So among the tea orders that I made during my self-imposed 52teas hiatus, was a small order from Upton Teas. I grabbed a big thing of my favorite Earl Grey (from a batch of samples that I ordered….holy shit almost a year ago), which is the Earl Grey Blue Flower, and a couple of samples of stuff that had caught my attention when others had reviewed it, including this. I generally like rose flavored stuff and thought I would like a rose flavored tea to sip when I am feeling hoity toity.
I realize now, of course, that the rose-flavored tea void in my life was meant to be filled by Teas, etc.‘s Rosy Earl Grey. It was definitely not meant to be filled by this tea, although anyone reading this should definitely bear in mind that my reasons for not being too enamored with the tea could easily be someone else’s reasons for liking it. In other words, this isn’t a bad tea, it’s just not a tea that I personally need/want and that has everything to do with my preferences and nothing to do with the tea.
Basically, everything about this tea is subtle. Inasmuch as anything rose flavored can be subtle, so, you definitely know the rose is there but it’s not as obnoxiously fragrant as a rose tea can be. The black tea base is similarly light and blends really well with the rose flavoring, creating a lovely light flavor that is easy to drink absentmindedly. This is not a tea that demands attention; it is content to sit and wait for you to drink it at your leisure. Which is, of course, why I am not overfond of it. I don’t really do subtle (although there is a line of inyourfaceness that I don’t want my teas to cross), and I drink far too much black tea as it is so if I’m gonna be drinking something unassuming and easy to overlook, I may as well give my body a break from the caffeine and just have some water. Not everyone’s philosophy, I am well aware! But that’s how I look at it, which is why I put this firmly in ‘eh’ territory.
On the plus side, this tea is well nigh impossible to oversteep.
