A review: Rose China Black Tea by Choicest Tea
Steeping instructions:
Place 1 tsp of tea leaves for every 8oz (1 cup) of water
Bring the water to a rolling boil about 2120F
Color: is a reddish brown
Leaves are black and finely curled, more like bits but when boiled they become full leaves and retain their black color. With three steeps the leaves still remained the same.
Tasting notes or teas characteristic: black tea with tiny flakes of rose bits, not bitter but sugary like without the sugar, and malt. When first inhaling the aroma I can smell the scented rose, more like burned smoke with a slight floral undertone.
I am enjoying this malt liquor brew as I try to envision what it might be like to add sugar and perhaps milk to this tea. It would go well if fully cooked on the stove after removing the tea leaves to add milk and honey or sugar and let cook a bit longer; this would be an ideal way for true lovers of black tea to have it.
Something about this tea reminds me of The London Cuppa tea I have been enjoying, making this similar to a Darjeeling perhaps.
A review: Rose China Black Tea by Choicest Tea
I think I am beginning to know difference between fine gourmet tea and poorly sanitary tea as this Choicest Tea is turning out to be when compared with the London Cuppa and English No. 1.
Rose China Black Tea does not measure to them at all.
Tea is steeped for three minutes for first infusion and nothing added but 1 tablespoon of the leaves. Tea color is dark amber and smells of malt but not like the Kopili Assam tea. It is much weaker by comparison.
For the next steep, this time done for five minutes and adding a teaspoon of sugar and this makes it more palatable as coffee/tea should be taken. Except I don’t like black teas but prefer green teas with nothing added to them. With adding of sugar, the rose fragrant is more surfaces in the fragrant and when tasting the tea; closing your eyes and envisioning the fragrant aroma of a rose bouquet…not of a fresh bouquet but of a forgotten one. Kind of like remembering what a rose smelled like.
Overall, five minutes steep, boiling water and the adding of sugar does make tea a choicest cup, bliss even!
This China Rose Black Tea that I have is in loose leaf; a tin full. And I wanted to see how tasting a cup of this tea would meet with having tasted several other teas of similar type but in tea bags instead of loose leaves.
For this tea, it is best to brew and steep for a lesser time. Two minutes and not a full five minutes if only fixing one cup at a time. It brews strong right away. I find this tea is closer to the Kopili Assam in strength. They are both very assertive teas. The Kopili is probably the nicer of the two teas in quality as well.
For wanting a simple cup of black tea, The China Rose tea will do nicely. Adding sugar and crème to it makes it nicer even. And with the Kopili Assam, the flavoring is a fuller roast, nothing at all weak about this tea.
