Gypsy Rose

I purchased the Romance sampler from Zhena’s awhile back, and this is one of the offerings contained within. It steeped to a rather vibrant red (nothing like the photo!) in a mere 2 minutes, so I removed the bag and took a sip – a little flat. A single, scant teaspoon of sugar helped. A pronounced rosiness. I wouldn’t dream of steeping it a second beyond the two minutes that I did. As it cools, it is getting a little bitter, and rosier. This is not a good thing!

Would I buy a whole tin? No!! I am not able to finish my cup, and I am actually thinking of using the remaining tea bags as sachets to tell you the truth! The tea base is a little iffy (as a rule I don’t enjoy Sri Lankan and Indian tea without milk, and I absolutely do not like rose teas with milk!!), and the rose is veering a bit into Lotion territory. I have a few teas that I love with rose as one of many flavoring ingredients, but I have not as yet found a just rose and black tea that I love. Do any of you have recommendations?

My first disappointment from Zhena’s :(

Is it bad that I bought this tea just for the tin? Gypsy Rose came as part of a set of 4 different types of tea all in one tin. I liked the individual sections for the different teas and knew that even if I didn’t like the tea I would reuse the tin when I travel.

I love rose tea and it is so rare to find it bagged that I almost always buy it when I see it. I’m a sucker like that. I didn’t think this tea was bad, but it I also didn’t think it was anything special either. The rose was on the strong side, but not overwhelming and the black tea was a bit weak, but not terrible. I wouldn’t suggest going a full five minutes with this one, even though the tin suggests 3-5 minutes. I think the rose would start to overpower the tea.

At 6.99 per tin this was a bit on the pricey side for the quality of the tea. I don’t really think I would buy this again for myself, but it might make a nice gift for someone just getting started with tea. The four flavors in the tin are pretty fun combinations.

I got this back in the fall, and then went to drinking nothing but teas with ginger or cinnamon in them for the last six months, so the tin has been sitting untouched in my cupboard. Oops.

I haven’t really tried any new tea during that time, either, so I figured I should start remedying that. This rosy blend was at the top of the list. Opening the tin, it smelled a bit like potpourri, overwhelmingly rosy. Any more and it would have been overpowering, but somehow the scent manages to stay on just this side of the stomach-turning line, and it’s actually pretty pleasant after a few seconds.

The aroma is fantastic once the hot water is added, mellowing beautifully but not coming even close to disappearing. The flavor of the tea is a little lacking, but the rosiness makes up for it nicely. It’s not anything exciting, but it’s definitely a pleasant cup and I’ll have no problem finishing up the tin. Not sure it’s one that will become a permanent fixture in my cupboard, though.

A very delicious tea! I really liked this one. Zhena uses the same type of tea bag as The Republic of Tea, unbleached, round, no string. The rose flavoring is prominent but not overpowering, a very soothing and relaxing cuppa. The teas are the clean, medium-body from India and Sri Lanka. To take in the essence of the tea and then to taste it, is sublime. The longer the tea steeped, the flavoring does not get too strong; it stays nice and soothing, relaxing, gentle and delicious. I would highly recommend this tea.

When I open the desk drawer that this tin is stored in, I think about who at work might like to take this off my hands. The closed tin fills the drawer with a strong, perfume-worthy rose smell. Then I make a cup, smell the more pleasant and fainter rose aroma of the steeping tea bag, and then taste the cup with a dash of milk and decide to stash the tin back in the drawer. The rose flavor in the cup definitely takes a back seat to the black tea, which is a nice, strong, sharp black tea, but I can still taste the rose. I don’t think I’ll run right out to replace this tin when the last bag is gone, but I’m enjoying this tea now.

I admit to accidentally setting my cup down to brew and walking away for a bit, so I’ve got NO idea how long I actually let it brew, but this tea is a pleasant surprise. I was a little worried because of how strong the rose scent was when I opened the tin, but it’s actually pleasantly subtle now that the tea has brewed. The black tea base definitely comes through, but the hint of rose over the top is actually really nice – I was a bit worried it would taste like I went out and grazed on my mom’s rose garden, but it’s just enough to give the taste, but not be overpowering.

Smells lovely, tastes like black tea, but the only herb-y note I’m tasting is a slight hint of what I usually call “wet washrag” – that’s what chamomile tastes like to me, and perhaps that’s what rose will taste like to me.

The liquor is much darker than the image shows, so I might try a shorter steep time.