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I think its a rose tea kind of morning. I have been interested in this tea for a while, mainly because of the claim thtat the base tea is a high quality Chinese black from a region that I haven’t tried (Zhejiang). I’m assuming it is a Jinqu Hongmei because that seems to be the main black tea produced by this predominantly green tea region (found that out on Teavivre’s site, actually!) This company is British, so shipping was an issue, and they don’t offer samples or sample sizes (they also didn’t include any samples in the shipment). But when they offered a coupon and this tea was already on sale on top of that, I went ahead and bit the bullet.

The tea leaves are long, black, and wiry, which definitely looks promising. There are a surprising amount of rose buds in this blend; I kept thinking that I was going to scoop up some leaves with no rose bud in the scoop, but I kept getting roses. I happened to look at the little pamphlet that came with the tea (I almost didn’t because at least one side of it is filled with “health benefit” information") so I did see that they call for black teas to be brewed at 85°C. I don’t think I’ve ever brewed a black below 195°F/90°C, so that’s what I used this time.

The steeped tea smells rosy and chocolatey. Mmmm. Yeah, this black tea has serious chocolate notes to it. The flavor is quite nice, although I can tell you right now that next time I am trying it a nearly if not actually a full boil. It’s a tad thin, but I think its the cool temp more than anything else. It’s slightly sweet, with cocoa and cereal notes to it. The rose is fairly light and seems to blend in with the whole taste of the sip. It’s noticeable if you look for it, but I also can be convinced that I’m not actually drinking a rose-scented tea. Normally I would want more rose, but somehow this one works so well I am pleased anyway. Quite tasty, and I am excited to play around with the 50g I have of this.