A lovely memory of an Indian summer, says the house. Bloomfield is a summer harvest Darjeeling, the second flush of 2024, lot DJ73, graded SFTGFOP1, that is to say the highest grade of whole leaf, rich in golden tips. Mariage Frères has selected it from its garden selections, and the house file lists it among its Jardins Premiers.

The second flush is, in Darjeeling, the June harvest, after the first rains: the leaf has matured, and the tea gains roundness and fruit what it loses in greenness. The dry leaves of Bloomfield are fine and intact, with a satiny sheen in mahogany tones. Plain tea, it contains no additives.

Once infused, the leaves release a charming fragrance, with soft notes of muscovado, mingled with the caramelised sweetness of a quince tarte Tatin. The liquor, amber, has garnet glints; it develops a complex scent of rosewood and roasted cocoa bean, and its tannins, perfectly balanced, give the palate the sensation, says the house, of a velvet fabric. One recognises the fruity roundness and the muscat accents typical of Darjeeling summers.

It is drunk plain, without milk, during the day, outside meals or with delicate cooking, poultry, a mild cheese, a fruit pastry. It is also a five o’clock tea, in the English sense. Do not keep it too long: a vintage is best enjoyed within the year.

Allow 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and three minutes’ steeping, no longer. Bloomfield is weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from the 5 g sample to the kilo, and keeps in an airtight container, away from light and odours.