Sokenbicha

I happened across a few of these bottled teas in one of our specialty grocery stores today and had to pick one up. There were two different oolong varieties and this one acutally had rose in it. Double score! This is actually a blend of oolong and black tea with rose hips, rose petals and ginseng. It’s totally unsweetened but still manages to seem a bit sweet… though it’s also really tart, and I wouldn’t have minded a tiny bit of added sweetener. Overally it’s a pretty fruity tasting blend, with a hint of floral rose. The oolong is also definitely present in the flavor; it’s vegetal and pleasant, and there’s a hint of more of a black tea flavor as well. Overall it is pretty refershing and I would probably buy it again, though I do think it’s a little overly tart for me to be really enthusiastic about it.

This is a RTD one that I found, but I can’t remember where…

It’s sweet (with no added sugar) and has a pretty clean taste. Not tasting the black tea, the oolong is present as well as the rose hips? But to me, as I normally don’t like rose anything (not even the flower), it doesn’t taste strongly of rose, but just a sweetness, almost a fruitiness to it.

Tasty. Fabulous cold refreshment on a warm day fo sho. :-)