A dark chocolate dessert, a caramel heart and a blackcurrant coulis, all covered in 24-carat gold leaf: Carré d’Or is a gourmet icon of Mariage Frères’ tea rooms, and the house has turned it into a tea. Carré d’Or, the tea, carries those rich flavours of chocolate, caramel and red fruit onto a black tea, and the house promises that the cup becomes dessert.

The declared composition is tea, sugar and flavouring, with possible traces of nuts. The presence of sugar, rare in the house’s teas, embraces the pastry-chef spirit. It comes in a tall tin with a double lid, chocolate and red with gold accents, containing 80 g of black tea.

The liquor is round and a deep amber. Dark chocolate gives the base, caramel the sweetness, and red fruit, blackcurrant leading, a acidity that keeps the whole from becoming heavy. The black tea keeps a supple structure, and the finish is gourmand, sweet and chocolatey. A dash of milk brings it close to a hot chocolate; served plain, it remains a tea, but a dessert tea.

Drink it in the afternoon, at teatime, as a dessert or with a light dessert such as red fruit or an almond tuile. It suits lovers of gourmand teas who want to follow the idea all the way. The tin makes it a festive gift.

Use 2.5 g of leaves per 200 ml of water at 95°C and steep for five minutes. La Boutique du Thé, official stockist of Mariage Frères since 1999, offers Carré d’Or in its shops in Bordeaux and Nice. Once opened, keep the tin tightly closed, dry and away from light.