Hops are best known for beer, to which they owe their bitterness and part of their aroma. The cones used are the female flower clusters of a climbing plant of the Cannabaceae family. In this evening herbal infusion, its flowers come from France and Germany.

Egyptian fennel is the first ingredient, followed by nettle from Ukraine, Slovakia, Bulgaria and France, then lemon balm. The recipe, made from organic farming, also includes candied ginger with raw cane sugar, rose petals, whole vervain, hop flowers, aronia, immortelle flowers, star anise and cornflower blossoms. Immortelle, with its dry yellow flowers, and star anise, star-shaped, each bring a distinctive aromatic note. Aronia, a small dark berry, adds a fruity touch.

Before infusion, green and golden, it offers a herbal nose with honeyed notes. The liquor is blonde. The delicate bitterness of hops, which faintly recalls a blonde beer, is balanced by the citrus of lemon balm and vervain, and by the anise-like roundness of fennel and star anise. The finish remains light.

Caffeine-free, this infusion is drunk in the evening. Its original taste will please curious palates, and in particular lovers of craft beers, who will find a familiar note in it. It accompanies a pressed-curd cheese, walnuts or an apple tart.

A 20 centilitre cup requires about 3 g, a one-litre teapot 15 to 17 g. The water must be boiling (100 °C), and the infusion should last seven minutes or a little more, without exceeding ten. Store it in an opaque, tightly closed tin, as hop flowers are sensitive to light.