Kunlun Mountain Snow Chrysanthemum Flower Tea

This was my most recent sipdown. I finished the last of a 50g pouch of these flowers earlier in the day. I absolutely loved the snow chrysanthemum buds offered by Yunnan Sourcing, and fortunately, the flowers did not disappoint either. Naturally, they were very similar to the buds in terms of aroma and flavor, though I found them to be a bit gentler and smoother overall.

I prepared my snow chrysanthemum flowers gongfu style. After a rinse, I steeped 6 grams of dried flowers in 4 ounces of 212 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 20 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 9 minutes, 12 minutes, 16 minutes, and 20 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dried blossoms produced intense aromas of chrysanthemum, dill, pickle brine, and bitter orange. After the rinse, I noted hints of black pepper on the nose. The first infusion introduced a subtle ginger scent. In the mouth, I found pungent chrysanthemum notes on the entry that gave way to notes of pickle brine and dill before vegetal notes reminiscent of green bell pepper and hints of bitter orange took over on the swallow. The subsequent infusions introduced a tangerine aroma. Notes of black pepper and ginger emerged in the mouth, and new impressions of minerals, caramel, tangerine, and grass also made themselves known. The later infusions offered soft mineral and snow chrysanthemum notes that were balanced by subtler impressions of citrus, ginger, dill, pickle brine, and green bell pepper.

Much like the aforementioned snow chrysanthemum buds, these little flowers were seemingly inexhaustible. I just reached a point where I could not go on with the review session and stopped there. As mentioned above, these flowers were smoother and gentler than the buds, so if the snow chrysanthemum buds were a little too pungent and herbal for you, I could see these snow chrysanthemum blossoms being more up your alley.

my birthday gift came in the mail today. today is my birthday! i had some of this tea.

two words: just lovely

expect a review and pics of this tea this week or next week.

expect reviews/pics on the other teas too

I was expecting this tea to look and taste something like chamomile (which I’m okay with but don’t love). I was surprised to find the little orange/black flowers. They look like little bubble bees in the bag. :-)

It brews up really dark – about the colour of black tea, but kind of reddish. There is kind of an earthiness to this tea which would explain why they always pair it with the ripe pu’erh tea. There’s also a herbal quality to the tea. I can’t say it’s a taste I really love but at the same time it went down pretty easy.

I’ve googled and checked out the health benefits of this tea which are numerous. It relieves head congestion , has antiviral properties, It lowers body temperature when running a fever. Helps unclog blocked arteries and varicose veins. Helps with all respiratory problems. Has Vitamin C. Relieves sore throat. Wow! There’s more but it is definitely a good one to keep on hand during cold and flu season. I could have used this a few weeks ago.

This is a very good tea. It has a nice sweetness to it and an earthy character is how I describe the natural flavor innate to chrysanthemum teas in general. This is one of those teas that just has to be experienced to understand the description of it. I like this tea. I’m not sure, but I think I like it better than the one from Berylleb King Tea which seemed stronger. This one seems more mild.

I brewed this once in a 16oz teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker with 4 tsp leaf and boiling water for 3 minutes.