TP42: China Rose Special Chun Mee

Smokey green tea and rose don’t blend together superbly but quite decently. The rose flavor is very strong, heavy and natural. I found myself enjoying this tea but unable to drink more than a small pot at the same time.

This is my first rose and first chun mee tea. I’m not sure what I think about it. I like it, with reservations. There is a bitterness, a sharpness of taste that I can’t decide if it is an effect of preparation or of the tea itself (I followed upton’s brew instructions). This is definitely a strong tea at the recommended preparation. This has a heavy floral note to it—don’t go into this one expecting hints of rose, since that isn’t what you’ll get. It sort of smacks you upside the head with rose. Rose isn’t bad, but so far, of the florals, I like the more delicate flavor of jasmine better.

I think 5 minutes might be too long a steep time. I think I’ll go shorter next time with a slightly cooler water temperature.

I wanted to like this, but the tea and rose flavors don’t blend particularly well and I end up tasting something bitter and almost soapy. It smells lovely, it just doesn’t follow it up on taste. I’ll probably put the rest of my sample to use making some kind of face mask or toner with the cooled tea.

A slightly cloudy green-tan liquid with the hypnotic smell of rose petals. Despite its sweetness it has a slight bitterness that is unpleasant. I think the bitterness is actually coming from the rose petals rather than the tea. The tea itself is submerged under the rose petal taste. Not one of my favorites.