An apple tart coming out of the oven on a December Sunday, the cinnamon, the vanilla: Rooibos Pomme d’Hiver Vanillée Bio takes up these ingredients, on a base of natural rooibos from South Africa.

The apple appears twice: in fragments, sourced from Turkey, and in pieces, sourced from Germany. The cinnamon too, since the cinnamon sticks are joined by Ceylon cinnamon, Cinnamomum verum, a species native to Sri Lanka, finer and more floral. The vanilla itself is accompanied by natural vanilla flavouring and natural green apple flavouring. Plants and fruits are, as always at Ombelle, organic.

The dry blend, copper and blond, smells of pastry. The reddish-brown liquor opens on soft, almost cooked apple; the Ceylon cinnamon follows, warm without harshness, and the vanilla wraps the whole in a soft veil that unites the cup. The rooibos, in the background, brings its woody base.

Naturally caffeine-free, it is made for winter afternoons and festivities. For a one-litre family teapot, 15 to 20 g; for one cup, 3 to 4 g. The water must boil (100 °C) and the blend steep for seven, eight, up to ten minutes. With a cloud of warm milk, it takes on the texture of a dessert; it goes with a tarte Tatin, baked apples, gingerbread and small cinnamon shortbread.

Weighed to order, it also slips into a festive basket. Store it in a closed tin, in a dry place, in a cupboard.