I got this on a whim since I’ve always wanted to try a rose tea and so far I’m really enjoying white tea. It arrived today and I popped open the bag (*special note on Stash’s loose leaf tea containers: if you have a kitty and you give him kitty treats out of those crinkly bags, then be aware that this is how their tea comes. My poor schmoo was so utterly baffled as to why he wasn’t getting treats. I shall be getting some different tea containers soon).
Okay. So. The smell was insane. Like “HEY I’m a HUGE bouquet of cheap flowers and I’m gonna punch you in your naughty bits via your sinus cavities!” The smell utterly devestated me. I wanted a giant cup of fou-fou and not a giant cup of anger!
I went ahead and gave it a go since I’ve discovered what a difference a steep makes. Praise Jeebus that it did indeed mellow the heck out of it. The tea taste was much more prominent (not a ton, but it was there), and the smell was better. It was more like my aforementioned “fou-fou” desire. Like the Jasmine I’ve tried it gets bonus points for scent memory in that it reminded me of a childhood friend’s “Barbie Perfume Maker” set and the rose water it contained. (After typing this I looked up the Barbie Perfume Maker and it turns out the scent I recalled is named “Tea Rose Water.” Brilliant!)
And I think the second steep was ideally what I was hoping for. (I did go for a third – white tea and all. Yeah, not so much. Truly barely rose water.) I shall go forth and quest for my ultimate girlie-girl rose tea, but I’d probably order this one again. NE
