Rose Petal Tea

Today's taste test tea is Rose Petal Tea.  This tea was gifted to me by my brother, David, and sourced from Mecca Coffee Company, of Tulsa Oklahoma.

Drinking rose petals in tea may have originated in China. Rose tea is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), where it is used to regulate qi, or life energy. TCM considers rose tea a potential remedy for

  • Stomach and digestive problems
  • Fatigue and improving sleep
  • Irritability and mood swings
  • Menstrual cramps and menopausal symptoms
There are few western studies of the benefits of rose petal tea.  Rose petals are high in Vitamin C.

I made 4 cups using the Assam tea press and the black tea setting or boiling, on the smart kettle.  I did a 4 minute brew time.  Other than the 2nd iced tea serving, each serving had 1 teaspoon of white sugar in the cup.

This tea has a strong scent of rose while brewing.  It's quite strong, almost overpowering. 

1st sip:  Nice flavor of rose.

1st full mouthful:  Still nice rose flavor.  Nice undertones of tea, with a fairly strong astringency about it. 

2nd cup, with 1/4 cup milk and 1 teaspoon white sugar:  Very nice milky tea taste, the astringency is mellowed out and the rose flavor is reduced some what.   I think this is my preferred way of drinking this tea.

3rd serving, iced with 1 table spoon white sugar: The rose flavor predominates the tea when served over ice.  It's nice enough, but not the way I would normally drink this tea.

4th serving, iced, no sugar:  The rose flavors still predominates the tea, but the astringency of non sugared iced tea is present.  There is a slight bitterness to the tea this way.  This is my least favorite way to drink this tea.

While not exactly a strong wake up morning tea, it's not really very subtle either.  Not sure what time of day I would drink this tea.  I suspect as a 2nd pot in a morning would be it's best use, assuming you use the 1st pot as your wake up pot.

Would I drink this if offered by a friend?  Yes.  It's a very pleasant tea.

Will I drink this tea again? Yes.  It would be a nice thing to have instead of Earl Grey some days.

Would I buy this tea?  Maybe.  I'm not 100% on flavored black teas but this is the best I've had out side of Earl Grey.

Did Explorer the Cat go nuts over this tea?  Didn't even notice that I made it and didn't sniff at it when I was drinking the remainder of the pot and she was on the computer desk with it.

Final verdict: 8.5 out of 10, will drink again, might buy some.

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