At the hour of time for oneself, when the city swaps its colours here for caressing shadows, and there for its thousand lights, the Moon accompanies the strolls: it is on this image that Mariage Frères has built Rouge Pleine Lune, a red rooibos that is naturally caffeine-free, soft and velvety, to which it lends the sophisticated scents of almond, spices, with clove at the fore, and exotic fruits.

It was born from a commission by the City of Paris, for which the house created indulgent and prestigious blends, full of charm and poetry, for the morning, the afternoon and the evening. In June 2014, during her official visit, Élisabeth II received them as gifts from the hands of the Mayor of Paris, and this evening rooibos was among them.

The ingredients are red rooibos, hazelnut, almond, cinnamon, clove, cornflower and flavouring: hazelnut and almond are therefore part of the recipe, and the blend may contain traces of other nuts. Rooibos, a shrub from South Africa, gives a russet infusion that is low in tannins.

The liquor, a deep russet, opens on almond and hazelnut, pastry-like and sweet; the exotic fruit then adds its roundness, and the cinnamon as well as the clove warm the finish with restraint. It is drunk plain, preferably in the evening, or with a splash of milk, alongside an almond galette, dried fruit or a square of milk chocolate. Being caffeine-free, it can be shared with the family.

Rouge Pleine Lune is available loose leaf, weighed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from the 5 g sample to the kilo, and in a 100 g box, black metal, airtight and sealed, presented in its gift tin. Allow 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and five minutes of infusion.