I continue my search for a tea to replace my prior favorite that is becoming hard to get. This one gave me more hope initially. The leaves were wonderfully fragrant of rose and black tea with a great balance. After steeped, it became a bit more herb like and malty then rose scented. I can smell the rose but I feel like I have to search for it. On taste, it is certainly black tea. It does not feel gentle. It’s not my favorite black tea due to being a bit harsh but doable. The rose seems lost in the tea though. The main flavors are malty, peppery. There is a slight sweet aftertaste that may contain rose. I prefer a more in your face floral rose rather then sweet though. I will note that a lot of reviews note petals, my leaf though contained full buds. It was just packaged 10/31/2016. Perhaps that is a difference in this ones flavor to some of the other reviews that sounded like just what I had wanted. I’ll also note that initial steep time was 4 minutes and I steeped longer to try for more rose flavor and it failed.
Edit: as it cools, the rose flavor does improve. Still doesn’t match my prior though. I upped the rating for that. I just need to remember to let it cool some before drinking.
