Riches and Honor Blooming Flower Tea from Alice’s Fine Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  White

Where to Buy:  Alice’s Fine Teas

Product Description:

The shape of Blooming Flower Brings Riches and Honor is like an orb made of strips of silk. It is made of tea needles and fresh camellia. It opens in the water just as the flower opens in slow motion – delicate and charming. Under the water’s moistening the camellia is natural and graceful. The tea has a wonderful buttery fragrance and tastes very smooth, sweet (like honey) and fresh. Ingredients: Camellia (flower of the tea plant is high in antioxidants) and Silver Needle Tea

Taster’s Review:

In the past, I’ve steeped blooming tea bulbs for just a few minutes, and would stop the process before the bloom had completely opened for fear that I’d over-steep the tea.  This time, just for experimentation’s sake, I decided to try steeping it until the bulb had completely blossomed, and see how the tea tasted.

The bloom is gorgeous!  It is a creamy white color, and it looks so graceful and elegant as the petals move slowly in the liquid.  And surprisingly, the tea is not rendered too bitter to drink after the long steep (it took about ten minutes for this bulb to completely unfurl in 160 ° F water).

The liquor is a pale, clear amber-ish color and has a thick, soft mouthfeel.  The flavor is sweet and is not quite as delicate as a typical silver needle tea (of course, this probably has something to do with the length of time it was steeped).  There is some cleansing astringency to this tea, but it is not overly dry.  Overall, the taste is lightly grassy and has a distinct floral taste to it that is somewhat pollen-y with a honey-like sweetness that lingers in the aftertaste.

This is a beautiful tea with a very pleasant sweet-yet-savory taste to it.  One that would be a pleasure to serve to guests … and it makes a beautiful (and unique) conversation piece as well!