On 16 October 1997, a full moon day, Mariage Frères opened its house in Ginza, Tokyo. To celebrate this birth, the house created Étoile de France, a green tea that it describes as the essence of the French art of tea, the illustration of a know-how and an art of living.

The base is made of tender sencha green teas, to which the house adds noble spices, for a cup that, the house says, stands in fine balance between fresh vegetal character and spiced, vanilla and caramel richness. The ingredient list names tea and a flavouring; it appears in full on the packaging and on this page.

On the palate, the sencha opens, fresh and grassy; then the vanilla settles in, sweet, and the caramel gives it a pastry-like roundness that the spice lifts in the finish. The liquor is clear and fragrant, and the whole remains light despite its sweet notes: it is the freshness of green tea that holds the line. Brilliant, the house says, in a word.

It is drunk during the day, plain, and especially at teatime, with a Breton shortbread, a crème caramel, a madeleine, or on its own. It lends itself to an iced version, in which the vanilla becomes more discreet and the sencha more refreshing.

For preparation, allow 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and 3 minutes of infusion, the short time preserving the sweetness of the sencha. Étoile de France is sold loose: we weigh and pack it to order in our Bordeaux and Nice shops, from the 5 g sample to the kilo, in a pouch designed to preserve its aromas. It may contain traces of tree nuts and should be stored in an airtight container, away from light and strong odours.