Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Nuovo Tea
Tea Description:
Meant to delight your eyes as well as taste buds, these awe-inspiring ‘display teas’ unfurl when added to water, revealing delicate flowers hidden within. The practice of hand-sewing leaves into ‘blooming teas’ is an age-old Chinese art form that dates back centuries. Adagio has infused state-of-the-art packaging into this ancient delight, ensuring maximum freshness and superior flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really enjoy brewing “art teas” like this Jasmine Bloom Flowering Tea from Nuovo Tea. It’s fun to watch the art reveal itself. It starts out as a hand-sewn bulb of tea leaves, and as it brews, the leaves begin to unfurl, revealing a beautiful “blossom” tucked inside the tea leaves.
This particular art tea unfurls pretty quickly in comparison to some that I’ve encountered. After my first infusion of 3 1/2 minutes, it was still a bulb, but I could see that quite a few of the leaves had begun to open up and away from the bulb to form the blossom. I’m sure that with another minute, this art tea would have been unfurled and revealed to me the beauty inside.
But I didn’t want to oversteep the tea. I don’t brew these art teas just for the art, after all … to me the true art is the beauty of the flavorful liquid so I’m always mindful of this and take care to brew each cup carefully – whether it’s an art tea like this, or a loose leaf tea or even a bagged tea. I want the best flavor I can extract from any tea.
The first cup is delicate and sweet, with notes of jasmine and hints of buttery vegetables. There is also a pleasing fruit note that is reminiscent of a sweet melon.
For the second cup, I infused the partially open bulb for 4 minutes, and within a minute, the bulb had opened and I could see the pretty white flower peeking from inside the tea leaf “blossom” that enveloped it only minutes ago. Beautiful!
This cup had a stronger flavor than the first cup, but, I think I prefer the delicate quality of that first cup more than this stronger tasting cup. Oh, it’s still tasty, don’t get me wrong! But, I really liked the soft, buttery notes that I experienced in that first cup, and now, this is more like a grassy green tea with notes of jasmine. I appreciate that the jasmine is soft and not tasting like soap. It’s not a bitter tea, it’s a pleasing jasmine green.
A beautiful tea experience – these “art teas” make a great tea to serve when you have guests! Be sure to brew them in glass teacups (I don’t think that these little bulbs are quite large enough for a large teapot) so that everyone can watch the splendor as it unfolds! They make a great conversation starter … not to mention produce a really tasty cup of tea.
White Chrysanthemum Tea from Teasenz
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Flower
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tisane Description:
Soothing, calming and refreshing. You may have sampled chrysanthemum tea in Chinese restaurants. Now, Teasenz brings you the highest grade of chrysanthemum tea available in China. Our white chrysanthemum tea is a truly lovely flower tea that just can’t be resisted.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
The picture above shows you exactly what I saw when I opened the package of this White Chrysanthemum Tea from Teasenz. Lots of big, dry white chrysanthemum blossoms! They’re whole blossoms, not dust or particles, and they range in size from about the size of a dime to the size of a quarter in diameter.
The aroma isn’t as pleasant to my nose as say, a jasmine or a rose tea. Then again, I’d much rather smell a bouquet of fresh roses or jasmine flowers to a bouquet of chrysanthemums. I just happen to prefer the fragrance of roses and/or jasmine blossoms.
But the tea produced from steeping these chrysanthemums is absolutely lovely! It’s a pale yellow-ish color liquid, and the flavor is quite pleasant. It has a sweet taste, almost honey-esque in flavor. It’s quite soothing to sip. The flavor is (obviously!) floral, but it’s kind of an herbaceous flowery taste. If I were to compare it to more “popular’ flower teas, I would say that this tastes more like a chamomile tea than a rose tea.
That said, I’d much prefer to sip a chrysanthemum tea over a chamomile, as I do find the flavor of the chrysanthemum more to my liking. The herbaceous tones remind me vaguely of straw. Like dried straw. And there is a slight earthiness that goes along with the straw-like flavor.
Overall, I found this to be a very refreshing, tasty cup of tea. A really pleasant change of pace!
Pan Asia Green Tea Blend from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
A delightful blend of Chinese Bancha and big Chrysanthemum flowers that create a light, clean tasting delight.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? We haven’t yet celebrated our Thanksgiving because my husband works every Thursday, and it’s next to impossible for him to get the day off, especially if Thursday happens to fall on a holiday. So, we always postpone our Thanksgiving for a day when the whole family can come together, and this year, it happens to be this coming Tuesday.
But as I sit here, contemplating my Thanksgiving feast menu, I am sipping on this Pan Asia Green Tea Blend from Harney & Sons. It’s sweet and light, with a refreshing floral note. The background is slightly grassy. It’s a delightful tea to drink as I’m trying not to get stressed out over holiday plans. It’s keeping my nerves in check!
Overall, the flavor reminds me of springtime, and that’s certainly a welcome memory as it is quite cold outside right now. Brrrrr! I am finding this tea – served warm – to be very soothing and calming and helping me to forget that chill outside, and the stress that I’m feeling on my insides!
Of course, this tea would be splendid served iced too. The texture is soft and the flavor sweet, and the chrysanthemum adds just a hint of sharpness to the buttery smooth notes of the Chinese Bancha.
It’s not too floral and not too grassy. There’s a really enjoyable balance of tastes. A nice, relaxing cuppa.
Organic Tea Flowers from The Tao of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Tea Flowers
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Tea Description:
The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) flowers once a year in Fall. This is the time just before the plant produces seeds and goes into winter hibernation.
Yunnan Tea Flowers
These 100% organic tea flowers are from the southern Yunnan province of China and harvested from old growth tea trees indigenous to the area. The native peoples of this region are among the few tea-growing cultures with a history of tea flower harvesting.Jing Mai Tea Forest
Jing Mai Mountain is home to one of the largest Old Growth Tea Forests in southern Yunnan. The area has been called a Tea Forest Museum with trees ranging from 800 to 1200 years old.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Even though I’m categorizing these Organic Tea Flowers from The Tao of Tea as a “fruit/herbal tisane” … it’s actually a product from the Camellia Sinensis plant. And while I do not consider myself to be a caffeine expert when it comes to tea (or any food product, for that matter), I think that because it does come from the tea plant, the flower does have some caffeine in it … probably not very much, but some.
But, I’m not finding it to be very stimulating, which is good because I’m drinking it rather late at night. It’s actually quite soothing. I love the pollen-y taste of this, it is sweet, almost honey-esque with nectar-like tones. It has a smooth taste and feel to it. It has some earthy tones, and some delightful floral notes. It’s light and easy to drink.
I like that it has a natural sweetness to it, making it an enjoyable, sweet relaxing beverage to drink later in the day when I want something that tastes a little bit sweet but I don’t want something that will make me feel guilty later. With this, I can have something sweet without that guilt … and without too much caffeine to keep me awake all night!
At the time of this writing, I see that Tao of Tea is currently out of stock of this product … I hope they get it back in soon … because the flowers age well (like a pu-erh) it is something I’d like to keep on hand and I won’t have to worry about it becoming stale.
Peace, Love, and Happy Tea from Indie Tea
Tea Type:
Green Tea
Where To Buy:
Indie Tea
Product Description:
Peace, Love and Happy Tea
Jasmine Scented Green Tea with Chrysanthemum and Jasmine Flowers.Circles Can Be Tricky. You Can?t Sit In A Circle By Yourself. There Must Be A Group of People, or Cardboard Cutouts of People, Who Will Sit in the Circle With You.
Steeping Instructions: Measure 1.5 teaspoons of tea to 8 oz of water. Heat water to 175-180 degrees, pour over the tea leaves, and steep tea leaves for three to five minutes.
3.3 oz. Organic and Fair Trade Ingredients: Organic Jasmine Scented Green Tea, Organic Jasmine Flowers, Organic Chrysanthemum Flowers.
Tasters Review:
My mother always said I was a ‘TEEN’ in the wrong decade! Sure…I was a 70s Baby but I wasn’t of age in the 60s or 70s to participate in Woodstock, Hippie Gatherings, and Communal Living. I probably would have – had I been given the opportunity! So when I saw this tea I KNEW I HAD to try it!
I know you’re not supposed to judge a tea by it’s name but I sort of DID with this one. Usually I’m not one to ‘yank’ a floral tea off the shelf or specifically order one but this tea NAME had me a Peace/Love/Happy.
This is made up of Green Tea, Jasmine, and Chrysanthemums.
It infuses to a gentle orange/tan color. I can smell and taste both of the flower ingredients. It’s both florally-sweet and semi-florally-bitter. It’s a nice yin an yang of sorts.
This is fantastic for a floral tea. It really is.
Groovy Man…
