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Sipdown, 219. I got this as a sample with my last Verdant order and decided to try it today. I actually have never tried a flowering tea because I am a tad scared of them. Leaving tea in the water long enough to actually open sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. But I will try this one because it’s Verdant.

I am using my 12oz glass mug for this one. I heated my water and poured it in over the little ball, and then my boyfriend and I watched it slowly unfurl. After a while , when I could see the pink amaranth flower reasonably well, I sniffed and was surprised by an aroma of… well, pretty much green tea. No florals that I could detect. I took a tenative sip and yeah, I don’t get any jasmine here at all. I started sipping it, as it continued to unfurl. The liquor does have an amazingly smooth, thick mouthfeel. The flavor is vegetal, a little grassy, a bit buttery and perhaps a touch sweet. Eventually it fully opened and I started seeing the white jasmine flower as well, then finally the ball of tea sank, but the amaranth flower refused and popped off, still floating. When I poured in more water, perhaps I was not gentle enough because the amaranth flower began to come apart. Also, I don’t know if this is part of the design or not, but now it is on a crazy jasmine flower tether to the tea ball at the bottom, while it floats at the surface. The photos of it expanded on Verdant’s site don’t show it doing that, so perhaps mine was just special. Here’s a photo of my cup for those who are interested: http://flic.kr/p/e2pNw4

The second steep is definitely sweeter, a little more honeyed. I think I was misled by the description that this is a “green jasmine” tea in the name. It is a decently tasty green tea, but I didn’t get any jasmine from it, and its not something I would go out of my way for. Like I said this was my first flowering tea, so it may be that this one is great as a showpiece for people who like to have them for parties and such, because it still tastes good once its done blooming.