The journey begun with Thé sur le Nil continues here with rooibos. Nil Rouge flavours an enveloping red rooibos with citrus, lemongrass, Oriental spices and marigold flowers, for a taste that Mariage Frères describes as both soft and brilliant, made for dreaming of distant lands late into the evening.

Rooibos is not a tea: it is a shrub from South Africa, naturally caffeine-free, whose needles give a russet infusion that is lightly woody and low in tannins. The declared ingredients are red rooibos and flavouring, to which the tin adds marigold flowers; the blend may contain traces of nuts. It carries the house's Jardin Premier label.

The liquor, a amber red, is round and soft. Citrus and lemongrass come first, fresh and luminous, and provide the brightness; the Oriental spices follow discreetly behind and warm the finish; the rooibos wraps everything in its roundness. A sunny rooibos, without sugar, with none of the blandness sometimes attributed to this plant.

This is an evening cup, for when you want the scent of Thé sur le Nil but no caffeine. It is drunk plain, or with a drizzle of honey, and goes well with an Oriental pastry, dates, an orange salad or a lemon tart. Iced, with a slice of lemon, it makes a summer drink that young and old alike enjoy.

Nil Rouge is sold loose leaf, weighed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, in samples of 5 g up to 1 kg, in a case of 30 traditional round cotton muslin tea sachets (75 g), and in a black airtight metal tea tin of 100 g, presented in its gift box. Allow 2.5 g or one muslin sachet per 200 ml of water at 95°C, and five minutes of steeping. Keep it closed, away from light and strong odours.