The Ethelwold garden, in Assam, produces this black tea, which Mariage Frères offers in the GBOP grade, Golden Broken Orange Pekoe: a leaf deliberately broken by the grower, dotted with golden tips, for a more intense expression of flavour. Assam, the Brahmaputra valley in north-east India, is the home of the most full-bodied and malty black teas in the world.

The leaves are ebony black, with those pretty golden tips that mark the buds. This is a natural tea, with no added flavouring; the full list of ingredients appears on the packaging and on this sheet, and it carries the Jardin Premier label in our catalogue. The broken leaf infuses quickly and strongly, hence a short steeping time.

The infusion is dense, with brown tones of forest honey, and promises a coppery, rich liquor. The texture is both velvety and fleshy, depending on the house, and there are indulgent notes of black plum confit and roasted cocoa bean, over a dense malt base that is the signature of Assam. The character is full-bodied, the tannins present, and the finish long and warming.

This is a morning tea par excellence, to be drunk plain by lovers of strength, or with a splash of milk in the English manner, which brings out its malty roundness. It holds its own against a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and marmalade, and also makes a good brunch tea. It takes sugar without losing its balance.

Allow 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and only two minutes of infusion: the broken leaf gives up everything quickly, and beyond that the astringency would take over. Ethelwold GBOP 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 flavour.