Leaves of a beautiful glossy black, mingled with luminous golden buds carefully preserved: this is what you discover on opening the packet of Rukeri. This black tea comes from a small high-altitude plantation in Rwanda, favoured by steep slopes, volcanic soil and artisanal expertise. Mariage Frères offers it plain, to rediscover black tea in a new way.

The OP1 grade, Orange Pekoe first choice, denotes a whole leaf, long and rolled, picked young. East Africa is known for its broken teas intended for blends; a whole leaf of this grade, with its buds, is rare there, and that is what makes this cru special.

On the nose, a malty scent develops, with wafts of ylang-ylang. The liquor, coppery, with a crystalline sheen, releases on a soft, supple base hints of red fruit, followed by a woody trace of ebony. The palate fills with round, caramelised notes, and the persistence lingers on a finish of dried banana. A black tea without harshness, yet with relief.

It is a tea for the day, from breakfast to afternoon tea. It is drunk plain, and easily supports a splash of milk and a sweet accompaniment: a brioche, a honey cake, dried fruit. With dark chocolate, the caramel and cocoa pairing is very right.

Allow 3.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and three minutes of infusion, a slightly more generous dose than usual for a whole leaf. Rukeri OP1 is weighed and packed to order in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice, from the 5 g sample up to the kilo, and keeps in an airtight tin, away from light.