In the nineteenth century, the orange was the eagerly awaited gift under the tree, a rare delicacy with a delicious flavour. Mariage Frères restores its role as an object of desire with Christmas Orange, a sweet black tea with notes of candied orange and spices, housed in a flamboyant collector's flask, highlighted in gold, with a double lid, containing 80 g.

The ingredients are tea, orange, cinnamon, sugar, starch and a flavouring; the blend may contain traces of nuts. Our page classes it as moderate in caffeine, and the house's catalogue lists it among its Jardins Premiers. Pieces of orange and cinnamon are scattered over the black leaf.

The liquor is round and luminous. The candied orange opens, sweet and zesty at once; the cinnamon brings the warmth of winter; the black tea supports the whole with a supple structure and a long finish. In the cup, it is the orange studded with cloves that people once hung in their homes, without the cloves.

It is drunk in the afternoon and in the evening, plain or with a cloud of milk, with shortbread, gingerbread, a Yule log, orangettes, or mendiants. It accompanies Advent teatimes and returns from walks in the cold, and lends itself to iced infusion for those who enjoy it out of season.

Allow 2.5 g for 200 ml of water at 95 °C and five minutes of steeping. The flask, which is airtight, should be kept closed, away from light, and remains a handsome object once empty. La Boutique du Thé, official stockist of Mariage Frères since 1999, offers it in its shops in Bordeaux and Nice.