Today was the War of the Roses chez moi. I had consumed, with great pleasure, Rose Congou by Upton Tea Imports and then thought I would try another rose tea at hand, TeaSpring’s Rose Keemun.
The verdict is in: we have two winners. Upton’s offering decidedly has the greater rose aroma and taste but TeaSpring’s Keemun tastes more like a deep, rich, cup of tea. Rose Keemun has a lot of rose petals in it and looks very attractive yet the dry leaves don’t have much of a rose aroma. They smell a bit smoky, but not like a Souchong. Steeped, the tea liquer is a deeply satisfying and delightful Keemun—somewhat smoky and very layered and nuanced as a tea. The tea hints of many flavors—rose is among them. If I had a blind tasting I don’t know that I would identify the “rose” but I would get right away that it’s a high quality Keemun of distinctive and delicious flavor. I know that the congou is a Keemun tea, but TeaSpring has more of a distinctively “keemuny” smoky taste than does the Upton congou.
This Rose Keemun also has a very attractive “price-point” as Donald Trump would say (why doesn’t he just say “price?”) and I will order more. TeaSpring is a speedy and reliable shipper of teas direct from China.
Preparation
Comments
I had thought that perhaps this was in the Shakespeare box and finally got a chance to check before I got crazy-excited. I am now crazy-excited!
I love the Rose Congou from Upton…
I had thought that perhaps this was in the Shakespeare box and finally got a chance to check before I got crazy-excited. I am now crazy-excited!
Now I want to try both of them! I have been looking at the Upton website for a long time. Maybe it is time to order….