I’ve been saving this tea for some time, but I was rather stressed out today and decided to treat myself.
Of course, one the major selling points of a flowering tea is its appearance. This one took a long time to unfurl, but when it did it was lovely—even festive!—dull green, red, and white. I didn’t see the “arc” shape promised and pictured by Great Lakes, but it could’ve been that my narrow mug cramped the tea’s style.
In terms of taste, this tea was really comparable to Jasmine Dragon Pearl Green from Teavana (discussed in another recent review). Like Teavana’s jasmine green, Princess Amelie has a very delicate, innocuous flavor—so innocuous that even now, an hour after I put the bud in (without removing it), it’s only faintly bitter, and only upon swallowing. When I hold it in my mouth, it’s floral (…as one would hope!) and it smells sweetly aromatic, almost like perfume.
Flowering teas are relatively expensive, but they are marvelously cathartic. There is something very pure and metaphorical about watching the nondescript bud slowly and unhurriedly transform into something healthful and beautiful, a tangible reminder of mindfulness and patience.
