Rishi explains that this tea is scented with fresh osthmanthus flowers in a process similar to jasmine scenting and they describe the flavor as having notes of apricot and honey. The dry leaves had the distinctive peach fuzz of a silver needle. The osmanthus was there but not in large quantity. I brewed this tea using both my Zarafina tea maker, set on strong white, and in a regular tea pot using an infuser basket. In the infuser basket I let the leaves steep for 5 minutes, as per the manufacturer’s directions.
I love white tea and I love osmanthus, but apparently not in the same tea. This blend just didn’t do much for me but was by no means a bad tea. It is just that I’ve had better silver needle and I’ve had better osmanthus scented tea. My feeling is that this has more to do with how the tea was scented than the bloom content of the dry leaves themselves. I think this sweet smelling flower makes a much better pairing with green tea.
Hey!
You should try Osthmanthus Huang Guan Yin.
http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/osthmanthus-huang-guan-yin-organic-oolong-tea.html
It is one of my favorites!
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll see if my local Whole Foods has some so I can give it a try.