A small insect fond of fresh sap is behind this tea. In the mountains of Guizhou, in south-western China, its bites trigger a natural micro-oxidation on the young leaves; juices develop and lend the liquor a gourmand character. Mariage Frères discovered this plain blue oolong during a journey and named it Kissed Blue Tea, the tea that has been kissed.

The tea bushes are over a century old, planted at more than 1,200 m above sea level and nourished by abundant rain and an even climate all year round. The young leaves, partially oxidised and edged with bluish shades, mingle with downy buds; dry, they release a bouquet of peony and shortbread. This is a plain oolong, with no added flavouring, and it contains none of the fourteen allergens that must be declared.

The liquor is a luminous amber. A note of fresh sap blends with white peach, punctuated by brown caramel; the infused leaves, of an imperial green, evoke a bilberry jelly spiced with rosewood. The house sums up the whole in two words: blue romance.

It is drunk plain, in the afternoon or in the evening, as our page classes it among the teas low in caffeine. It goes with a fruit pastry, butter biscuits, or can be enjoyed on its own, letting the cup cool a little so that the fruit can express itself. The whole leaves can take a second infusion.

Allow 3 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and seven minutes’ steeping, a long time that the leaf tolerates without bitterness. Kissed Blue Tea is weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from the 5 g sample to the kilo.