The Bhubrighat garden was founded in 1892 on the plains of Assam, on the border with Bangladesh. Its name comes from the bhubri, a local fruit that grows abundantly in the surrounding forests and that boats come to load at the ghat, the river landing stage. The plantation blends into dense and lush vegetation, and Mariage Frères selects from it this natural black tea in the FTGFOP1 grade.

The whole leaves, lightly twisted, are rolled with precision; their dark obsidian tone catches the light with a few silvery glints. The grade, Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe first choice, indicates a fine harvest, rich in buds. The nose is woody and recalls gingerbread.

On infusion, a sweet note of roasted cocoa bean comes before the liveliness of crushed citrus leaf; notes of prune and candied fig assert themselves once the heat has dissipated. The liquor, amber with blood orange red glints, suggests cocoa butter infused with spices, and the malty, woody tannins blossom into the richness of a hazelnut praline. An Assam of great class, structured and smooth at once.

It is a morning tea, for a full breakfast, plain for those who enjoy malt without embellishment, or with a cloud of milk, which suits it very well. It also accompanies a winter afternoon snack, a gingerbread or a dark chocolate.

Allow 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and four minutes of steeping. Bhubrighat is weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from 5 g samples up to one kilo, and keeps in an airtight tin, away from light.