I was so excited to get tea mail containing a blooming tea set from Primula tea to review. Primula, in case you are not aware, is a drinkware company. According to the website the companies “reputation is founded on creating quality products that make people happy to use or gift” The set includes a very large 60 oz teapot, Primula’s largest glass teapot, along with 3 flowering teas. The teapot is delicate but sturdy and I love the green leaf accent on the lid. It includes a green glass infuser. The infuser has small lines cut into the glass to allow the tea to diffuse into the water. While I love the aesthetic of the glass infuser I find that they are not always the best for tea making. The slotted lines can allow smaller teas such as those with rooibos to escape into the water. Overall I think that this is a lovely teapot that is a perfect size to accommodate a larger tea-drinking group and works well to showcase flowering teas.
The teapot also came with three of their flowering teas. Unfortunately there was not any literature included regarding the teas which I found to be a bit odd. I took a look at their website and discovered that the flowering teas have been with Primula since they started the company in 1991 and they continue the product line-up because of the popularity of the teas. All of their display teas are hand-crafted in China from AA grade green tea and flowers. Because the set didn’t come with any information on the tea I was able to deduce that the star-shaped flowering tea I enjoyed was a jasmine-scented green tea. According to their site the green tea is blended with jasmine five times to fully immerse the green tea in the Jasmine scent. There are 12 different types of jasmine green flowering teas offered however it is not clear what the name of the tea was that I tried so I can only identify it as the star-shaped tea.
I steeped the tea at a green tea temp, 175 degrees, for around 5 minutes, the time it took for the flowering tea star to fully unfurl. I am conflicted with this because I tend to enjoy my jasmine green teas with short steep times, around a minute. The longer the star steeps the more intense the jasmine becomes. Not to say this is a bad thing, it just develops and becomes more floral. Overall I liked the flavor of this tea. It was light, slightly vegetal with an underlying sweetness and a heavy jasmine scent. I was worried that a novelty tea like this would be lacking in flavor but I was pleasantly surprised.
I think that a flowering tea and a clear glass teapot are items that every tea connoisseur should have in their tea collection. If you are in the market for either of these items I would certainly give Primula a try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Teapot with Flowering Teas
Where to Buy: Primula
Description
The Primula Asha 60-oz. Glass Teapot is our largest glass teapot; it was designed with entertaining in mind. Made of heat-resistant borosilicate glass with a decorative glass leaf lid, this glass teapot includes a glass infuser in a beautiful contrasting hue, designed for steeping your favorite loose tea blend. The Asha Teapot includes three flowering teas, making this an ideal gift for tea lovers.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Arabian Nights from Fox Tea Club. . . .
It’s black. It’s green. It’s creamy. It’s buttery. It’s fruity. It’s got complete roses in its blend.
This tea sounds like an indecisive hot mess, I know. The blend’s ingredients sound like someone had a bunch of leftovers and upended them into a vat. (They include, for reference, Black Tea, Calendula, Cornflower, Green Tea, Mango, Pineapple, Rose).
But it totally works. It’s sweet and friendly and flowery. I’m not getting “Arabian Nights” from this (possibly because I’ve never had Turkish delight). I’m getting “Mother Goose.” This tea is a fairytale jumble. All of your favorite stories and flavors, blending together. It’s a dessert potluck. *
* (note: Have you ever had a dessert potluck? Probably the best party I ever threw.)
If you’re in the mood for some sweetness, throw this in your kettle. All the rabbits and sprites in the forest will be clamoring to join you.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green/Black
Where to Buy: Fox Tea Club
Description
Exotic seductive smoothness and delicate spice aromas float from the cup with each sip of this black and green tea blend, which includes calendula, red rose, and cornflower petals. Remarkable subtle tones of vanilla cream with rich sponge cake recall warm deserts evenings with the crescent moon rising in the starry sky.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cup of Love from Big Heart Tea. . . . .
This tea has two ingredients, rose petals and tulsi, also known as holy basil. On paper, this seems too sparse. I mean I like tulsi quite a bit but I’ll be the first to stay that it shines when balanced with other herbs and flavors. Looking at the leaves in the bag, I’m slightly more encouraged. The rose petals are vibrant and numerous, and the tulsi is lush and green. Lots of big leaves, no crushed tea powder here.
Brewed, there is a lovely cinnamon-like flavor in the smell and taste. Since there is no cinnamon in the blend, I must attribute this surprising spiciness to the tulsi. Beyond this first warm cinnamon burst, there is the familiar earthiness and sweet-herbal basil flavor of the tulsi. The rose petals are gentle, just a hint of something lighter and more romantic, which keeps the earthy tulsi from being too sour or herbaceous.
As someone who is skeptical of rose teas, I will say this one does it right: not at all perfume-like, but plenty sweet and floral.
I’m impressed by the full flavor of a this two-ingredient tea. Robust and drinkable, and a caffeine-free herbal blend to boot.
It is also a very beautiful-looking dry leaf, and with all the bright pink rose petals, which may make it a great gift for a tea-loving friend who can show off its colors in their tea cabinet.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Big Heart Tea
Description:
Cup of Love is a mild, nurturing, naturally sweet rose tea. Crafted by hand to reduce stress and soothe your soul. A floral olfactory release, just like a hug from your grandma.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Don’t judge a tea by it’s company name! Jasmine Green from Chai Kai . . . .
Honestly I was feeling a little unsure about Jasmine flavored tea from a company named CHAI Kai, but this departure from their standard has good company with a group of other tempting flavors in their shop, so I’m putting my trepidation and bias aside… for now.
Looking at the loose leaf here the green tea leaves are finely rolled and I see small delicate Jasmine blossoms but there is a definite, not overpowering, floral scent to the blend. These little buds really pull their weight!
The leaves expanded a great deal after being brewed for three minutes at just under 160F and have a slight nutty scent to them. Will all the flavors remain after a resteep?
The liquor is a caramel color and is less fragrant than the dry leaves, hopefully the infusion trapped the flavor in the water! Without sweetener it has a gentle earthy green tea flavor with a short floral aftertaste. The jasmine impressively survives resteeping, FLOWER POWER!
Despite my misgivings from it’s name, this blend really does the Jasmine/Green tea genre justice. I guess that’s why they say “don’t judge a tea blend by it’s company’s name”…
If you’re enticed by British teas like this that defy preconceived biases, they’re offering 20% off EVERYTHING in their store with the coupon code: WINTER20!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chai Kai
Freshly picked Jasmine Blossoms are placed in layers amidst the leaves of this beautifully made Chinese Green Tea, imparting their sweet, perfumed aroma as they dry. Also available in Teabags.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Jasmine by The Love Tea Co. . . . .
I steeped this tea with 2 heaping teaspoons of leaf in 1 cup of 200 degree water for about four minutes.
I was a little concerned that the jasmine flowers wouldn’t have much fragrance left because I couldn’t detect much smell in the dry flowers, but when I started steeping the tea it started giving off its perfume right away, so I guess hot water is the magic ingredient to bring that out!
There are tons of jasmine flowers in this tea, too. Like, actual jasmine buds. And they smell like a combination of candy and perfume once they’ve started steeping. The green tea fragrance isn’t really coming through at this point, but I’m not surprised at all given how flowery the smell is.
I let it go to four minutes because I didn’t want to waste any of the jasmine fragrance.
Once the tea is steeped, I noticed that some leaf has escaped the ball; the tea is orange-yellow in color and, as mentioned before, highly fragrant.
First sip: Apparently Jasmine tastes sweet as well as smelling sweet. There’s an edge of bitterness to the green tea, though; there’s also some umami and maybe a little seaweediness to it, rounding the flavor out. I blame myself for the bitterness, because I used 200 degree water instead of 195 degree water like recommended (because hey, my electric kettle only has so many settings. Next time though I’d go with the cooler option, which I think would be 185 on my kettle).
A little sugar helps with any bitterness; or you could just steep at the recommended temperature, unlike me, and do a less intense steeping as well (three minutes instead of four). It’s really great as is, though, and tastes like drinking flowers!! Jasmine is so magical it kind of blows my mind every time I try a good jasmine tea (the reason I don’t try them more often is probably because I’m kind of scared of getting a not-so-good one).
I’m also really impressed by this tea company’s mission and activism; they don’t just say that they support charitable causes, they also give 25% of their proceeds (that’s a quarter of everything they get!) to mental health causes, according to their website.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description
Jasmine tea is one of the most pleasant fragrances to all people. To the nose, the dry tea has a floral bouquet, which causes your senses to come alive with pleasant thoughts. This tea is filled to the brim with an abundance of beautiful jasmine blossoms which gives the tea an amazing presentation value. In China, they declare this jasmine tea as ‘Jasmine #1’.
This high quality green tea – produced between the middle of March and the middle of May – has jasmine flowers that bloom between the 1st of May and the end of May (the time of the most intense aroma). This tea yields a cup with all the concentrated heady bouquet of a garden in bloom, even if its your neighbor’s jasmine bush.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
