Earl Grey is the perfumed afternoon tea par excellence, the classic blend with bergamot. Mariage Frères has transposed its scent onto a red rooibos, naturally caffeine-free, and calls the creation Rouge Earl Grey: a taste, the house says, as delicate and elegant as that of the original.

Rooibos is a shrub from South Africa whose oxidised needles give a russet infusion, sweet and low in tannins. The declared ingredients are red rooibos and aroma; the blend may contain traces of nuts. Dry, the bergamot is clearly perceptible, over a woody background.

The liquor is round and sweet, a deep russet. The bergamot opens, zesty and fresh, as in an Earl Grey, then the rooibos takes over with its woody and honeyed note, and the finish is soft, without the astringency of black tea. It can be left to steep for a long time without turning bitter.

This is the evening Earl Grey, for those who love bergamot but do not drink caffeine at the end of the day, and for children. It is drunk plain, or with a cloud of milk, which makes it a sort of caffeine-free London fog. It accompanies a lemon cake, shortbread or a pear tart. Steeped then cooled, it makes a fresh, caffeine-free iced drink.

Allow 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and five minutes of steeping. Rouge Earl Grey is weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from the 5 g sample up to one kilo, in a pouch designed to preserve its scent, and keeps in an airtight tin, away from light and odours.