English Rose

I loved the rose flavoring here. Saturated and sweet rather than a perfume that goes straight to the head. Worked really well with the leathery-malty base tea which made a very bold but not tannic cup. In my experience, almond milk drowns tea, but here, a good dash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk made it even better! Thanks, g <3

August Sipdown Prompt – a teabag tea

I am really shocked.

I received these teabags in a card from gmathis yesterday afternoon. Many thanks!

I made a small pot of tea using both teabags, boiling water and a little over three minutes.

I was delighted to bring to my lips a cup of tea that smelled so good that I am plotting to acquire more of this.

The base tastes and smells like a good quality of tea was used; without astringency, it still has a light sweet orange smell so India or Kenya maybe for the origin of the base. The rose…well, they got it just right. It is not oily or perfume-y, it isn’t overpowering, it is well balanced with the base, and it adds just the right amount of rose sweetness and florality. No bubble bath here.

Not kidding, I am immediately googling where to buy this for the teens who come here and love to drink rose tea, something I am very nearly out of completely after years of having four different ones on shelf.

Simply because the weather forecast was beastly hot and boiling-oil humid, I opted not to bring any bagged or loose tea along on our quick road trip to central Kansas. And then after I thwapped myself on the forehead (what was I thinking?) we landed at a very large Dillons (Kroger offspring) that had several of the Kroger Private Selection teas on sale.

At $2.19 a box, I didn’t expect a lot, especially since I fridge steeped it overnight in a hotel room foam cup. So the resulting chilled morning cuppa was a really pleasant surprise: a decent base tea with enough rose to live up to its name without tasting perfumey or artificial. I liked it so much that way, I put another quart in our fridge as soon as we dribbled home.

As I have continued to sipdown teas without making any purchases, a lot of “staple” flavors have been disappearing from my cupboard… rose black tea being one. So when I saw these teabags at my local grocery, I didn’t have high hopes, but thought it would be better than nothing.

My expectations were completely blown away by these, though! The black tea base has a much nicer flavor than I’m used to from grocery store blacks, having that rich, slightly smoky and slightly leathery flavor of a Keemun, with brassy-malt undertones. The rose fairly strong… it is perhaps a bit oily/artificial but I really love the flavor and like my rose teas on the strong side. I imagine those that do not have my floral grit could find this “perfumy” or “soapy.” It’s not as good as naturally scented rose petal tea, but for a cheaper and more easily accessible option, I’m really pleased with the flavor. It’s been great both as a warm morning pick-me-up-cup and coldbrewed in the fridge and gulped down as chilled tea.

I’m a big fan of most anything floral in my tea so this was just lovely. Would definitely add to my pantry once I make some space!