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.