Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: plump, bright green
Ingredients: white tea, lavender blossoms, hibiscus petals
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: glass teapot
Liquor: deep gold
This tea was rich yet delicate and very floral. However, it wasn’t a potpourri-like or overly perfumy taste. I loved that I was still able to taste the white tea underneath all of that flower power. The finish was a little dry but not unpleasant. Lavender always relaxes me so this was a great bedtime tea. The blossoms were very tiny and floated loosely so you may want to use a strainer if you don’t want them to wind up in your teacup. I was a little disappointed because the hibiscus petals never unfurled. Defects can happen with any handmade tea like this but I didn’t feel that it affected the taste at all. Just for fun, I made an animated gif of this tea blooming. My camerawork is a bit shaky since it kept floating out of frame but I think I might do this for all flowering tea reviews. What do you think?
You can find out more about this tea here.
I enjoyed watching the flower tea because I never saw one.
My stupid question: How can I reach the exact proposed tea temperature? I use hot water (without knowing the temperature) to make my tea.
Annegret
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. That's not a stupid question at all! You can use a tea thermometer (I really like the one Taylor makes) but I'll steal my mother's meat thermometer in a pinch.
I was always skeptical of blooming teas. I figured it was just a novelty, especially since I only found blooming teas in gift/tchotcke shops. But, then I received blooming teas by Numi for Christmas, and my opinion changed. They really are quite tasty, and of course the steeping process is entertaining. The GIF was such a neat addition to the tea review! I look forward to the other animations if you do decide to create them.