This tea was recommended to me at DAVIDsTEA shop after I responded with an enthusiastic yes when the salesperson asked if I liked rose. I didn’t get the chance to sample it before purchase, but it seemed like a good gamble because it contained everything that I like. Rose! Fennel! Coconut! Chili threads! Set me up!
I happen to like this tea, but I would advise caution, since it certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes. The smell when dry is… interesting. Rose dominates, but it’s not quite like any other rose tea I’ve had. The very first thing it brought to mind, bizarrely, was a toy my sister had as a child. The toy had some kind of scent added to it that was reminiscent of roses and sugar cookie dough, and this tea had precisely that same smell. It didn’t put me off completely, but it was unexpected.
This is a very mild tea; I have to steep it for several minutes to get the flavor strong enough. Just as in its smell, rose is the dominant flavor, with a mildly spicy aftertaste from the chili. The fennel tends to get overwhelmed, and there’s nothing in the smell or taste to indicate there’s any coconut involved. The combination of rose and chili, however, is enough to make me happy; I enjoy it with milk and honey when I want a tea to help me relax or warm me up. It’s nice to have around when the mood strikes, but I could easily do without.
