Eastern Nepal, a few valleys from Darjeeling, produces high-altitude black teas that are counted among the finest in the Himalayas. Mariage Frères has worked a confidential plot there, between 1,000 and 2,000 m, from which comes Gold Himalaya, a Grand Cru from the spring harvest, picked at the first flush.

The dry leaves are silver-brown buds edged with gold. They exhale a fruity note of custard apple and stewed guava, joined by a floral veil punctuated by vanilla. Once infused, the young leaves give a fragrance of roasted nut, lifted by a zest of bergamot. It is a plain black tea, with no additions whatsoever.

The liquor, in its amber-coral colour, offers an intense umami flavour, a scent of fig supported by a bouquet of mimosa, then round notes of vine peach and mountain honey, before a finish of white cherry. The malt is present but discreet, as befits a high-altitude spring; the astringency is low.

A tea of this rank is drunk plain, without milk or sugar, during the day, away from meals or with delicate dishes: white fish, fresh cheese, a lightly sweetened pastry. Lovers of spring Darjeeling will find in it a Nepalese cousin that is fruitier and rounder.

Allow 3.5 g for 200 ml of water at 95 °C and four minutes of infusion, no longer, to preserve the fruit. Gold Himalaya is weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, in sample sizes from 5 g to a kilo, and keeps in an airtight tin, away from light and odours.