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Chef Anne-Sophie Pic releases a new collection of teas that smell good of Japan

Three stars in the Michelin Guide, chef Anne-Sophie Pic, who has just inaugurated her wax statue alongside pastry chef Pierre Hermé, is getting into tea! Born from his meeting with Maki Maruyama from the Jugetsudo tea house, this astonishing collection reflects his culinary imagination, which likes to combine new flavors and compose with the complexity of acid, bitter and iodized tastes. In fact, this great tea drinker, who discovered Matcha tea during a trip to Japan when she was 20, does not hesitate to use Japanese green teas in her cooking.

On the menu of the collection? Five blends, which combine tea with its favorite ingredients:

– Genmaicha &geranium rosat:an "obvious" pairing for Anne-Sophie Pic, who worked it in her dessert "Wild strawberries, light cream, Genmaicha tea, coconut and geranium rosat". The slight bitterness of green tea meets the floral of rose geranium. Yum!

– Sencha &smoked vanilla:Sencha tea, the most common in Japan, is very green and develops aromas of iodine and cut grass. A slightly bitter structure, long in the mouth, broken up here by the woody notes of smoked vanilla.

– Genmaicha &tonka:with a deep taste that combines the vegetal side of Japanese green tea and the roasted note of puffed rice, Genmaicha is here associated with Tonka bean, with vanilla notes and aromas of undergrowth. Ideal for lovers of gourmet teas!

– Hojicha &cubeb:Hojicha tea is a roasted green tea, which gives it woody and toasted flavors, which also evoke coffee and which are mixed with the iodized notes specific to Japanese green tea. Cubed, a spice native to India, brings a minty freshness to the blend.

– Bohojicha &café des monts amaro:Bohojicha tea, also roasted, has flavors of cereals. It is paired here with a refined Arabica coffee grown in Ethiopia which develops aromas of red fruits, flowers and liquorice.

> Available at Anne-Sophie Pic's Épicerie de Valence, at the Jugetsudo tea house in Paris and on the online store www.anne-sophie-pic.com

> Price:14.90 euros each