Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Description:
Since 1854 Hédiard has been a well-known name in Paris, for years the shop has been frequented by many cosmopolitan and noteworthy figures. The flagship store and restaurant are located on Place de Madeleine and the company has grown to oversee distribution to select shops in France and on four continents.
Hediard’s tea blends use the whole tealeaf to minimize the powdery residue sometimes left behind from crushed leaves. Hediard buys only from the greatest tea experts in the topmost estates.
Hediard Rose flavored tea with rose petals has an aromatique and alluring blend of black tea from China, rose petals and rose essential oil. The fragrance and taste are perfect for romance or pampering.
Learn more about Hediard Paris here.
This tea can be found at various locations including Cyber Cucina.
Taster’s Review:
This is really quite nice, and rather unexpected! I was a little unsure about the tea when I read that the tea had been blended using “rose essential oil.” While I realize that most flavored tea blends are flavored with oils, most teas flavored with floral essence tend to be teas that were scented with the flower blossoms and petals themselves by layering the young tea leaves and blossoms and allowing the tea leaves to absorb the flower essence this way. I find that teas that are flavored with floral essential oils tend to taste very perfume-y and sometimes downright soapy.
But, I am glad that my previous experiences with teas flavored with floral essential oils did not cloud my judgement and I still tried this tea, because it is really quite lovely.
The black tea is invigorating without being too bold or assertive, making this a nice tea to enjoy in the afternoon (and would make a perfectly lovely choice for a garden tea party!) There is a very nice balance between black tea flavor (rich and earthy) and sweet rose notes.
The rose is strong but not overwhelming and doesn’t come off as too perfume-y. There is a somewhat perfume-ish taste that arrives on the palate at about mid-sip, but, it is a slight perfume-ish kind of note, and seems to wash over the palate smoothly and quickly, so it doesn’t end up becoming off-putting. Instead it is what I’d call feminine and romantic, tasting more of rose water than of perfume or soap.
The rose here is not as strong or as sharp as a typical rose tea (I’m thinking of most of the rose congou teas I’ve tried), it is more of a sweet, dainty, delicate kind of flavor, kind of what I’d expect a rose tea from Paris to be … kind of like a windswept romantic kind of taste … very daydream-y, just like Paris is to me.
Secret Garden from SerendipiTea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: SerendipiTea
Tisane Description:
Escape for a short while to a secret place for which you only hold the key.
Ingredients: Chamomile (Organic), Lavender (Organic), Peppermint (Organic), Rooibos (Organic), Rose Petals (Organic)
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This is the third tea/tisane from my June Steepster Select Box, themed “Around the Clock.” Of the three teas in this month’s box, this was the one I was least excited about, but as it turns out, I really am enjoying this … so much so that this one could easily become a permanent fixture in my cupboard. Yes, I like it that much!
One glance at the ingredients suggest that this is the evening tea of the Steepster Select Box: soothing, naturally caffeine-free chamomile and lavender, cool peppermint, and sweet rooibos and rose petals. This is definitely a tea made for bedtime.
I really like the way the ingredients work together in this blend. The rose and peppermint offer the strongest flavor, but, they also balance each other out so that it is neither too rosy nor too minty. The chamomile is subtle, but offers a sweet, apple-like flavor in the background. And thankfully, the lavender is not overdone here. I love lavender, but when lavender is too strong it imparts a very perfume-y taste, and while this is strongly floral, it doesn’t taste of perfume.
The rooibos is not a strong flavor here, and I’m okay with that too. It does offer a slight earthiness to the overall flavor, somewhat nutty and woody, but, these flavors manage to meld together with the stronger floral essences and create a very pleasing taste. The overall cup is definitely on the feminine side – sweet with exotic floral tones – and I find that helps to give the cup an almost nurturing effect.
I feel very calm and relaxed after sipping on this tea, and I find this enjoyable enough that I could easily enjoy this on a nightly basis. It’s really quite nice!
White Rose Tea from The Spice & Tea Exchange
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: The Spice & Tea Exchange
Tea Description:
This fragrant white tea blend consists of all organic ingredients. Roses, jasmine, and lavender are combined with rejuvenating peppermint for a delicious and scented cup. Great for morning or evening enjoyment. Contains: green tea, rose petals, jasmine flowers, lavender flowers, peppermint leaves. Moderate Caffeine.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of the dry leaf is enchanting! It has a strong peppermint scent, but, because the rose is also quite strong, these two seem to contrast each other enough to offer a bouquet that is beautifully floral and yet, deliciously minty at the same time. In the background, I also smell notes of jasmine and lavender. It’s a very pleasing fragrance.
The infusion is also nicely fragrant, smelling a bit more of the rose than of the peppermint, which was what I was hoping for. But I purchased this tea based on the promise of a “White Rose Tea” … and not a peppermint one. I am glad that the rose is prominent, with notes of lavender and jasmine accenting the rose and a hint of peppermint in the background. It smells fresh and romantic, and evokes thoughts of summer when roses are in bloom.
With all these strong floral and peppermint notes, I expected the flavor of the white tea to be absent. But it is not. On the contrary, the flavor of the white tea is very well-defined with its sweet, slightly creamy attributes. It is a very nice base for the flavors of rose, lavender and jasmine – as well as the peppermint – to express themselves.
Not surprisingly, the rose is the strongest component of the cup. It actually starts out rather perfume-y, to the point of numbing the tip of the tongue with its sharp, perfumed quality. That being said, somehow, it is not an off-putting perfume-y taste. It doesn’t taste soapy, it is more reminiscent of rose water than of Aunt Bertha’s perfume. And once the tea has cooled slightly, the flavor tends to settle in, and allows the palate to explore the other notes with ease.
The jasmine and lavender are softer flavors, and I find they serve more as an accent to the rose rather than as individual floral notes. It becomes more of a medley of floral flavor with the rose as the main focus of that medley. The peppermint is also a softer flavor, and I found myself actually looking for it with the first few sips, it was that soft. Now that I am halfway through the cup, the peppermint is more apparent, although it is still not what I’d consider to be a strong flavor. This sometimes aggressive herb seems rather content to be a background note here, and allow the flowers to take center stage.
I find this to be a very enjoyable cup of tea. It offers a delightful sense of tranquility as well as romance, so pour two cups of this tea and sip it with someone special.
White Pear Tea from Tealicious Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tealicious Tea Company
Tea Description:
Our White Pear Tea is our best seller, it is a sweet and aromatic tea with the delicate flavors of roses and chunks of pears gently blended with Pai Mu Dan. It offers the perfect flavor and taste in every cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea smells incredible. I’d never think of combining the aromas of pear and rose together to create something so pleasing to the nose, but, it really is delightful … inspiring me to imagine walking through a pear orchard that is “fenced in” by rows of rose bushes, with the breeze gently picking up the fragrance of the rose and the pear and swirling them around in the air as I stroll.
What I really like, though, is the fact that I not only smell the pear, but I taste it too. It seems that pear is a difficult flavor to nail for some tea artists, because more often than not, it seems, when I encounter a pear flavored tea, I taste tea but I don’t a lot of pear. Pear is one of those delicate, sumptuous fruits that need to be expressed “just so” … and all too often, tea artists aren’t able to capture the flavor.
But I taste the pear here. And I taste the rose! And what an interesting flavor these two ingredients create together. The rose tastes sweet and floral and exotic, while the pear has a deliciously sweet taste – a distinct pear taste!
And amidst all this excitement over the flavors, you might think that the Pai Mu Dan has been forgotten, or worse, not even noticed because its flavor had been obscured by the pear and rose … but that certainly is not the case. The white tea is fresh, light and delicately vegetative. It melds beautifully with the pear and the rose to create a very lush, relaxing cup of tea … this is a lovely tea, indeed.
Thé du Hammam from Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Description:
One of our most popular teas, this fruity blend is inspired by a Turkish recipe using green teas that evokes the characteristic fragrances used to perfume a hammam: roses, green dates, berries and orange flower water. Sprinkled with flower petals in the pure Eastern tradition, its extraordinary fragrance comes from a subtle combination of Chinese green tea and rich, fruity aromas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After reading the above description, I found myself somewhat lost, as I had no idea what a hammam was. And thinking that this was not only a good opportunity for me to learn something new, but that perhaps a few of my readers also might not know what a hammam is, I decided to look it up. According to Wikipedia, a hammam is a traditional Turkish bath in which warm air is used to promote perspiration, after which bathers are brought to an even hotter room before splashing themselves with cool water, and then they are bathed.
And while the idea of “bath water” doesn’t really sound like a delicious tea, this blend allows you to toss the bathwater and simply enjoy the essences of the perfumed Turkish bath. The sweet notes of date dominate this cup, while lovely hints of floral tones weave their way in and out of the sip.
The green tea has a light, fresh kind of flavor that is delicately vegetative. It has a somewhat buttery quality to it, offering a creamy texture and taste that harmonizes quite deliciously with the flavoring. The date flavor is what I find particularly enchanting about this tea. I’ve had a few date flavored teas, but I do not remember any that have managed to express this flavor better than I taste with this tea. This tastes like a sweet, juicy date – and it is really delicious!
Of the teas that I’ve tried from Le Palais Des Thés (and I’ve still a few left to try from the gift set), this one is my favorite! I like it a lot!