Rose Petal Black

More Keemun :D This time with rose petals. The loose tea smells sweet but not particularly of roses, I can however see the occasional bright pink and yellow petal amongst the leaves.

Whilst brewed this forms an earthy brown colour that smells earthy yet sweetly floral.

The rose shines through in the first few sips and it’s rather strong and the Keemun is in the background. The rose petals are sweet and rosey, almost like Turkish Delight but a little more sour. The whole blend is floral and sweetness of the rose mixed with earthy and robust Keemun which creates a dark rose medley. It’s sweet and sour which I don’t find that often in blends.

Overall it’s nice but not something I could drink a lot of, much too sweet and earthily sour for me but it does make a nice change. If you love rose petals then you might love this tea.

This is one of the many teas Rachel sent me…thanks so much, girlie! :)

This is a nice flavored black with sweet rose in it. Many rose teas seem bitter to me. I think that i why I like Teavana’s Rose Marzipan Delight because it has the sugar counteracting the bitter. In this case it’s not bitter. It’s sweet instead.

I can taste the English Breakfast type black tea taste the production description from Tao of Tea described. But the thing that I must mention yet again…is the rose petals are NOT bitter in this…they are sweet. This is nice. I like it.

I love the smell of this! It’s like I’m drinking a strong English Breakfast tea whilst sitting in a gigantic rose garden. It takes me back to my days in London, when I’d take the tube to St. James Park to sit in the swings and enjoy the gardens.

Now, the tea itself is delightful. The base black is strong and smooth, with no hint of bitterness. The rose is subtle and slightly sweet; the taste is reminiscent of rosewater.

This is a great first cup this morning, but I think it would really shine as part of a true afternoon tea, paired with Ladyfingers or some shortbreads.

Thanks, Rachel, for sending me some of this! I’ll definitely be looking for it on my next trip to Jungle Jim’s (my closest Tao of Tea retailer).

Thanks to ToiToi for this sample! I forgot that I had asked for and gotten a sample of this one, it was hiding in my sample drawer under several others. I was thinking about sipdowns and green teas, but I couldn’t bring myself to do either, so I decided to go rose black.

Mmmm, smells lovely for sure. Very candy-rosey, or like rose preserves. The flavor of this one is thinner and not as sweet as I might have expected. I think I have also gotten used to a thicker, maltier congou base for my rose blacks, and isn’t really up to par. Part of the joy of rose black tea is a really nice black base tea that complements the rose and supports it (I just realized that I would love a plain Rose Laoshan Black). This one is decent but I have other favorites. It’s a shame because the rose is very nice here. It just need some better support.

I like this one – the roses aren’t overpowering the rest of the tea and the black tea base is nice and smooth and mellow with very little bitterness or astringency despite my not adding milk to this tea as I usually do with black teas. It has a nice, subtly sweet tone to it that I enjoyed – though I have to admit it seems like quite a girly tea.

Facing my fears tea 3! This one I don’t have anything against roses but I have only ever gotten them as presents never had them as a consumable item. I have never really had any floral teas. Thanks again Rachel for the opportunity to try another new tea!

I really like this tea. I am not sure I can exactly describe what about it I like. It is like a nice black tea with a smooth undertone that I am assuming is the rose. Anyway it is a really nice relaxing while at the same time energizing cup of tea. A real mood lifter!

Also this is tasting note number 200 – Woot!!!

Another wonderful sample from Rachel from iHeartTeas !! Thank you so much! :) This one was a delightful treat. When it is dry, there is a faint floral scent to it. Once brewed, it was a nice, dark brown color. The scent was faint, but the taste was wonderful. I love rose petals, and this one was a well blended tea. The keemum’s smokiness balanced the rose petals. The end result is a very floral, perfume-y, slightly roasty and warm blend. There is very slight astringency and it wasn’t bitter. There is a nice sweet taste lingering in the background as well. Good tea!

Nice rose aroma – not sickeningly sweet but definitely right there in front of you. You don’t have to look for it too hard. I did, however, have to look really hard for the tea flavor. Maybe I let this sample get too old, but I just couldn’t taste tea! The rose scent and flavor were both very nice, but I would have liked to detect the base a bit more. Not bad, just didn’t ring any bells for me. Glad to have gotten to try it, though, especially since I ordered a sample of Harney and Sons Sally’s Secret which is rose and bergamot and I want to see how they compare!

A cup of this every so often is a nice change. The aroma is amazing. With a teaspoon of sugar, it’s almost like drinking a dozen roses!

This tea has been my unchallenged favorite for several years. It’s the perfect blend when I need a little caffeine boost – just about every weekday morning. It’s a strong black tea mixed with wonderfully-scented rose petals. I’ve had other flower-scented teas, but they were always too floral and cloying. This one somehow manages to convey the scent of roses in foody, non-floral way. This tea is lightly sweet even without sugar, but is robust enough stand up to extra sugar and a splash of milk. It’s also wonderful on its own.

Rose Petal Black was one of my stock teas at school this year, since it’s just sweet enough for me to drink without added milk or sugar if necessary. That said, it’s not a particularly stellar tea; I’m not sure I’d buy it again often.