A box speckled with white dots, like snowflakes, that has its place under the tree: Noël Rhapsody is recognised at first glance. Mariage Frères houses 30 traditional round cotton muslin tea sachets, net weight 75 g, in a festive and indulgent blend of white tea with the scent of Christmas brioche.

White tea is the most delicate of teas, a leaf that is barely processed, giving a pale, silky liquor with very discreet tannins. Here it carries a note of brioche, butter and gold, complemented by accents of candied fruit, for a rhapsody of enveloping notes, in the house’s words. The blend combines white tea, beetroot and flavouring; the blend may contain traces of nuts. The beetroot adds no taste: it gives the infusion its rosy colour, which, the house says, has all the shades of happiness.

In the cup, the liquor is rosy, clear and velvety. The brioche opens, warm and soft, then the candied fruit arrives, orange, citron, raisins, and the white tea holds it all with a roundness without sugar, with a long, tender finish. It is the scent of a December kitchen, on a Sunday morning.

An afternoon or evening tea, low in caffeine, drunk plain. It goes well, of course, with a brioche, a panettone, a stollen, but also shortbread, mandarins, or a light Yule log. It comes in its gift box, and is drunk throughout Advent.

Preparation calls for water at 85 °C, 1 muslin sachet per 200 ml, and seven minutes’ infusion: white tea needs time and cooler water to release its sweetness. The gift box keeps best closed, away from light and strong odours, so that the brioche stays fresh until the last sachet.