin Premier label; as the vintage is not specified, we do not state it.

The cup is flowery, clear and bright, a light, amber colour. A spring Darjeeling is the lightest of black teas: little oxidised, almost green in places, it gives a fresh, floral liquor, with that fruity roundness and muscatel accents that our catalogue highlights and that make the reputation of the appellation. The tannins are fine, the astringency light and clean, the finish long.

It is drunk throughout the day, plain, without milk or sugar, which would mask it. It accompanies a light breakfast, a fish lunch, a white-fruit pastry, or is enjoyed alone, in the afternoon, for its own sake. The leaves are happily infused a second time.

Allow 3.5 g per 200 ml of water at 90°C and three minutes of infusion: the slightly lowered temperature and short time respect the finesse of a spring tea. Darjeeling Orange Valley is weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from the 5 g sample to the kilo, in a bag designed to preserve its taste; then keep it in an airtight container, away from light.