Tea: A Debauve & Gallais Tradition

It all started with good taste. At the end of the 18th century, Sulpice Debauve – the son of a doctor and pharmacist to Louis XVI at Versailles, that was raised in the spirit of the Enlightenment, – had the ingenious idea of blending his medicinal remedies with cocoa and almond milk to soften their bitterness. This inspiration sparked a new kind of ‘healthful chocolate. ’Named Pistoles, these flat medallions captivated Marie Antoinette’s discerning palate. Debauve’s motto was born: UtileDulci — the art of combining the useful with the pleasurable.

At the same time, Debauve turned his attention to tea, a rare and precious commodity that was spreading throughout Europe at that period. This explorer of new flavours was ever passionate about innovation and chemistry. After having steeped cocoa in boiling water, it was only natural for him to experiment with infusing tea leaves to draw out their aromas.

The company imported its first, grands crus tea vintages from China and Ceylon, by caravan and by ship, before storing them in elegant black tin boxes with gold lettering.

Their coveted chromolithographs – the illustrated advertising cards that were all the rage in the 19th century – now featured fine Chulan jasmine tea, Padre Souchang with smoky notes, and other Pekoe teas composed of exquisite young buds with silvery tips, alongside their indulgent chocolates flavoured with almond milk, vanilla, or Persian salep.

Valued for their digestive and stimulating qualities, the teas spread throughout salons of the aristocracy and the haute bourgeoisie, who were enchanted by novelties from far-flung lands. A beverage of refinement and social distinction, it was served in fine porcelain in the afternoon or evening. When Proust penned about the memories triggered from dipping madeleines in tea, it became a lasting literary symbol. Favoured by Parisian elites, the Rue des Saints-Pères boutique cemented its reputation as a distinguished house, offering a carefully curated selection of pure and blended teas alongside its healthful chocolates. 

An exacting legacy

The entire tea collection has been thoughtfully reimagined, remaining as faithful as possible to the original recipes while bringing together modernity, excellence and tradition. Ever faithful to its roots, the company has shaped a collection dedicated exclusively to pure, unflavoured teas, in the spirit of those first offered in the 19th century.

Sourced from the finest tea plantations in the world, including those in Lai Châu Province in Vietnam and Kagoshima Prefecture in southern Japan, the leaves are meticulously sorted to eliminate even the slightest imperfections. In the blended teas, they are paired with pure ingredients – like Madagascar vanilla, French lemonthyme, and Egyptian green anise and fennel – whose notes range from floral and woody to malty. Each composition is crafted to the nearest milligram.

Among the 19 blends and single-origin teas in this new collection, discover Kagoshima green tea, a green tea with vegetal, maritimenotes, and Padre Souchong, a black tea from China’s Yunnan province, traditionally smoked over beechwood in France. Several signature blends pay tribute to thehouse’s history, including the eponymously named Debauve & Gallais: Ceylon black tea infused with cocoa husks and vanilla pods– emblematic ingredients in the company’s chocolates. Floral notes dominate the “Mélange Saints-Pères,” which combines black tea from India and green teas from Vietnam, scented with jasmine and lotus and enhanced with lavender, while a new recipe reimagines the traditional Earl Grey—dubbed “Earl Fersen”—by blending black tea from Nepal with Japanese yuzu.

Crafted with the same exacting standards, the infusions – featuring cocoa husks (Theobroma), tangy hibiscus (Infusion des Enfants), and a blend of lemon thyme, anise and fennel (Utile Dulci) – blend indulgence with wellbeing.

In keeping with the house’s pharmaceutical origins, the collection has been conceived to promote both physical and mentalwellbeing. Each tea’s key virtues are listed on their box, as well as guidance for ideal brewing temperature, type of water and infusion time. Thus, Chulan Fin au Jasmin, an energising and balancing tea, is well suited to mornings and early afternoons. Mélange Extra, a blend of dark tea and tonka bean, helps stimulate metabolism, while green rooibos with Japanese buckwheat boasts remineralising benefits. Equally suited to afternoon tea or accompanying a meal, the collection’s teas may be enjoyed warm, piping hot in a teacup, or, why not as a refreshing drink, served chilled over ice in a cocktail glass.  

With meticulous attention paid to every stage of production, from harvesting the leaves to the final packaging, the new Debauve et Gallais collection is housed in collectible, double-lidded iron boxesin the house’s signature dark greenwith gold lettering. Inside, the tea bags are crafted from sugar-cane fibre and free from bleached cotton strings or cardboard tags, ensuring the teas’ utmost purity.