December usually calls for spiced black teas. Mariage Frères has taken the opposite course with Noël Nouveau, a green tea that the house already describes as legendary: with its velvety, spiced and fruity aroma, it adds the gentle, floral plant notes of its leaf and a freshness that the house calls unmatched.

The composition reflects the indulgence of the blend: tea, flavouring, apple, cinnamon, almond, orange blossom, sunflower and cornflower. Almond is part of it, and the blend may contain traces of other nuts. In the dry state, the pieces of apple and the petals mingle with the green leaves, and the cinnamon is noticeable straight away, softened by the orange blossom.

The liquor is clear and fragrant. Apple and cinnamon open, like a warm tart; the almond brings a pastry-like roundness, the orange blossom a bright note. The green tea stays underneath, fresh, and keeps the spices from becoming heavy: this is a lively Christmas rather than an overpowering one, much lighter than a festive blend on black tea.

It is drunk in the afternoon, during the festive season and all winter, plain, with cinnamon shortbread, gingerbread, apple tart or simply an orange. Iced, it lets the apple and orange blossom shine through. Those who do not drink black tea will find their Christmas tea here.

It is offered loose leaf, weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from the 5 g sample to the kilo, or in the house’s iconic black metal tin, airtight and sealed, which holds 100 g of tea and comes in its gift box. Allow 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and three minutes of infusion: beyond that, the green tea would turn harsh.