I had high hopes for this tea. The dry tea has a wonderful scent. It does smell like rose oil, and if I am not mistaken, like the oil of rosa damascena, which is very specific—bright and highly valued in perfumery and aromatherapy. (In fact, I think that the most aromatic rose petals are actually from rose damascena or rose centifolia). So, my hopes soaring, I proceeded to steep the tea. I’ve actually tried this tea twice. The first time I used boiling water (202F) as suggested for black teas. The second time I preheated the pot, but used water slightly less hot than boiling.
The first brewing attempt produced a pot of strong black tea, but not much rose scent or taste. Just to be sure my senses are not completely obliterated from sniffing too many other things, roses included, I asked someone else to take a sip and sniff. His verdict was that this was a very nice black tea, but, alas, no roses. As the pot sat on the counter, forlorn, we decided to turn it into iced tea and finish it off. We were both surprised to find out that, in its iced version, we could feel the rose scent—subtle enough, but it was there.
The second time, I preheated the pot and used slightly less hot than boiling water. The rose scent is here—extremely subtle—but also somehow strangely sour, not in a citrusy way.
I see that most people like their flowers in a cup barely there. For them, I think it would be a good rose tea. I’d definitely prefer this tea iced or at least cool as for some reason it brings out the scent.
