I was one of the lucky requesters to get a sample of this tea from JK Tea Shop’s offer — I’d never had chrysanthemum tea before, but I was intrigued by the concept.
The scent of the dry leaves was…odd. Definitely floral, but not floral the way any other tea I’ve ever had has been. Heavier somehow. I put eight flowers and a small shake of loose petals into a pot, and steeping it was the same scent even stronger. The color was a pale virulent green which wouldn’t be amiss at a mad scientists’ cocktail party!
So I sipped cautiously, and it’s amazing! It tastes just like it smells, and while I still have no idea what that taste is, I can now tell that it’s juicy and extraordinarily sweet. It’s not cloying, but it’s just this side of it — I can’t imagine putting more sweetener in! And it leaves behind a plainer, less confusing aftertaste that’s just sweet and sweet and sweet. I had to go make a second cup right away after finishing the first! (Second cup came out just like the first; I’m not tasting any change at all for the second steeping.)
The flowers were a lot smaller and paler than I expected: I think I was picturing something like an American Black-Eyed Susan flower in a dark purple, but these were about half that size and nearly white. So I have a lot more left than I expected! This is a very generously-sized sample packet.
Flowers steeping in the pot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cait_tea/4523798781/in/set-72157623664718933/
