The name evokes mountain meadows, and some of the plants in the blend do indeed refer to them: lady’s mantle, whose pleated leaves hold a bead of water in the morning, centaury, and wild thyme from dry ground. Tisane des Cimes Tilleul Mélisse Bio brings them together around three gentler ingredients: apple, lemon balm and lime blossom.

The apple comes from Turkey, the lemon balm from Bulgaria, France or Morocco, and the lime blossom from Kosovo or Bosnia and Herzegovina. Then come elderberry, lady’s mantle, thyme, centaury, purple coneflower, cornflower flowers and sage. All ten ingredients were grown organically.

The dry blend, golden and flowery, smells of summer hay. The pale gold liquor combines the honey of lime blossom with the velvety lemon of lemon balm and the tender fruitiness of apple and elderberry. In the background, thyme and sage add a dry aromatic note, almost of rockery, that gives relief to the finish.

Caffeine-free, it accompanies evenings. It likes to take its time: twelve minutes at most, ten at least, in water that has reached 100 °C. One litre calls for 15 to 20 g, a cup a little over three, up to four. A drizzle of mountain honey suits it, as do a blueberry tart, a Savoy sponge or a piece of comté.

At home, an airtight tin, kept away from daylight and humidity, will keep its hay-loft scent intact.