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This tea was a wonderful disappointment. Generally, I am not a big fan of teas with flowers/herbs added (ginseng, jasmine etc.)- the additions usually overpower whatever tea they are grafted on and the tea used for the base are frequently not the best quality. But I make exceptions for roses because, well, I love roses. And I wanted to reorder another Teavivre’s rose tea where the smell and taste of roses was bordering on obscene (and which pleased me greatly!) Instead I ordered these dragon balls because they were on sale – and also because I thought it was the same tea mix, just rolled up into balls.

When I opened the balls I was shocked since there was no overpowering rose aroma out of the package and each ball contained just a couple of rose flowers. Then I was shocked again by how balanced the tea these balls produce. The dianhong used for the base is pretty good and it hits you with a typical Yunnan sweet bitterness, which immediately softened and smoothed out by the rose petal smoothness. It results in an incredibly well-balanced, smooth drink. Its like dianhongs and roses were made for each other to represent a study in bringing together Yin and Yang.

Among less impressive observations: this delicate balance does not last for multiple steeps, the aroma is fairly generic for Yunnan teas and the taste is not especially complex. Anyway, it is a memorable and generally enjoyable tea.