Teatime on a sunny day, with a window open: Provence in Love was made for that moment. Mariage Frères has composed this tea from its In Love collection as a tribute to the Midi landscapes dear to the Impressionists, and housed it in a lavender-blue case edged in gold containing 30 round cotton muslin tea sachets, sewn in France, 75 g in total.

The base is an oolong tea, a partially oxidised leaf, midway between green and black, which gives a round, low-tannin cup. On this base the house combines a red fruit aroma and lavender flowers picked in Provence. The declared ingredients are tea, rose petals, blue flowers, flavouring and Provence lavender; the blend may contain traces of tree nuts.

The liquor is clear and fragrant. Red fruit comes first, sun-filled, then the lavender settles in, floral and a little peppery, never taking over as it might in a cloth bag. The oolong holds everything in a soft roundness, light in caffeine, and the finish remains floral.

It goes well with a red fruit tart, calissons or honey biscuits. Plain is preferable, so as not to mask the flowers. Infused then chilled, it becomes a very pleasant summer iced tea, to which a slice of lemon adds a little lift.

Allow one cotton muslin tea sachet per 200 ml of water at 95°C and five minutes of steeping. Keep the case closed, away from kitchen odours, which would cling to the lavender. La Boutique du Thé has been the Official Mariage Frères stockist since 1999.