Polo is a national sport in Argentina, as elegant as it is noble, and it is this world that Mariage Frères wished to evoke with Polo Club: a green maté from South America to which the house has given the perfume of its Marco Polo, flowers and fruit, with a gentle honeyed and vanilla touch.

Maté is not a tea but the leaf of a South American holly, dried and crushed, which has been drunk in Argentina since time immemorial. It has a frank, herbaceous bitterness, and it is this that meets here the house’s best-known fragrance. The list of ingredients includes maté and a flavouring; it appears in full on the tin and on this product sheet.

In the cup, the maté opens, vegetal and intense; then the velvety notes of flowers and fruit settle in, with honey and vanilla in the background, and the drink becomes indulgent without losing its liveliness. Mariage Frères speaks of a surprising variation on its must, which opens wide the taste horizons; let us say that it reconciles maté with those who found it austere.

Drink it in the morning or during the day, plain, and in summer iced: infuse with hot water, let it cool, then serve over ice cubes. It goes with a fruit breakfast or a light lunch, or is simply enjoyed on its own.

For preparation, use 3.5 g per 200 ml of water at 80 °C and steep for 5 minutes; water that is too hot would heighten the bitterness of the maté. Mariage Frères presents it in a mat pearlescent green tin, hand screen-printed, containing at least 80 g of flavoured green maté. The blend may contain traces of tree nuts. Polo Club is available from La Boutique du Thé, official Mariage Frères stockist since 1999, in Bordeaux and Nice.