Rose Garden

My daughter’s boyfriend is visiting from Ireland, and he brought presents of TEA! There are so many kinds of Twinings tea that we don’t have here in our town and possibly not even in the US. This one is new to me.

Opening the outer pouch I give it a good sniff and I am met with the scent of tea, followed by a nice peppery rose aroma. That is a good start, as I have had rose tea that knocked me over and took my lunch money, and destroyed the taste of the tea in the process.

The tea brews up as a medium dark brew, not as dark as Orange Bliss was the other day. The sip is smooth and gentle. There is no need to tame this with milk unless you just enjoy adding it. Ad it is sweet enough for me without sugar, but I bet it is very good with sugar, too, as the rose flavor is naturally sweet and would probably grow more so.

The rose flavor is very well balanced here, strong enough to taste without hunting for it, but not overpowering or perfume-y. Twinings is a very consistent tea company that really doesn’t disappoint.

Another sample from the lovely Ashmanra
I think I was besotted from the first moment I tore open its little packet.
I realized that this is the first Rose tea I have ever tasted (I have had floral teas with rose in them but never just a Rose and Black tea)
I love the name Rose Garden, for that is exactly what it smells like, a whole garden full of those pink English Roses.
As I was sipping this, I literally caught myself with my pinky raised, HA!
But, it just feels like that kind of tea.
Taste is sweet, lightly floral and very proper.
If you don’t like roses, do not even try this tea.
But, for me, I am thinking a Rose Tea is needed for my permanent collection.
As I was sipping this tea, I was looking through Pinterest and bumped into this, which made the whole Rose experience even more British:
http://pinterest.com/pin/79376012154322878/
(beware: Only those who love the Doctor might get this;)

Steepster ate my review! Quick version – thank you ashmanra. A nicely balanced cup that despite my fear of rose tea, I actually found myself enjoying this one. Another solid offering from Twinings.

This is one of my favourite teas, and has become my standard brew! It tastes like Turkish Delight but as tea. Definitely one to stock up on before they stop making it.

swoon This is a tea to win hearts. Alluring, subtle and satisfying. Makes me feel sophisticated and coddled at the same time. I need to get my hands on it before it runs out.

I’m not regretting buying it, it’s reasonably pleasant, but I don’t think I’ll be too gutted when it vanishes off the shelves. The rose taste is quite fresh and subtle, not too perfumey like some can be, but I think it needed a better quality black tea; this one’s a little flat and on the bitter side.

Haven’t tried it with milk (I tend to avoid putting milk into favoured teas) but it’s good with just a pinch of sugar.

i usually hate twinnings tea because i always found it weak. But this is the first twinning tea i’ve tried in 1.5 yr and it’s fantastic. Its a balanced rose flavour that is perfect for my palate. I adore rose teas, but the ones i usually find is very very weak, you hardly know its rose flavoured. This one is perfect.

Another good recommendation is Davidstea ‘English Rose’ which is a combination of white chocolate (yummy), black tea and roses. It has just the tiny less of a rose flavor but still fantastic.

The chemistry between black tea & rose (& other florals in general) is kinda tricky. So far, I’ve not liked any I tried…. I didn’t find this one outstanding but it grew on me. I get a lemony-rose taste. Its black tea-base isn’t bitter or overpowering. Good enough for me to repurchase.

This cute little tea evokes memories of sipping rose white tea from a 1970’s flask in Norman Lindsay’s NSW garden.