Nakupenda means “I love you” in Swahili. It is the name Mariage Frères has given to a black tea from Malawi, in southern Africa, produced on a family plantation nestled at 1,150 m altitude and recognised, the house says, for the quality of its teas for three generations. It is a spring harvest, a first flush.

The climate is shaped by the rainy season, from November to March, and endemic tea bushes, adapted to this terroir, yield small-scale harvests. The young leaves, hand-picked, are quickly taken to the workshop to be processed. A plain tea, Nakupenda contains no additives, and the house’s file classifies it among its Jardins Premiers.

The long, twisted leaves, in shades of velvety jade and ebony, release notes of longan combined with the freshness of eucalyptus. Once infused, they recall an amber imperial green, with notes of lotus flower joined by candied citron. The liquor, amber gold, reveals roasted pear, echoes of cocoa and a hint of tonka bean. It is a round, malty, warm black tea, of rare originality.

It is drunk plain, during the day, at breakfast for those who enjoy a characterful tea without milk, or in the afternoon with a chocolate pastry, dried fruit or a poached pear. Lovers of Yunnan or summer Darjeeling will find an African cousin here.

Allow 2.5 g for 200 ml of water at 95 °C and only two minutes of infusion, as recommended by the house. Nakupenda is weighed and bagged to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from 5 g samples to 1 kg, and should be kept in an airtight box, away from light.