Tea Time

The simplest pleasure of the afternoon: golden scones broken in two, butter or clotted cream, and a generous spoonful of jelly. Dammann Frères’ Bella Blanca Tea Jelly, made from its white tea blend, brings herbaceous notes and a fruity touch of bergamot.

Cut into generous slices at teatime, this tender yogurt cake is sweetened with Hédène’s Coriander Honey from the Berry region, golden, creamy and smooth, with a fresh perfume and delicate notes of caramel and ripe fruit.

The loaf is still warm when the brush passes over it, and the top takes on a shining orange glow. Maison Perrotte’s Maltese Orange Jam, slow-cooked in a copper kettle, gives this everyday yogurt cake its bright, intensely citrusy glaze.

Fresh from the oven and still soft in the middle, each cookie gets a few crystals crumbled over it: Place des Épices’ smoked Maldon fleur de sel, pyramid-shaped with gentle smoky notes, sets off the dark chocolate.

Warm scones split open for butter and jam, a pot of black tea just poured, two little teapots on each saucer: Canasuc’s À la Bonne Heure Sugar Large, individually wrapped, carries the ritual of tea into the smallest details.

Pressed with a thumb and filled with a drop of rose, twenty little cookies turn golden at the edges for teatime: Confiserie Florian’s Rose Petals Jelly, handcrafted in the Alpes-Maritimes, releases the powerful aroma of its petals.

Little windows of melted candy glow like stained glass once the cookies cool: Berlingots Candies from Confiserie Florian, the Riviera confectioner founded in 1921, bring lime, rose, mandarin and strawberry to sixteen sugar cookies.

Grated carrots and cinnamon fill the kitchen with a breakfast smell, and Hédène’s Carrot Honey, a rare, biscuit-colored honey from the Gâtinais, fruity and lightly tart, sweetens these muffins with a surprising richness of flavor.

On a hot afternoon, six ice pops studded with crushed berries taste of fruit and tea at once: Dammann Frères’ 4 Fruits Rouges Tea N°4, a black tea flavored with cherry, raspberry, strawberry and red currant, freezes into a juicy, lively treat.

Bite into a warm cookie and a small pocket of melting chocolate appears, one of the Tropical Chocolate Squares from François Pralus hidden inside, 75% dark chocolate from ten origins, so no two cookies taste quite the same.

Golden at the edges, sandy in the middle, each cookie wears a few crystals that crunch before the butter melts: Les Terres Blanches’ Fleur de Sel Île de Ré, skimmed by hand at the end of the day, delicate and subtly mineral.

Eight golden wedges come out of the oven, and each one, broken open, shows melting chocolate and tart flecks of raspberry: Comptoir du Cacao’s Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bar, 72% cocoa, lets the bright berry lift the deep, bittersweet chocolate.